Residents of Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, have continued to applaud the infrastructure upgrade in the city.
There is a predominant feeling that the ancient city is undergoing a massive makeover, the latest effort being the inauguration of the Mokola fly-over bridge.
A day to the launch of the historical facility, residents of the city were in high spirits. They had waited to see the bridge commissioned so that the difficulties experienced on the ever busy road will come to an end. To show their eagerness and preparedness for the event, all the traders, artisans, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), motorcycle operators popularly known as Okada, and members of the business community declared a work-free day to be part of the epoch-making event which attracted both the high and low in the society.
All the major markets in the city were closed, while the traders in these markets came out en masse to attend the event. Some were decked in Ankara uniform, others donned peak caps and T-shirts bearing the portrait of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Their city was changing and they were happy about it. Some have been converted to dual-carriage ways and beautified. Jobs are created. The state capital is looking neater and healthier. There is better access to quality health and education. Transportation and commerce have improved, while peace and order have been restored.
The amazed audience was wondering how the governor was able to achieve these feats within two years in office when past governors failed to accomplish much in four years or more. Some have asked “where did the governor get the money to execute this project”. But that is the kind of governor they have been yearning for after many years of stagnation and bad governace.
The commissioning of the flyover was accompanied by two other multi-million naira projects; the ultra modern market at Scout Camp, and the new Garage Modern Motorpark, Ibadan.
The people’s faces glowed in appreciation for the good work of the governor. Now, there is unfettered movement of people, goods and services in most areas of the city as a result of a good road network.
That the Mokola fly-over bridge, the first to be accomplished in the last 35 years by any civilian administration was successfully constructed and completed within a span of two years was still a like a dream to many.
Indeed, for an average motorist, Mokola Roundabout was a no-go area most especially during peak hours, with a journey from Dugbe to Ojoo which should not take 20 minutes, taking not less than two hours. A commercial motorist, Kazeem Adelaja, said he always prayed in the morning not to be hooked up in the vehicular bottleneck so as not to waste precious time and fuel in the process.
He said: “The Mokola Roundabout is a problem to an average motorist in this city, and we often find out that the bottleneck is caused by impatience on the part of the road users. On my part, I always tried everything to avoid the place so that at the end of the day I would not waste my money burning fuel unnecessarily.”
Senator Ajimobi who described the road as critical in the transportation network of Ibadan in terms of commerce, education and overall well-being of the citizens, said the flag-off of the construction of the bridge on the ever-busy Sango-Mokola-Dugbe Road, was a testimony of his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the citizens of the state live a better life.
The governor who visibly expressed joy to be a vehicle of transformation, said: “It is a testimony to the fact that we desire good and robust life for the people of Oyo State. This particular flyover was conceived as part of the overall vision and mission of this administration to restore, reposition and transform the state and her citizen’s transportation to higher efficiency and effectiveness.
“The completion of the bridge is expected to translate to less stressful journey for her citizens, especially the people of Ibadan and visitors to the state capital.”
As early as 7.00 am, a large crowd of ordinary people thronged the Mokola area with most of them singing and drumming to celebrate what they called a “monumental and unprecedented achievement” in the history of the state. Twisting their bodies to the sweet drum-beats by local drummers who thronged the venue of the event, the people could not hide their excitement.
given the harrowing experience that they had suffered in the past and lauding the government for coming to their rescue.
The elated former governor of Lagos State, and National leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) in his address lauded Governor Ajimobi whom he described as an actualiser, performer and
extra-ordinary leader in Oyo State, for the project which he said would impact positively on the lives of the people of the state. He particularly commended the Ajimobi administration for making the people the cornerstone of its economic policy, saying “we all can see developments in all ramifications’’.
Senator Tinubu who told the people of the state that the flyover bridge and all the projects inaugurated were just tips of the iceberg, assured that more good things would still come while
lampooning those who he said had had the opportunity of presiding over the affairs of the state but failed woefully, but who were now forming “an unholy alliance’’, stating that their alliance would fail as the people of the state were now wiser and could read between the lines.
He said, ” I read recently that some of them were collaborating, the old enemies who dealt themselves out of office with guns, cudgels, sticks, and cutlasses. They say they want to collaborate again, ah!
They have failed because they will fail now again. They were down before, they were down again. No matter what evil they put together they will continue to collapse like a pack of cards. If they forget,
we helped them before, let their conscience tell them. I Bola Ahmed Tinubu did what I have to do to protect the integrity, the character , the content of our democracy and the freedom of our people through him, but what did they pay back? Today, here we are . They left the
office of the governor in shambles and they return the state backward and rotten. Now, the office is clean, free and you see rapid progress, you see a government that made the people the cornerstone of economic policy. You see civilization in Ajimobi administration.
You see restoration, you see commitment and radical transformation and
urban renewal. They even refused to paint the buildings in the Secretariat where they work. They were enemy of progress, they were enemy of change and they were enemy of the people.”
Also speaking, Governor Okorocha, commended his Oyo State counterpart for transforming the state, particularly Ibadan where he said he built one of his schools taking care of indigent students while Governor Amosun congratulated the people of Oyo State for voting a “performer’’ as the governor, saying the result of their decision was the all-round transformation being witnessed in the state now.
Goodwill messages were also given by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Oorelope Adefulire and the National President of Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Bayo Oyero among others.
Senator Ajimobi, in his address, said the bridge was a dream come true and a historical mileage in the state and berated the opposition whom he said embarked on a campaign of calumny since the day the construction of the bridge began, urging them all to acknowledge excellence wherever they saw one.
His words, “I remember that on Thursday, December 22, 2011, when we flagged off the construction of this fly-over bridge, we provoked the unbelief and disdain of cynics and political opposition. To them, the construction of the bridge was akin to building the biblical Towers of Babel, with its impossible tendencies. Even when the bridge was being constructed, we became the butt of jokes of the opposition who, either out of mischief, naivety or their well-known cynicism, mocked the
absence of an erect bridge, months after its flag-off. Unknown to them, the essential components of the bridge, being mostly pre-fabricated, were undergoing construction in the company’s yard.
Now that the bridge has been completed, they have shifted their mischief to the cost of the project, choosing to ignore the comprehensive features of the project which among others include the upgrading of 1.2km long service roads and intersections, beautification of roundabout and space under the flyover, construction of new water mains, street lighting and the payment of compensation to the numerous property owners whose properties in this commercial centre of the city were affected. “
A resident, Mrs. Mojisola Babalola, after the commissioning was full of praises to Senator Abiola, for not only fulfilling a promise to deliver on the project but also changing the landscape of the entire area making it one of the beautiful areas in the city of Ibadan. She said, “the governor indeed has etched his name in the heart of many people with the completion of this project and we could not but be grateful for the flyover bridge.”
Present at the occasion are the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Oorelope Adefulire, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, Chief Kola Daisi, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu, the Iylode of Ibadanland, Chief Mrs Aminat Abiodun, an educationist , Chief Emiola Adesina, Chief Bode Amao, Ambassador Olu Saanu, executive members of the Central Council Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), National Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Chief Lai Mohammed, members of the state executive council and party leaders amongst others.
