Residents Protest Deplorable State Of Ota Roads

ABEOKUTA - Vehicular movements in and outward Sango-Ota, Ado-Odo Local Council Area of Ogun State, were yesterday hampered, as a group of protesters, under the umbrella of #FixedOtaroads, stormed the ancient town to protest the sorry state of the roads.

   

Though the protest started under the Sango Bridge, which serves as the meeting point, they later moved to other parts of the town with placards, with various inscriptions like Buhari: Our roads concern you, ‘Fashola stop looking away, among others to draw the attention of the government to the deplorable state of the roads.

Unlike the usual protests where roads are barricaded, the protesters stayed at strategic places,  which made the works of traffic officers and other law enforcement agencies on duty less cumbersome.

Despite its orderly manner, the protest affected the free flow of traffic.

 

One of the protesters, Adekunle Ogunbode, said the protest became necessary, considering the daily experience of residents.

 

He said: “It is disheartening, considering the magnitude of the endless catastrophe, as we have been forced to cope with a situation beyond our power. Some residents working in Lagos have abandoned the area for now, while others only come home during the weekends.

“We are here to let the government know that the suffering of our people is limitless. We are doing practically everything for ourselves, in terms of infrastructure provision, do they expect us to fix this road for them too? We don’t have a government again.”

 

A resident of the town,  Ayo Abraham, described the current state of Sango roads as a big shame to the current and the immediate past administration in the state.

 

He said: “I remember clearly that Gbenga Daniel constructed some inner roads like the Plaza road and Animashaun on the other side in April 2008 but by August they were virtually washed off by the rains. Those roads did not last two years.

“The years of Ibikunle Amosun saw the inauguration of the most ambitious network of international road that should connect Lagos at Berger to Idiroko by the border of Ogun State, but the project has been abandoned. The inner roads he did in Ota are in a state of disrepair, while the short distance of the Ijoko road which was hurriedly done to mark 40 years of Ogun State is now constituting a nightmare to car and truck owners.”

  

Recall that despite its strategic location, Ota roads which are linking Nigeria to other West African countries and the host to a good number of industries in the state, coupled with its proximity to Lagos State have been in a deplorable state, except the recently commissioned Osi Ota road.

©Guardian