Ibadan community gets health centre after 12 years

To the people of Kajorepo-Irepodun community of Akinyele South Local Council Development Area of Oyo state with headquarters at Igbo Oloyin, the commissioning and commencement of official activities at what is named the Kajorepo health center by the Caretaker Chairman of the LCDA, Hon. Olumide Alli, last week was a dream come true as the community in their rank and file trooped out to witness the long awaited occasion.

Their joy was palpable and it couldn’t have been otherwise as the community had been working round the clock to get the government to build, equip and staff a health centre for use in the community.

Speaking at the opening, the Baale of Kajorepo community, Chief Saka Adewuyi flanked by his counterparts from Igbo Oloyin and Ogunranti described the opening as a culmination of a 12-year journey that they had thought would never end.

“For 12 years, we have been clamouring to have this; we approached the government through the local government and there was a willingness to build one for us, so we looked for land and bought this land for N500, 000 and the council under Honourable Yemi Aderibigbe built this edifice for us. But that was the beginning of another journey because we had a building but no health centre. As big as the community is, we had no health care centre and it was a terrible experience as we have to travel long distances during emergencies.

“When Honourable Abiola Ambali became the chairman of the council, we went to him and he also tried his best but there was no staff and the health centre remained an abandoned building. But today, we thank God that he has used our Caretaker Chairman, Honorable Alli has done the needful and our efforts over the years finally paid off,” he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Irepodun Landlord’s Association, Gbenga Akinrinola stated that as important as healthcare and the presence of a healthcare centre is, the community had suffered for so long until Hon Alli became the chairman and their dream which they had thought will never become a reality materialized within a short time.

“When we approached the chairman and he said he will look into it, we thought he was just making a political system. In fact, when he called few days later that he was at the site, I never believed until I got there. Indeed, I expected to see many people turning the visit into a jamboree but when we got there, he was alone on a commercial motorcycle.

“And few days later, we saw the unexpected, work started here and today, I am saying that we have seen a proof of his commitment to the welfare of the people,” Akinrinola stated.

In his speech, the senior doctor in the LCDA, Dr M.B. Olatunji stated that government is aware of the situation and is not intentionally blind to their plight. According to him, the official opening of the health centre was a result of the doggedness of Hon. Alli who refused to listen to any excuses but insisted that the health centre must be functional as soon as possible if not immediately.

“Today, we can attribute this to the single mindedness exhibited by the chairman and the support of the community themselves. For over five years, they have been writing to us that we should come and make the health centre functional, we are aware that it is a necessity. But I do not know how they connected Hon. Alli who in spite of our issues with logistics and our continuous insistence that it cannot be done now, stood his ground.

“I told him to visit here and see that the building is now inhabited by neigbourhood goats and he just smiled and few days later told me to come here. He was stubborn and wasn’t willing to listen to any reason and today, his insistence and support of the community paved way to this,” Dr olatunji stated.

In his opening remarks, Hon Alli said that it is the duty of government to provide basic healthcare for the people and lauded his predecessors that started the good work but enjoined the people to maintain the facility and make use of it so that it will remain viable, encouraging them to embrace the government’s health insurance scheme.

The commissioning was graced by APC stalwarts in the local government and other dignitaries from various walks of life.