Motorists and residents in Obafemi Awolowo way, Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA), have lamented over the bad road in their area. According to the report gathered, the road, which had been in bad condition for several years, has become a nightmare to the road users, who face a lot of challenges plying the road on daily basis. Among the several communities connected by the road are Selewu, Ogunlewe, Abosan, Awesu and Banjoko streets.
Some of the residents and motorists that spoke with our reporters stated that the condition of the road was worsened by flood during rainfall as a result of lack of drainages. According to them, flood takes over the road when it rains and renders it impassable for both vehicular and human movements. It was gathered that the bad condition of the road had affected transport fares in the area as commercial tricyclists and Okada riders plying the axis have now increased their fares. A trip in or out of the community, which normally cost between N50 to N70, now cost between N100 – N150. The residents have, however, appealed to the government for urgent repair of the road to save them from the hardship they are experiencing on daily basis.
A commercial tricyclist in the area, Mr. Jimoh Rasaq, in an interview with Oriwu Sun, stated that the road had been bad for long but that the rain worsened its condition, such that his tricycle often developed mechanical fault when plying it. He also confirmed that transport fare along the axis had increased due to challenges he and his colleagues always encounter while conveying passengers to their destination.
The Chairman of Abosan Community Development Association, Dr. Luis Ogunlade, whose area is also connected by the road, lamented the extent of damages to the road and the neglect by the governments. He explained that the several porthole on the road was caused by flood, which takes over the road during rainfall due to lack of drainages. Mr. Ogunlade explained that several efforts by the CDA to repair the road had failed and stated that there is nothing they can do about the situation than to appeal to the government to urgently intervene. He also urged the government to ensure that the rehabilitation works included the construction of drainages on both sides of the road to prevent flood flowing on it during rainfall.
Mrs. Bakare Mopelola, a resident of Banjoko, an area also connected by the dilapidated road, explained that residents are facing a lot of challenges on the road. She recounted her own personal experience when the motorcycle taking her home fell on the road due to the portholes and she and the motorcyclist were covered in mud. Mrs. Bakare added that the condition of the road is now affecting movement in and out of the area as residents now gets late to work and also return home late due to refusal of commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators to ply the road. She equally appealed to the government to help in repairing the road.
Also, a commercial driver, Mr. Yekini Muhammed, explained that several letters have been written to Igbogbo/Baiyeku, LCDA authority by the Chairman of Igbogbo Motor Park for the repair of the road but there had been no response. He alleged that the road had, on several occasions, been announced in the news that it had been repaired with several millions of naira, when in actual fact, nothing has been done at all.
Mr. Muhammed explained further that there had been instances when construction equipment were brought to the road for repair works, but that at the end, only granites were poured on it, and when it rained, the surface got washed off by flood. Apart from Awolowo Road, he said other roads such as Ofin Junction and Igbogbo Motor Part are also in bad conditions and need urgent government attention.
