FAILED ROAD: WE ARE CUT OFF FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD, SAGAMU-OGIJO RESIDENTS CRY OUT TO FG, ARAB CONTRACTORS

This is not the best times for residents and motorists along the deplorable Sagamu-Ikorodu road axis of Ogun State, as the affected motorists and residents have been lamenting untold hardship and neglect they are suffering as a result of the collapse of the Gbara spot of the Sagamu-Ikorodu road for over two weeks.

The affected residents and motorists who daily ply the Ogijo, Simawa, Mosimi, Gbara, Sotubo and indeed the entire Sagamu town of Ogun State have therefore sent a save-our-soul message to the federal government,  the ministry of works and the management of Arab Contractors, the company handling the rehabilitation of the road over the total collapse of the Gbara spot of the 34km road.

It will be recalled that motorists and commuters has been facing untold hardships plying this road in the past couple of months.  The residents lamented that the commencement of rehabilitation work on the road from the Ikorodu axis which had brought hope to the hundreds of thousands of motorists and residents of the communities along the axis has been short-lived, as Arab Contractors, the company handling the rehabilitation work seem to have deliberately short-changed the Ogun State axis in their rehabilitation work. This according to them is because Arab Contractors has so far focused more on the Lagos State parts of the road, leaving the Ogun State axis, which is the most deplorable in very terrible state.

If what the affected residents and motorists faced in the past couple of months was terrible, their current experience has been horrible as commuters are forced to either trek or take commercial motorcycle to the Gbara spot from where they will cross on foot to the other side of the road before the Redeemers College, Valley Bowl where they will now join vehicles coming to Sagamu.

The unfortunate situation is the same for Ogijo and Ikorodu bound commuters who daily go through this avoidable and unfortunate experience in a bid to earn a living and to their destinations. Consequently,  travel time on the road has increased, with the attendant hike in transport cost since commuters now pay almost double the old transport fare charged by motorists along the axis.

In the words of Taju, a commercial driver who ply the deplorable road on a regular basis, 'the failed portion of the road at Gbara gave enough notice, as lorries and articulated vehicles had been breaking down at the spot months back'. He blamed the total collapse of the road on the insensitivity of those in government, who refused to intervene on behalf of the poor residents and motorists that daily travel on the road.

In a chat with Remo Times, an 86 years old senior citizen of Sagamu lamented the horrible state of the road, blaming the failed road on successive governments for abandoning the road for decades until it finally collapsed. The octogenarian complained bitterly of how he was forced to cancel a very important engagement in neighbouring Ikorodu town due to the failed road.

Another concerned residents has also blamed the terrible state of the all important road on Sagamu and Remo political representatives for failing to call the attention of the State and Federal governments to their plight.

Similarly, some resident of Sagamu has blamed the worsening situation of the road on community bodies and their leaders for not lending their voices to the unfortunate situation. 'You can imagine, our annual Sagamu Day celebration is in few weeks and our major access road has collapsed, how do we expect indigenes and residents who live outside Sagamu and along this axis to effectively participate in the event'.

As at the time of filing this report, some palliative measures has been carried out on the road but, what the road need is a long lasting rehabilitation in order to bring permanent succor to the road users along the axis.

Some stranded road users at the collapsed spot at Gbara 

Commercial motorcyclists and drivers struggling to pass through the road