Tag: Ogun state

For residents of the seedy Akute, Ojodu, Abiodun Ajunwon, Alagbole, Yakoyo and Ijokoland as well as scores of villages along the 32-km stretch of  Sango-Ijoko-Abiodun-Ojodu Road – all cutting across two local governments – Ifo and Ado/Odo/Ota, in Ogun State, respite now beckons.

For over a decade, this densely populated neighbourhood and motorists have had to live and endure the absence of passable road even as small and medium business operators groaned under the burden of poor patronage due to the in-accessibility of the area by those requiring their services and products.

And curiously enough, many people who work in Lagos either in the service of the Lagos State government or in private outfits live in that part  of Ogun State. The only artery that connects them and Lagos is the deplorable Sango-Ijoko-Abiodun-Ojodu road.

A journey in and out of the neighbourhood is nightmarish for all. People often leave their homes as early as 4 a.m to escape the traffic jam in the area during morning hours. It is the same in the evening when returning home.

In frustration, residents who felt neglected and marginalised by successive administrations in the state, deliberately or out of spite, pay their taxes to the neighbouring state instead of into the coffers of Ogun State.

Due to lack of government’s attention or presence, many carried  on  as they deemed fit. Environmental, urban and town planning regulations were rarely observed. Structures were erected indiscriminately without approval by the appropriate agency.

Structures on the right of way and flood plane are a common sight, which also made the area prone to incessant flooding with the attendant destruction of properties and disruption of socio-economic activities and, in some cases, loss of lives.

The state kept losing money to neighbouring Lagos State, as angry residents didn’t care and were unwilling to pay levies or taxes. To them, Ogun State government has not done anything to improve their lives.

But on Monday, October 22, when bulldozers and excavators roared into the neighbourhood and began dismantling structures to make way for the expansion of the road, the residents went wild with jubilation. They enthusiastically welcomed  the project with many optimistic that the end to their plight has come.

Structures on both sides of the road at Yakoyo down to Ogba-Iyo were demolished within hours; shops, residential buildings and shanties were not spared.

At a shopping complex at Ogba-Ayo on Ijoko area, which housed over 70 shops, two filling stations were destroyed.

Many houses were brought down and this did not sit well with some of the owners, who felt the state government did not give them enough time to evacuate.

Others expressed concern over how to address the sudden dislocation from their homes and means of livelihood, wondering how much compensation from the government can assuage their discomforts.

A good number of them said they would prefer being resettled at another location to  compensation from the state government.

One of the landlords whose home was brought down, Mr. Nuhu Aruwa, lamented the demolition of his house which he saiod was worth over N50 million.

The Kogi State-born retiree of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), said he funded the building of that house from his life savings, wondering how he is going to cope with the demolition as well as its implications on his children’s education and his paint manufacturing business.

Aruwa said: “Last year, officials from the state’s Bureau of Land and Survey came and marked our houses for demolition. They said the government wanted to expand the road and they told us to file claims for compensation.

“In September this year, the ministry officials also came and said we should await letters of acquisition and that after we agreed on the value of our properties, we could move out. They said they would pay us first before we move out.

“You can see demolition has begun and no kobo has been paid, no alternative has been provided and they now say I should move out. Move to where? Are we goats?

He went on: “We have children schooling here. Do we terminate their academic programmes?

“I have served this nation for more than 35 years. I am now retired, and they want to take all I have built in my whole life away from me.”

But the Commissioner for Works, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, who led other government officials to inspect the demolition, said the essence was to open up the area to attract investors – local and foreign – needed for development and for businesses in the area to prosper more.

The 32km road is estimated to cost N52 billion, including N5 billion for compensation. It is expected to be complete in 30 months. The road will be tolled at three points.

It is believed that the project, when completed, would give some moral right to the government to move into the area and enforce the payment of taxes and levies.

According to Adegbite, the road is being done in phases with the expansion of 8km stretch as the first leg of the project.

There would also be bridges at Yakoyo and Abule Ekun while separators (flyovers) would be sited at three locations — the  Ijoko railway crossing,  Agbado Junction and at Akute Junction for the safety of pedestrians.

Adegbite said: “Work has started with the demolition and it is in progress and immediately after demolition, we will start relocation of services – power lines, water means – on the right of way, then the real construction would begin in earnest.

“We are trying to open up the area, so that more businesses can come in, and the businesses that are there already can prosper more. A proprietor of a business there, a woman, sent me a text and also sent to the Governor on how she has lost over N20million because of inaccessibility.

“The services and products she was offering were desirable but people could not access it, that road was really bad. One would rather go somewhere else to get the same things she was offering.

“By opening up the road, people can gain access and trading among themselves from one part of that road to the other becomes so easy, also for people going to school or shopping.

“Generally, doing the road will increase the businesses in that area thereby improving the livelihoods of the people and also enhance the IGR of the state.”

He, however, has a word for some politicians and fifth columnists who are labouring to politicise the road project to misguide the people about the propriety of it.

He said: “Whoever says the government or the state does not need that road should be examined. Such a person should be pitied, because that person can’t be genuine. No genuine or sane person would say that a road is not needed.

“The people of that neighbourhood have been marginalised by successive administrations, this present governor promised that he would make amends, he is living up to his promise to make sure that the road is done  and that is what he is doing.

“He promised to do that road, you don’t just go back to do the same old thing that was there before. We are improving upon what is there not just for now but also projecting into the future to welcome the new businesses that would come.

“We anticipate growth that would come to that neighbourhood, anybody saying it is not necessary, should be re-examined. No sane person would say that road does not need expansion. You don’t have to argue with such a person, the person should be advised to visit there by 6 a.m to see the traffic jam motorists go through daily.”

Also, the Onijoko of Ijokoland, Oba Abdul-Fatai Matanmi, who was enthusiastic about the road,  said it would bring a huge relief to his people and motorists.

The monarch said the poor state of that road kept businesses at their lowest ebb, compelling many to shift to other places within and outside the state.

Oba Matanmi said: “Some, business people fled with their businesses because they could not be reached by their customers because of the bad state of the road.

“Hopefully, the road will bring life back to us, usher in free flow of traffic that take away the man-hour and business opportunities lost to the gridlock while the near slum state some areas have assumed over the years would become a thing of the past.”

But the monarch has advised the government to exercise utmost caution with regards to compensation when the time comes, saying owners of buildings, shops, worship centres and  burial sites that may be affected should be adequately rewarded and promptly too.

He said he has written to the government through the office of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), and has brought the documents to the attention of the Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who directed that the materials be referred to the Bureau of Lands and Survey, the arm of the government handling compensation.

According to Oba Matanmi, some properties affected on the Ijokoland stretch of the road were on his land by virtue of valid Appeal Court and Supreme Court judgments which declared him the legitimate and titled owner of such land.

The monarch said he has listed names of persons to be compensated on the bases of that court decision and submitted same to the state government as well as others that should not be compensated until they show authentic evidence of being the rightful owner of the land on which their demolished homes or structures are situated.

Matanmi who spoke to The Nation in telephone interview, said it is advisable the state government heeds his advice when dealing with the issues of compensation for properties demolished in Ijokoland, especially in Ogba – Ayo area of the road, to avoid litigation.

However, the state government has assured that individuals and corporate organisations whose structures were demolished to make way for the Sango – Ijoko road would be paid compensation and urged the affected persons to go Abeokuta, the state capital for the claims.

The Special Adviser/Director-General, the state Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr Adewale Oshinowo, said the fund for the payment is already available awaiting collection at the Bureau of Lands and Survey.

Oshinowo said the state government is not insensitive to the plights of the people and have made adequate compensation package for the properties affected by the road expansion.

He said it is not true that residents and owners of demolished structures were not given enough notice to vacate as claimed by displaced persons, adding that people were duly notified at least two years in advance.

Osinowo said: “we gave residents of Ijoko-Agbado-Alagbole-Akute-Ojodu areas up to two years plus notice before embarking on demolition exercise to construct the 32Km highway, even if you give them up to 50 years to vacate the areas they will still say the same thing that they were not given notice.

“The administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun is working unremittingly to tackle the menace of erosion and flood in those areas and is taking advantage of opportunities that abound in the state to bring its pre-eminent status to limelight.

“Efforts are in top gear to turn the state to a mega city and befitting for investors to stay and establish businesses in a conducive business climate. No foreign or local investors can cope in a non conducive atmosphere, but people need to endure and be patient with the present administration to develop the state for the future since ‘Rome was not built in a day.’”