Residents of Gowon Estate in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb, have raised over N2million for the repair of their dilapidated roads.
The community raised N1.5million last year for the same purpose.
The rehabilitation, which began last Saturday, is being coordinated by the estate’s Community Development Association (CDA) which organised the fundraising.
Loads of laterite had been piled up on 34, 401, 411 Roads and on 3rd and 4th Avenues.
Also, tippers have offloaded sand in different parts of the estate; some residents were seen monitoring the work as tractors embarked on grading of 34 road.
The CDA Chairman, Mr Nathaniel Okoro, said government had abandoned the roads since 1976, when the estate was built.
Okoro said the residents, many of whom are retirees, decided to pool resources to fix the roads.
“We are pooling our resources to fix roads to make life easy for us having suffered many years of abandonment by the federal, state and local governments responsible for handling the situation.
“The Federal Government has forgotten us; the state government has forgotten us, so we as a community decided to do what we can within our means to make our lives comfortable.
“The efforts by the CDA in the northern part of the estate have been cumbersome, but it could have been worse if we continue to wait for these tiers of government.
“So far, we have been able to raise close to N2 million to start the rehabilitation.
“Some of the roads that are motorable are due to the efforts we put in last year, this year we have discovered that some of the important roads are becoming unmotorable,’’ he said.
Okoro said the cost of making life comfortable was borne only by the residents adding that they would continue to do so until the government comes to their aid.
He said if their contributions were not enough, they would contribute more to complete the job.
According to him, the residents cannot tar the roads because of the cost implication, but would grade them and pour hardcore stones to make them last.
Okoro said that the poor condition of the roads was affecting businesses, while the cost of vehicle maintenance had increased.
The chairman urged corporate bodies to assist the CDA in making life comfortable for the people, especially the senior citizens.
He praised the residents, business owners, churches and mosques for their contributions and pleaded for more.
Okoro urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to consider the rehabilitation of the estate on assuming office.
Mr Moroof Adeoti, another resident and a retiree, said the rehabilitation would continue to make life easy for residents.
Adeoti expressed the hope that the incoming government would fulfill its promises of rehabilitating all dilapidated Federal Government Housing Estates.
“‘It will be our joy if the newly elected government at the local, state and federal levels can come to our rescue because the estate has been abandoned since 1976,’’ he said.
Mr Tobias Atasiem, also a retiree, said the community came together to make life better for itself rather than wait for the government.
Another resident, Mrs Gift Destiny-Onwuka, a caterer, said she was excited with the CDA’s commitment to rehabilitating the roads.
She added: “These roads have been abandoned for years, and the drainages blocked due to lack of maintenance.” Destiny-Onwuka said that the rehabilitation would increase sales and make the road safe for children.
