For a while, residents of some communities in Lagelu had lived with part of their major road being riddled with pot holes but in the last two weeks, the situation has worsened. YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports that going to Iwo in Osun State through Lagelu has become almost impossible as the major road around Aba Alfa has become impassable, leaving many stranded.
For people traveling to Iwo, in Osun State, from Ibadan, the fastest and the most direct route to take is Lagelu, Iyana Offa which would take them to their destination within an hour. But in the last two weeks, going to Iwo through Lagelu has become a mission almost impossible. This is because a section of the road has become terribly bad, making it almost impossible for vehicles going to Iwo and those coming towards Ibadan to pass.
The road has a terrible portion around Aba Alfa, before Iyana Ore in Iyana-Ofa, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State. And for now, things are so terrible that the road has become impassable for vehicles. People that have to go to Iwo now either have to go through Osogbo or in the alternative go off the main road just before the bad portion, pass through Ogidi and come out at Apatere in order to link up the major road again.
Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that Ogidi road too cannot really be described as a better alternative as it is a bush path which is more of a rut and is also not easily motorable. And because of the bad condition of the path, many vehicles get stuck in the bush and some of the stuck vehicles; especially heavy duty trucks, are yet to be evacuated from the bush, adding to the hardship for commuters.
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The situation of the road has affected not only commuters passing through but also residents living in surrounding communities like Iyana-Ofa, Arikuyeri, Ejioku, Lalupon, Ogidi, Oluwo, Ile-Igbon, Sukuru, Aba-Oje, Ofa Adedokun, Oluwole, Jagun and some others. Students attending the major secondary school in that vicinity; Igbo-Elerin Grammar School, from these communities are most affected as they have to trek long distances to school now as the road is no more passable for motorcycles which is their daily means of transportation to and from school.
As a major link road, it has affected many people and is making life difficult for residents who use it for their daily economic activities. One of the residents at Iyana Ofa who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, 55-year-old Tunde Oladimeji, stated that for almost two weeks, the community had been facing untold hardship caused by the inaccessibility of the road which had become unmanageable and had cut off people from getting to Iwo from Ibadan.
“A portion of the road has been impassable for over two weeks. This is a major link road to Iwo, Osun State. It is the major route taken by people who daily come to Agbeni and Ogunpa in Ibadan to buy their goods. This has affected economic activities of people in Iwo and also communities around Lagelu. It not only affects adults but also young people. Students going to Igbo-Elerin Grammar School cannot go by car or motorcycle. They now trek a distance of about six kilometres daily to and fro,” Oladimeji stated.
Speaking on the situation so far, Oladimeji stated that there had been no sign that government was aware of their plight or that anything would be done about the situation soon, adding that “the struggle in the last two weeks has been hellish on this road and it doesn’t seem to be coming to an end soon. There has been no government presence. It is only Area Boys that stay there to control traffic and pull any vehicle that gets stuck at that point in the road. They are the ones that make things a bit manageable for commuters.
“Though we have not heard anything from the federal, state or local government or seen any of their agencies here to make an assessment of the situation, officers from the Federal Roads Safety Corp have been helpful. They are at the spot everyday to manage the traffic to the best of their ability, but they are also helpless. There is little they can do until the road is fixed.
“We want the government to see to the rehabilitation of the road connecting Lagelu communities to ensure smooth movement of vehicles so that socioeconomic activities can pick up and traders will be able to conveniently move their wares freely to the market,” he explained.
Another resident identified as Olaojo Matthew corroborated Oladimeji’s assertions, adding that commercial activities had been affected by the condition of the road.
According to him, the market day which used to draw crowds had suffered for lack of patronage because of the situation of the road.
He said, “Friday was the market day at Oyedeji but it wasn’t the usual market experience. Rather than the usual influx and bustle, only few traders came because the road is impassable and this disturbed commercial activities. It is saddening because it had never been like that. People had goods but there weren’t enough buyers because the road made people stay away,” he said.
Because the road situation has reached a crisis level, organisations affected are beginning to look for ways to find a solution. On Saturday evening, some people were seen trying to do palliative work on the bad road to ease the problem. Investigations revealed that they were sent by BOWEN University, Iwo. A payloader was seen trying to fill the worst side of the road to make it passable, to put an end to difficulties encountered by people coming to the Iwo from Ibadan.
Though residents of Lagelu communities expressed appreciation for this effort, they believe that the road needs more serious work.
“We appreciate the university for its efforts. If others had shown concern, we may not have found ourselves here. But the truth is that whatever efforts being made at present is just a temporary measure as the road has gone beyond patching. We have been trying palliative measures all this while, but it is obvious that the road has gone beyond that.
“There is a need for complete rehabilitation of this road and we want government to come to our aid, because it has gone beyond the powers of individuals and it is affecting lives and sources of livelihood,” Oladimeji said.
