NIGERIA returned to civil rule in 1999 after decades of military dictatorship, but democracy didn’t always bring dividends. Ask the long-suffering people of Ewekoro, Ogun State, who for years watched their businesses ruined and many lives lost on the 70-kilometer Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota-Lagos Expressway. Governors came and promises were made, but the people saw no action on the road. Until recently, that is, when the current governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, dared the odds and persuaded a hitherto unbending Federal Government to let him reconstruct the road, a federal edifice, for the benefit of the long-suffering populace. And so when, on Friday, the Governor flagged off the construction of the road with a pledge to complete it in 18 months, his pronouncement was greeted with roaring applause.
Adjudged as the second busiest road in Nigeria, the road, as Governor Abiodun himself noted on the occasion, connects Abeokuta and its hinterlands to Lagos State, and links Ilaro in Ogun West to Sagamu in Ogun East through the Sagamu-Interchange-Papalanto-Ilaro road. On the Ota side, it also connects the Sango-Atan-Owode-Idi-Iroko road, leading to border towns and the Benin Republic. The road, he said, “serves as a critical artery for numerous industrial hubs in Ota, including the Lafarge Cement Factory, Ile-Ise Awo, various schools, and higher institutions. The communities along this corridor are densely populated, and the road’s strategic location has a significant impact on trade and economic activities.”
But as the Iyaloja (market women’s leader) of Ewekoro, Alhaja Busirat Ejire, said on the occasion, the road had been a blight even on royalty, as critics wondered loudly if the Olu of Itori, ruler of the community that the road literally cut off from the rest of the state, ever had the ears of the present governor reputed for spreading road projects across the state. Hear the excited market leader: “We thank you for the phenomenal work you are doing for us market women. We are daily praying for you and may the prayers be answered. This road is for us and the Olu of Itori. He received a lot of tongue-lashing because of this road. We market women suffered greatly on account of this road.” And the Olu of Itori, Oba Akorede Akamo, did not mince words: “I do tell people you are Mr talk and do, a silent achiever. For over 20 years, this road had been so bad. We have always prated that God should bring the person that will do this road. I knew from the day you came to Itori that you will be the one to do this road. I have used almost four governors, starting from Baba Osoba to OGD, Amosun and you. Why you sir? It is because you have been ordained for good things.”
The Olu and Iyaloja were speaking at the flagging-off ceremony attended by the governor and his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele; the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide; the chairman of the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yemi Sanusi; a former deputy governor of the state, Alhaja Salimot Badru, and a retinue of federal and state lawmakers, including Senator Akin Odunsi, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade,, Hon Tunji Akin-Ose, Hon Yusuf Amosun and Hon Maroof Afolabi Afuwape. The Olu of Ilaro and chairman of the Ogun State Council of Obas, HRH Kehinde Olugbenle, led royalty at the ceremony attended by members of the business community, students, market union and transport union chiefs.
The Olu of Ilaro toed the line of the Olu of Itori. Hear him: “This road caused me palpitations for almost 12 years. God has attended to the things that caused us fear. I thank you on behalf of Nigerians; the people that ply this road. I thank the President too. This road is being salvaged during your tenure. Indeed, we are in a tenure of renewed hope. We were in a state of hopelessness. This is the only road that enters Yewaland. You have done what your predecessors over the years refused to do.”
As Governor Abiodun himself noted on the occasion, the road is significant not only to Ogun State but also to Lagos State and the nation at large, as it provides a thoroughfare for people going to the neighbouring country. Hear him: “ I am glad to inform you that work is beginning on the road immediately. The excuse then was that there was a sitting contractor on the road. The best the state could do at that time was to carry out palliative works on the critical sections along the road axis. We re-opened our appeal to the Federal Government to reconstruct the road upon the inauguration of His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who graciously, through the Honourable Minister for Works, handed over the reconstruction of the road to Ogun State.”
To fast-track the reconstruction of the road, Abiodun said, five reconstruction teams would be involved, and each team would handle one of the following zones: Ota/Ifo, Papalanto, Ewekoro/Itori, Abeokuta, and the team allocated for palliative works to ensure smooth traffic along the project alignment during the construction duration. “Each zone covers a distance of approximately 15 km. The Abeokuta/Ifo/Sango/Abule-Egba Road project is expected to be completed in eighteen months,” he said.
Speaker after speaker appreciated the governor for redressing the people’s plight. A transport union chief, Taofeek Sokoya (Danku), told the governor: “It is for us that you have done this road. Currently, we take about five hours to get to Ota from Ita Osin. When this road is completed, it will only take 45 minutes.” The representative of the community development associations in the area, Comrade Oluseun Oke, could not hide his excitement. He said: “This road had given Ewekora a bad name for long. Whenever accidents happened, people would say it happened in such and such a place in Ewekoro. We thank God that all of that has become history.” The chairman of the state council of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Francis Adeyanju, enthused: “We don’t have much to say but to thank you. We want to assure you of our support always, because you have given us enough reasons to keep supporting you.”
Also speaking on the occasion, the state APC chairman observed: “The total rehabilitation of this Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos road is a major dividend of democracy in this state. People had been clamouring for the reconstruction of the road. With the flagging off of the reconstruction of this road, we must emphasise the immediate benefits. It will comfort our people, foster economic growth, create more jobs and make things easy for all commuters.”
The representative of Craneburg, the construction company handling the project, Edmond Maalu, thanked Governor Abiodun for trusting the company with the iconic and landmark project after it had proudly partnered with the state on some of its most laudable projects, including the Ijebu Ode-Epe project and the Agro-Cargo Airport. The significance of the project to the trade and commerce of Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole, he said, could not be overemphasized. He appealed for the support and understanding of commuters and stakeholders in the months ahead, adding: “We will liaise with the state and federal traffic agencies to ensure that the discomfort that may be experienced due to the lane restrictions and possible closures will be as limited as possible. We also assure of our commitment to giving employment opportunities to both skilled and unskilled workers within these communities as well as creating opportunities for small businesses in the course of our activities.”
Going by his track record, the people know that Governor Abiodun will keep his word. As the state Commissioner for works, Ade Akinsanya, said on the occasion: “The state government will ensure the timely completion of the road for the benefit of commuters and residents of Ogun State, Lagos and the entire country in general.”
Akinmade is Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun
