The once barren Magboro, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, became active about 16 years ago, with hundreds of people migrating from parts of Lagos and Ogun States to the place. Now, the peaceful and fast-developing area has become a hell on earth for residents of the community. Taiwo Alimi and Dorcas Egede tell the story of a government deprived and neglected urban.
Not one native of Magboro, young or old, can tell how the name came to be. However, one thing is certain: Magboro, meaning ‘spreading out’, is living out its name.
Caught in the middle of Ogun State and Lagos State, Magboro, about 30 kilometres from Lagos State, is the fastest growing community in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
According to Alhaji Salaudeen Waheed Olayinka, a.k.a. Oluwo (Chief Priest), Magboro was no more than a sleepy settlement first inhabited by ‘sons and daughters of the soil’ only 16 years ago. These settlers came from the neighbouring highbrow city of Abeokuta and their local dialect is unmistakable. It is quite similar to that of ‘Egba,’ one of the dominant tongues of Abeokuta.
‘It was in the year 2000 that we began to experience outsiders venturing into Magboro, Oluwo recalled. ‘That was about the same year the Lagos toll gate was shifted towards the state secretariat in Alausa. They wanted to buy our lands and because we wanted development and expansion, we just gave it away at very affordable prices. A plot of land was sold for N5, 000. When we realised that it was attracting big churches like Mountain of Fire Miracles (MFM) and Redeemed Christian Church of Nigeria, we jerked it up to N20, 000.’
Within four years, Magboro land became hot cake, sought by individuals, companies, groups and cooperatives. ‘The prize jumped to N75, 000 and roadside plot was sold for N150, 000.’
By 2015, the number of houses had increased by ten times and the population had skyrocketed. Housing estates, schools, departmental stores, super stores, hospitals and private schools sprang up in their numbers and population sharply increased.
Asked to hazard a guess as to the population of the growing town, Oluwo puts it at a staggering two million people. “Because I am into buying and selling of properties and real estate, I can tell that there are about 200,000 residential houses in this community. Conservatively, if ten people live in each house, then we should have two million people living in Magboro.” Oluwo’s permutation cannot be taken as precise, but other residents’ guesses were not too far from his.
Opeoluwa Feyitimi, a property owner at Gasline-Magboro said, ‘Over one million live here. Lagos State Civil Service retiree, Mrs. Adenike Odunuga, also put the figure at about one million, while Surveyor James Oresanya, who has worked with Ogun State Inland Revenue revealed that about 90,000 landlords from Magboro obtained and submitted forms during the 2015 Home owners Chapter Programme by the Ogun State Government for issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). “I would put the current population of Magboro at half a million (500,000),” he said.
Going by the definition of United Nations, any settlement that is over 500,000 in population is termed urban.
The ballooning size of Magboro is helped by more than 10 other communities bordering the town. These communities; Shofolarin, Ibasa, Ajegunle, Makogi, Abule Oko, Gaun, Magada, Igodo, Sote, Isefun, Isefun Elede, Oke Ayo, Agungi and Papanra, others, share the same road and infrastructure with Magboro. You can only get to these communities through one route, Magboro road, and they are growing in size and population too.
Magboro also shares boundaries with notable towns like Ibafo, Mowe, Akute, Arepo; and might come in handy in decongesting the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway if feeder roads are constructed there.
As expected, the rise in population has had a multiplier effect on amenities, as elementary schools of different sizes and status spring up yearly in every nook and cranny of the town. The same can be said of hospitals, departmental stores, bakeries, super stores, fuel stations, banks, retail stores and other business outfits catering for the people of Magboro.
Now, Magboro can boast of a private university, a mega church, a mega manufacturing company worth $5billion, an agro-allied company, hundreds of private primary and secondary schools, and scores of smaller companies and factories.
Engineer Jimi Olusanya moved to his private residence in Gasline eight years ago. He was attracted by the quietness and serene condition of the place. “It was a quiet environment and I desired a quiet ambience, where I can grow my business. In addition, unlike Arepo and other communities on the expressway, it has a direct access to Lagos Expressway, which is less than 15minutes’ drive away. That attracted me and made me settle for Magboro.”
Many read Magboro like him and followed the prospect of a growing community. But, ten years down the line, Olusanya, who is chairman of Magboro Community Development Council (CDC), is about to flee his home and Magboro.
Raped
Olusanya said living and working in Magboro has become a hellish venture. “There is no government presence here. We don’t have electricity; the roads are bad, no pipe-borne water, no government hospital or health centre and no functional government school. Yet, we are talking of an area of over 500,000 people. Some parts of the community are suffering flooding due to lack of drainage.
Going down memory lane, Oluwo said the flooding problem was not natural but man-made. Magboro was figuratively raped by the combined forces of land grabbers and government agents. “It was in the early 90s. Out of ignorance, we were made to sell off the top soil of our land to some money bags and government people. According to what was passed down, they took thousands of tons of soil from here to fill Alausa, the present seat of power in Lagos State. That is what we are suffering from now. Whenever there is rain, Magboro 1, Cele Area, Shofolarin, Gas Line and Powerline are flooded, partly from the removal of top soil, rendering the areas impotent.”
To check the problem, Oluwo informed that drains were constructed that would lead floodwaters out of the community, but ‘Omo Onile’ as landowners are locally called, sold off the areas along which the drains run. “We used to have a drainage system that passed through Magboro 1 and 2, but some landowners sold them off and desperate landlords simply built on them.”
Malik Adeshina moved into Magboro seven years ago and is of the opinion that Ogun State Government has ripped off the environment of all decency. The business centre operator noted that Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State courted Magboro as a bachelor would a spinster, making sweet promises, only to abandon her after getting her votes.
“When I moved in seven years ago,” stated Adeshina, “the road was bad, and we were crying to the Ogun State Government to do something about it. We thought our prayers were answered when Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, came here for campaign and promised to construct it. The entire road is about 7.5 kilometres, and all they could do was drainage that did not get to two kilometres. Before, what we did was to grade it to make it passable for our people. Then, Ogun State Government came and made a mess of the whole place. The project kicked off in 2011 with completion date of two years; as I am talking, this is 2017, and it has not been completed. The contractor abandoned it to further worsen our condition. Apart from the fact that we could not grade it again, it is now very narrow. When you are constructing a road, you should think of future expansion. Government did not consider this and we are really suffering. This hardship is not what Amosun promised us when he came to campaign last year. We recorded the meeting and this was the only thing we put forward to him. We voted for him en mass, but he has not fulfilled his own part of the deal. It is a rape on Magboro.”
It is common place to find damaged and broken-down vehicles on the bad road every day. Sometimes some are quickly fixed and taken away after some days, while others have become a permanent features on the road. Trailers, Lorries, and sport utility vehicles are not left out.
Oluwo complained of deficient infrastructure and the roads have robbed him of his vehicles. ‘I’ve lost three cars to this road and because of the damages to the joints and engine, I now park them in the house, so I won’t have to spend money on repairs every time.’
For Tunde Adekunle, an aluminum contractor and house owner, he no longer uses his car, a Toyota Camry. “It is parked for the time being. I prefer to take okada (commercial motorcycle) to get out of Magboro. Whenever I use my car, I have to spend a lot of money to fix damages on it. I have told my family to do the same too.”
Feyitimi has also lost two cars to the poor road. Both now board okada to get around.
Beaten
Although Magboro has attracted some of the biggest corporations in the state, this change is yet to touch the community positively. Rather, Magboro has been boxed into submission with high concrete walls and cannot partake in the round-the-clock electricity and good roads enjoyed by the firms. On the left side of the community is Western Metal Product Company (Wempco), which moved into its 2.5 million square metres complex in 2006 and opened its $1.3bn integrated manufacturing complex in 2010. The Chinese company manufactures ceramic tiles, nails, and other building materials through its multi-billion naira steel and ceramic producing plants.
The multi-million naira complex of Mountains of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) occupies the other side of Magboro with tarred roads and well lit environment.
Kunle Ogunbanjo, chairman of Pathfinder CDA (Community Development Area), the closest community to Wempco, has this to say about the conglomerate. “Since the coming of Wempco to this community, we have not known peace. Their fence is obstructing the waterway and our community is suffering from the flooding they created. Before their coming, there was a waterway and rainwater was dispersed without hindrance. But since 2006, we have been experiencing high water level due to their massive fence.”
He said the concrete fence was constructed on the channel, thereby blocking off the water, while directing it to their homes, on the other side of the fence. This year, the rain water is so high that many residents had to flee their homes.
The Nation was confronted by gory details from Akinbusola, Pathfinder Way, and NEMA Estate. At Akinbusola Street, what remains of two abandoned apartments were remnants of furniture, plastic containers and rusted roofing sheets, windows and doors. Ogunbanjo said the co-landlords had to ditch their homes because of flooding.
On the MFM side, residents of Ezekiel, John Ogah, Adekeye, Community streets and Akintonde, suffer similar fate with those of Pathfinder CDA, marooned by the ‘wall of Jericho’ of their affluent neighbours.
Mrs. Odunuga said she often abandoned her home temporarily in rainy season. “During heavy downpour, my house is not habitable as flood often takes over the frontage. So, I usually relocate to my child’s place in Ikorodu and come back when the water clears.”
Economic index
While Magboro indigenes have suffered through poor roads and lack of integrated electricity, its economic index have been on the rise, leading to additional difficulty to dwellers, several business owners have to endure the hardship of power generation and low profits, while some have shut down completely.
Feyitimi has tried his hands on frozen chicken business on getting to Magboro. “It was tough staying in business because of power. I spent close to a million to start it, but lost the capital because goods got bad easily. I kept putting new funds to keep afloat, until my vehicles began to wear out due to the bad road. Without vehicles, it is not easy to run this kind of business. I had no choice but to pack it in.”
For Adeshina, it is not an easy task keeping his business centre floating. “No business can thrive without power. We are on generator day and night. Most especially, it is affecting our business. I spend an average of N2, 000 per day on fuel to sustain my business and that is a lot. In a week, we are talking about N15, 000, which comes to N60, 000 in a month. It is eating the whole profit, but we cannot shut down. We can only strive and pray that things would be better.”
Low business returns; however, does not translate to low spending. “It is not easy to be a breadwinner any longer. In-fact, the cost to light up my home has gone up since the recent increase in pump price of fuel. Before now, we used to spend an average of N600 daily, but it has gone up to N1000 and that means about N30, 000 in a month. Moreover, we are not talking about a whole day here; it is just for some hours in the night for security purposes. This is coupled with maintenance of the generator, because generators are supposed to be a backup, but the backup has become the main supply.”
The power issue, he explained, has affected prices of things. “Generally, things are expensive here. Power generation has shot up cost of production. It has affected rent on shops and rooms. In Dopemu-Lagos, where I do similar business, I pay N9000 per month for the shop I use but here in Magboro, even with a smaller shop, I have to cough out N10,000 monthly. Cost of production is high and such cost would be placed on the buyers. For many businesses that cannot cope, we have seen many folding up. There are many shops locked up here in Magboro because the business owners can no longer cope.”
“It is also expensive to train your wards in Magboro. The private schools here are expensive and the schools take advantage of parents knowing that you may not want to take your children outside Magboro because of the expressway. Therefore, the charges are high, even higher than what obtains in Lagos. Adeshina pays on the average N80, 000 on a child every term. Feyitimi says he “dishes out N75,000 on each of my kids every term.”
In the area of presence of government, Oluwa offered an answer. “In the whole of this community, there is only a public school and the government has not done much to equip it for us.” Community Primary and Secondary School, when The Nation visited, is made up of two buildings, which needed facelift and urgent repairs. ‘That school cannot take more than 500 pupils and we are talking about an environment of over 500,000 people,” Oluwo added.
Sitting beside the school is the freshly painted Magboro Medical Center. “What you see here,” Oluwo stated, pointing to the building, ‘is the handiwork of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). It has been in state of disrepair for years, before the church took it upon itself to refurbish and rehabilitate it. What you are seeing is not the work of Ogun Sate Government. They chose to abandon it years ago.”
Abandoned
If Magboro road and infrastructure were said to be abandoned, the project of illumination of Magboro is at best locked up and its key thrown into the Ogun river.
Adeshina’s experience on this is moving. “It have been up and down. When we moved in, we felt that things would begin to look better with more people moving in. Unfortunately, our hope is dashed. I was eyeing a different place to settle my family but on seeing that there are electricity poles and wires, everywhere, I changed my mind and bought land here, with the hope that electricity would come soon. In 2013, after so many efforts by the community, they gave us what I can call a flash. This was due to the efforts of the CDA, of which I’m an active member. I felt I should help promote good development. I joined the CDA and we began to put money into development projects, specifically electricity. We installed the polls ourselves, on my own I bought about five poles, and others bought. We got cables and to crown it up, we bought a transformer and installed it. It was not easy, but we were able to achieve that.”
That was how electricity came in 2013, but it lasted for only about 50 hours. “Nothing since then and, it was very disappointing for many of us.”
The enormous noise of power generators, at least three to a house, is deafening. “Environmental pollution,” Adeshina explained, “is also an issue in Magboro. With the downturn in the economy, you will find out that not many households can cope anymore, and you will see that many homes cannot light up in the night again. Psychologically, we are living in darkness and it is not a good thing because darkness can dampen the spirit.”
Status symbol
Every corner and cranny you turn to in Magboro, you see electricity poles and transformers, yet no sign of integrated power anywhere. Each household makes it a point of duty to power its home. The very rich combine solar panel sand inverters and generator to gain more hours of electricity than the averagely rich, which depend on inverter and generator. The masses however, can only sustain their homes with generator-powered electricity, with the generators coming in different sizes, from the 4-litre capacity to 40-litre capacity. However, the super-rich break the tide with diesel powered generators generating up a capacity of to 5000Kilowatt.
Olusanya owns one of such generators and to power it he has to cough out between N100,000 and N150,000 every month. ‘Diesel is now N180 per litre and for me to power my home every day for one month, it is no small thing. The community has spent about N7million on electricity, yet there is no result. We can only call on the government to help us.’
When contacted, the Ogun State Government, through its Commissioner for Information, Dayo Adeneye, said the Magboro road problem would soon become outdated. He assured communities along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway that they have not been forgotten by the government.
“We want to reassure our border towns, like Ibafo, Arepo, that we have not forgotten them. In fact, it is the next on our agenda. We are doing operation 100-100 in which the government has said we are doing a hundred rural roads in, hopefully, a hundred days.’
He said even though oil prices and dwindling revenues are making it difficult to work as fast as possible, the roads still must be fixed and they will be very soon.
For Oluwo, these are mere political proclamation. He vowed to campaign against the ruling governor come 2019. “Governor Amosun has failed us. I was present when he promised us this one thing: to fix our road and he has failed us. I will lead an open campaign against his candidate and party in 2019. We voted en masse for him in the last election and we will vote massively against him next time.”
It is apparent that years of living without government attendance and support have stirred something in them. Magboro occupiers seem ready to take their destiny in their hands, just as they have been doing to generate power, water and fix their roads.
It may sound like the idlest of idle threat, but his rising voice and livid expression resembled a noise not empty.