Deplorable roads infrastructure worry House member, others

Emeka Ibemere

The entire roads infrastructure in Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 11, comprising Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Ilasamaja, and NNPC to Iyana Ejigbo to Orilowo- Ejigbo, Jakande Gate and Ile-Epo, all in Alimosho Local Government Area are in bad conditions and these roads are nightmares to the residents of these areas.

The roads are a death trap and needs immediate attention. Throughout former governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, the areas were neglected and lacked state government presence.

 These roads leads to the suburbs but their deplorable conditions are hampering social, economic and others. Stakeholders in the area, businessmen, teachers, tricycle operators, motorcycle operators, commercial bus drivers, market women and students including their state House of Assembly Representatives are worried by the poor road conditions in the state.

Hon. Jude Idimogu who represents Oshodi/Isolo Constituency11, at the Lagos State House of Assembly in a chat with Newswatch Times, in Lagos, said the infrastructural deficit in his constituency is worrisome and called on the state government to come to their assistance.

“I will say that is what is giving me sleepless nights for now. I must tell you that the state of roads here is affecting business transactions here. Movement is very slow resulting in time wastage; manpower hour is often lost,” Idimogu said. 

“In the house, we have discussed it and we were asked to bring out roads in our constituencies that could be presented to the executives for an immediate palliative measures, which we have done. However, I am also happy that the state governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, visited my constituency two weeks ago during which he promised that work would start at Ikotun/Egbe road; one week after the visit”.

According to him, work would soon commence on the roads maintenance in the areas.

“So I want to thank him for even coming to make that pronouncement. I want to encourage him to ensure that work actually commences as he said”

 “I want to also let him know that there are other deplorable roads mostly in Ejigbo. Almost all the roads in Orilowo side are in terrible conditions” Idimogu said Fadu Avenue and the popular January 27th Road, which has been awarded several times needs urgent attention. “That road will help decongest traffic especially in this area because the road leads to the place where victims of the January 27th bomb blast were buried,” he said adding,

“So, I wish to use this medium to plead with the state governor to assist our people here particularly my constituency because the truth is that my constituency is really backward in terms of road infrastructure. If he can do those roads for us, I think everybody will be happy”.

The Ejigbo-Ikotun road for a trip from Okota through Oke-Afa, Ejigbo to Ikotun that ordinarily supposed to be 10 to 20 minutes takes over three hours and atimes four hours.

For residents of Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Ikotun, and its environs, the former administration did nothing to help them despite that the area gave the ruling party a maximum vote. The harrowing experience and man-hour lost on daily basis on these routes called for concern. Residents accused that immediate past administration for its failure to provide them with basic infrastructure. The Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the areas are worst culprits for they couldn’t try to repair or maintain any of the roads during the past 16 years of the party in power.

 Honourable Idimogu stated that most of the times when the only road leading to the area from Cele and Isolo locks up, residents resort to  trekking the whole distance to their homes to Jakande Estate, Ejigbo, Agodo-Egbe, Ijegun, Igando, Isheri and other suburbs. Private car owners have been known to abandon their vehicles at any available space and trek home only to return late at mid-nights to recover them, or the next day.

On daily basis, the worst traffic jam in Lagos State can only be experienced at the Low Cost Housing Estate; popularly called Jakande Estate at Oke-Afa. It starts from 4pm and runs to 11Am most of the days. The chronic traffic on the roads leading to the estate and other streets in Ejigbo could have been quite easy if the adjoining roads and streets are in good conditions.

During the rainy season, failed drainage overflows with debris and flood water, leading to massive flooding of the entire streets. Throughout this rainy season, residents have been experiencing terrible times. The deplorable roads, now compounded by the rainy season, have made life very difficult for motorists and commuters. The bad road infrastructure always forces the commercial bus drivers, tricycle operators and motorcycle operators to hike their fares.

Residents of the estate seem to have heaved a sigh of relief last week when the incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode visited the area and declared emergency on the roads in Ejigbo LCDA.

“The road leading into the estate and all other roads inside the estate, Ejigbo, January 27 roads, Orilowo Ejigbo, Iyana-Ejigbo, Isolo, and Ilasamaja, and its environs are death traps. Our constituency is suffering. We need help so that Lagos residents entirely can do their business with ease,” Honourable Idimogu said.

“Every day, we go through hell to get to the main road because of huge potholes. I have repaired my shock absorbers more than three times. We are in trouble in these areas.

For Jude Omoregie, the traffic snarls is caused by bad roads. He said because the estate gate can’t be avoided by motorists, people end up spending hours in the traffic jam.

 “My office is located at Tin Can, Apapa, and to beat the traffic, I usually leave my house at about 6 00 am. Despite that, I end up spending close to two hours in the traffic before getting to the office. By the time I get to work, I am mentally drained, and physically exhausted to work optimally,” he lamented.

Ejigbo, Ilasamaja, Oke-Afa, Iyana-Ejigbo, Orilowo Ejigbo, NNPC junction are suburb of Lagos and a local council development area (LCDA) in the Oshodi-Isolo local government area. Ejigbo links and connects many highly populated communities like Ejigbo, Egbe, Ikotun, Igando, Egbeda, Ijegun, Idimu, Igando, Jakande Estate, Okota, Ijedodo, Abaranje, Isolo and many others.

According to Honourable Idimogu, because of the poor state of the infrastructure of the community, Ejigbo, Ilasamaja, Oke-Afa, over the years have become terrible for residents living in and outside the community as a result of its strategic location of being the gateway to many communities in the area.

Another resident, Chukwuebuka Joseph, Ejigbo is the worst place to live in Lagos State. He said the traffic in the area is nothing but frustrating one adding that the roads are not motorable. He said it’s unfair for the past government to neglect the area without any attention to it.

For past 16 years, residents of the areas have been crying for bad roads in Ejigbo which connects most of the communities in old Alimosho Local government.

Another resident who spoke with Daily Newswatch is Mr Donald Solomon, who also works with a first generation bank in the community. According to Solomon, living in Ejigbo is more or less like living in bondage. He says, “What people should understand is that it is not all about Iyana-Ejigbo junction, but Ejigbo as a whole. Try and go through the community and you would be surprised at the total state of neglect and abandonment. Living here is like living in bondage. The roads here are totally washed out and when the rain comes, it will become terrible.”

On the other hand, Saka Adaralegbe, another resident, condemned the local government development chairman and the community’s king claiming they were the ones working against the community. The king and the local government chairman are the ones destroying this community.

“Try and check all the gutters in this community, most of the sand has been dug and sold, by who? Can anybody just dig sand from a community? The community is an embarrassment to the nation. Please try and walk through Ejigbo, you will appreciate what I’m saying better,” he queried.

On Tuesday last week, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said that repair works on the dilapidated Ikotun-Ejigbo-Isolo Road would commence within the next one week. Ambode made the pledge while speaking with residents of the area who trooped out on sighting his entourage passing through the road. He said that the state of the road was unacceptable and assured residents that the road would be rehabilitated immediately after Ramadan.

“It is very clear that this is totally unacceptable and there is no other remedy than to let our officials come to site within the next one week."The people of this neighbourhood should be guaranteed that work will start on Ikotun-Ejigbo Isolo axis ‎within the next seven days," Ambode said.

The governor appealed to residents to bear the discomfort which they may encounter when the rehabilitation work begins.

“We will make sure that you have immediate relief. In the course of the rehabilitation, the people in the neighbourhood should just bear with us‎, work will commence immediately after Ramadan," he said.