Owa Obokun’s good gesture

IT is traditionally said that in the palace, there are only those who are assisted in offloading their wares and not those who are helped to load wares on their heads. That is why the tidings coming from a paramount traditional ruler in Osun State, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Clement Haastrup, are so gladsome. The king recently promised to personally repair a major road in the country, namely the Ibadan-Ilesa expressway. That statement immediately struck a chord in the users of that route. That road has become a troubling menace in the last few years. It has been a harbinger of multiple deaths, witnessing avoidable accidents on a regular basis. Besides, commuting on the road has always been a harrowing experience for many, with vehicles suffering tremendous damage from its myriad of potholes. Thus, when the palace, through the traditional ruler’s media aide, Mr. Isaac Haastrup, stated that the road would be repaired before his coronation ceremony which is slated for May 23, 2025, he got not only his subjects but the entire travelers on that road beaming with excitement.

The traditional ruler had told members of the Ijesa Society in Lagos, during a congratulatory visit to his palace in Ilesa, that he had already secured approval from the Federal Ministry of Works to carry out repair works on the federal road at his own expense. Oba Haastrup also spoke at length on his economic plan for Ijesaland. He maintained, for instance, that necessary arrangements had been made for the training of 25 Ijesa youths in agribusiness by experts in Nasarawa State. The Kabiyesi assured the beneficiaries of parcels of land, funds, and the necessary support to enable them to excel in their areas of specialisation.

We commend the Owa Obokun for this very heartwarming gesture. As already noted, this is a departure from the ancient perception that people have about kings in the Yoruba society. The impression is that kings only collect royalties from the society and do not give anything in return. Oba Haastrup, through this gesture, is not only debunking this ancient belief but is also underscoring the need for everybody, including traditional rulers across Nigeria and those who are blessed enough to lend a helping hand, to take practical steps to uplift their domains. Oba Haastrup, being a major player in the construction sector, is also, by this gesture, demonstrating the need for members of the upper class of the society to make available their craft, wisdom, wealth and knowledge in the service of their people.

In this instance, the king is evidently bothered about the loss of lives and property on the Ibadan-Ilesa expressway. His intervention, especially from an area in which he has garnered experience and knowledge, is a show of deep concern about human life and dignity. Government officials plying that route knew about its heart-wrenching dilapidation over the years but chose to do nothing about it, and neither did any wealthy citizen offer to help. That the Kabiyesi has chosen to fix the road is a major step forward in individual interventions in public infrastructure. If, following this intervention, other wealthy and well-meaning Nigerians choose the kind of commendable intervention that the Ijesa ruler is making on public infrastructure, it would not only point at a new wave of relations between the people and assets that ultimately belong to them, it would show that the country has the potential to be better, going forward.

The Oba is just a private Individual. What that means is that all Nigerians, in whatever capacity they can intervene to bring succour to the lives of others, must never shy away from doing so. Oba Haastrup’s intervention on the Ilesa-Ibadan road shows the path to tread. That said, however, it is a tragedy of great proportion that the road under reference has been left in a deplorable state for so long. While the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) was active in times past, particularly under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, it seems to have gone into a slumber, leaving road users helpless. The Ibadan-Ilesha road is a major artery that connects different parts of the country. It is saddening that, for so long, the government ignored the gruesome and inhuman experiences that commuters on the road suffer.

While we commend Oba Haastrup’s gesture, we say categorically that the government must be alive to its responsibilities. It is the duty of the government to build roads, not that of private individuals, and it is for that purpose, among others, that the government collects taxes from the people. Indeed, given the removal of fuel subsidy and the floatation of the naira, the government should not have left public roads unattended to. Adding precariously dangerous roads to the list of the people’s woes in fuel and electricity costs is callous and insensitive, to say the least. Just how can it be cheering news that public roads have deteriorated and become deathtraps, with the government doing nothing about them? Even when the Federal Government undertook repairs on the road, the repairs were haphazardly done, leaving commuters with a fate far worse than the one they suffered before the tepid intervention.

The government should learn to prioritise the upgrade of infrastructure that directly affect the lives of Nigerians. The health of such infrastructure should not be toyed with. Transportation, for instance, is very key to development and it is simple logic that bad roads lead to high fares, longer hours on the road and vehicle damage. They also lead, most worrisomely, to the loss of precious lives. Besides, bad roads give room for criminals to operate as people slow down because of potholes. As Oba Haastrup has offered to put this essential road in good health, we ask that FERMA give him full support. That is the least it can do in the circumstances.

READ ALSO: Ibadan-Ilesa express road mishap: Owa Obokun promises repair before coronation