When the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel constructed the Lafenwa-Itele Ota Road in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, residents were happy that they would experience easy movement to and from anywhere. DAMOLA KOLA-DARE reports that the residents’ joy was short-lived as the road failed three years after completion.
There is a deafening rumble. Suddenly the cloud darkens and the sky rips open and empties its bowel. Rain dances on the landscape. The road is sated and groans under the weight of the deluge. It is a home to grime and puddles. It is a bed of frustration, nightmare and agony.
Welcome to Lafenwa-Itele-Ota Road, Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. One wonders whether residents and road users are praying for a deus ex machina or hopelessly waiting for Godot, or they have resigned to fate.
The Lafenwa-Itele Road, which serves as the link between Lagos end of Ayobo and Ogun State through a bridge, has become a disgraceful symbol of utter neglect and a synonym for untold hardship. A mishmash of eroding tarred patches, gullies and miry pools, it starts immediately after descending the Ayobo Bridge, with a roundabout ahead (MOPOL Junction) which points to Aiyetoro Road from the left, then turning to the right, runs straight to Ota albeit through other routes such as Lafenwa Junction, Odan-Otun and Koro Otun. It is also a connecting point to border towns such as Seme and Idiroko.
Heavy duty trucks laden with laterite ply this route daily. Their presence not only contributes to traffic bottleneck but also worsens the condition of the almost impassable road as motorists, motorcyclists and commercial bus drivers prefer to use a detour to avoid being stuck in grimy mud on major parts of the road.
It is sheer purgatory for some surrounding communities such as Onifade, Adeleye, Kogi-Kajola, Aparadija and a host of others during the dry season when dust and fog envelope the whole area, and during the rainy season. A journey on this road reveals a grim picture of government insensitivity to the plight of residents of the area.
With a slew of shops along the road closed and abandoned, the area wears a soulless garb and comes across as a backwater region that needs the fresh breath of modernisation. The potholes and craters perfectly sum up the pall of retrogression that hangs unabashedly over the Lafenwa-Itele horizon.
This reporter felt the pulse of some residents in what turned out to be a meld of complaints, disappointment and appeals to the state government.
An ex-corps member, Taiwo Raji, spews bile as she laments the “pitiable” state of the road and seemingly heartless commercial motorcyclists who charge purse-tearing fares.
“This road is a deathtrap, especially during the rainy season! While I was serving, I ply this route once a week. It is quite sad that for close to two years now, nothing has been done to address the pitiable condition of this road.
“This has made okada riders have a field day as they exploit passengers at will by charging exorbitant prices even when there is no rain. Since it is a major highway that link Seme border, those in authority should do something about it,” she said.
Ayobami Ololade, a secondary school student said: “We are facing hell with regard to the poor condition of this road. Commercial bus drivers, private car owners, even those selling by the roadside are not left out. Once there is excessive rainfall, people are snarled up in traffic, and at times unable to go to work. The presence of tankers and trucks has not helped matters too as this can result in fatal accidents and do further damage to the road. The state government should come to our rescue.”
Oyekunle, a commercial motorcyclist, noted that he does not ply the route because of the deplorable condition and extortion by highway touts. He added that authorities in the state cannot feign ignorance as an ex-governor once embarked on a tour of the region about four years ago.
In the same manner, a furniture maker, Yakub Ibikunle, spoke candidly as he complained of lack of patronage and dearth of funds to pay his long overdue rent at his current workshop.
“The condition of this road has crippled economic activities. There is an alarming decrease in sales. This is supposed to be an expressway but buses and bikes are facing big problems here. The government should remember us and not concentrate only on Abeokuta. We want to feel the impact of the state government here too.”
According to Bayo, a commercial bus driver and poultry farmer, “the road is simply damaging our vehicles. From MOPOL Junction to Oju Ore, it is a mess. When there is heavy rainfall, transporters find it extremely difficult to move. Before anything, proper drainage system should be constructed to ease the flow of water.”
Also contributing, Pastor Fagboyo said: “We are really suffering here. When the Ayobo end was being tarred, we thought it would be extended to Lafenwa, but it was not to be. Some residents have even abandoned their houses pending when the road will be fixed.”
Obviously dissatisfied with those at the helm of affairs, Bola Oyegunle, a hotelier, decried how her once-booming business had nosedived and the cruelty of double taxation (at state and federal levels) in this era of austerity. The hotel that previously buzzed with many customers now looks drab as a result of the decrepit road.
While making a plea to the new administration to “come to our aid”, she frowned on government officials because “they only come to solicit votes when elections are near, after which they disappear.”
The newly-installed monarch of Aiyetoro-Itele Town, His Royal Highness (HRH), Oba Adewumi Adeniji, deplored the condition of the road which had been a source of suffering by residents and motorists. He added that the road which was constructed during the era of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of the state, was shoddily done and as a result washed off within three years.
He said: “Generally, the road is very bad right from Ota. It was constructed during the time of Otunba Gbenga Daniel but it was not solid enough. Once there is heavy rainfall, residents and motorists suffer so much. At the roundabout at times, they are held up for many hours because of the sorry state of the road. Hence, I send my men down to control and ease the flow of traffic.
“We are appealing to the government to come to our aid because all the communities in Ado- Odo Ota, the industrial hub of the state, are still backward in terms of social infrastructure,” he said.
