OGUN is one of the states where the governorship and House of Assembly elections will hold on Saturday. Ogun is the closest state to Lagos and their boundary at the Ojodu Berger end of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway tells a lot about both states. As you exit Lagos to enter Ogun after leaving Berger you get this sinking feeling. You are gripped by a sense of foreboding. You are heading home, but you feel like staying back in town or at work in Lagos where things work.
I have lived in Ogun, Arepo, specifically, in the past 10 years. Arepo was a virgin land when it was discovered by the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) under the able leadership of Deaconess Funke Fadugba some 16 years ago. Arepo then was a mangrove of sorts, save for its rustic village which stands till today in the midst of the modernisation going on around it. There was no road, except for a dusty, undulating path which led to the forest that NUJ acquired for its estate.
The Journalists’ Estate, the precursor of the many estates now dotting the Arepo landscape, was a product of toil, sweat and perseverance. Nobody, not even the journalists themselves, in their wildest dreams, gave the estate a chance. To them, it was a long shot. ‘’Why put money in a venture that will yield nothing?’’ many asked those who bought into the project. Though it took long, the estate has come to stay, with many moving in as far back as 2006/2007. At least for opening up Arepo, the Journalists’ Estate has helped in facilitating the development of this otherwise forgotten community.
It was and still is a community at the mercy of pipeline vandals who use the beach that separates it from Ikorodu for their illicit trade. Part of that beach is today home to Beachland Estate. Even at that, the vandals are not deterred. They still come through the beach to break pipes and siphon fuel at enormous risk to their lives. Residents now enjoy some respite, with the deployment of troops to keep the vandals at bay. This is what development can bring about. But the development is not moving as fast as the residents want. For instance, the only road leading into Arepo from the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway is nothing to write home about.
Former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel’s administration hurriedly cobbled the road together when journalists started moving into the estate. We had hoped that the government would do the road and drainage before leaving in 2011. It did not. But it did not deceive us by purportedly awarding the project to a contractor who will put up a sign that work will soon begin. When he assumed office in 2011, the community had high hopes in outgoing Governor Ibikunle Amosun fixing the road. Our hopes were buoyed when in 2012 a contractor put up a sign that work will soon begin on the road. Till today, the contractor has done nothing on the road. Yet, the signpost is still by the gate into our estate, serving as a reminder of our helplessness to get the government, which we voted for, to fix our bad road.
The signpost is also mocking us, especially the journalists, day and night as we move in and out. It is telling us that despite being journalists, we could not get the government to fix our road. We have come together as a community to do the road, but because of the huge financial outlay, the residents cannot do much. In 2015, Amosun, at the commissioning of the Arepo-based WFM 91.7, the only woman radio station in the country, promised that he would do the road. He later reneged on his promise on the grounds that ‘‘how many votes does Arepo have’’. It is time to pay him back and show him that Arepo’s votes matter in determining who governs the state. The choice before us now as the governorship election holds on Saturday is to go with the candidate who we can count on to help in the greater development of Arepo, in particular, and Ogun, in general. And who is the candidate? Since Amosun has failed us, I will not be comfortable going with his candidate – Abdulkabir Akinlade of the All Peoples Movement (APM).
There are three other serious contenders – Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Buruji Kashamu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Gboyega Isiaka, African Democratic Congress (ADC). Of the lot, I am tipping Abiodun for the job. Before you say, what do you expect of a writer from this stable, let me state right away that I am supporting Abiodun out of my free will and not under the influence of anybody. Abiodun has a track record in business. With his business acumen, he has what it takes to run Ogun. I have heard him campaign and studied his manifesto in which he distilled his plan for the state. Abiodun will be a listening governor. He will not get into office and turn himself into tin god overnight.
With former Governor Olusegun Osoba backing him for the job, Abiodun knows that the stakes are high and that he cannot afford to fail when he gets to office. He is the governor that Ogun needs for a time like this. I am supporting him for a selfish reason and that is that he does the Arepo road if he wins. That is not to say that he should neglect other parts of the state. Is it too early to say, congrats, the governor-elect? I do not think so. Omo Ogun, ibo ya!
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