A senior advocate and a former All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Chief Niyi Akintola, is not happy with the attitudes of the Oyo State Government and Omi/Apata local council development area ahead of the completion of the rail project embarked on by the federal government.
Akintola, who is the Aare Bamofin of Ibadanland, spoke on the heels of advise given by transportation minister and former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi that Ibadan should be prepared for gridlock when the rail project and the Ibadan dry port are completed.
He bared his mind on a whatsapp group, ThinkOyo, while reacting to the advise by Amaechi.
Still On Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line
Looking at the attendant socio economic challenges ahead of IBADAN as an emerging MEGA CITY, sometime in January this year, I summoned to my house two prominent Ibadan elites and compatriots namely Asiwaju Akinade; the Secretary of CCII and Chief ‘Niyi Oyekunle the current Chairman of OMI APATA LCDA. The purpose of my meeting the duo was to draw their attention to the danger of allowing the Bakatari/Apata axis of the rail line to become another Ibafo/Mowe of Lagos/Ibadan express way.
Today as we speak Ibafo/Mowe axis is an eyesore, an environmental timebomb waiting to explode. Ogun State government and Ifo Local government are so handicapped over the issues. The axis is not only a slum but an environmental disaster in the making.
With the booming population, the unplanned housing and industrial developments of the axis, the Ogun state government is faced with the challenges of demolishing the slums and resettling the millions of the inhabitants or just look the other way and allow the ticking bomb to explode.
Something just have to give way as there is no way of escaping the inevitable by the government and people of Ogun state. In order to avoid the aforementioned scenario in Omi/Apata in particular and Oyo State in general, I admonished the Secretary General of CCII to table this issue before the exco or the AGM of the umbrella body of all the socio-cultural clubs in Ibadanland with the sole purpose of ensuring that the state and local governments contiguous to the rail axis acquire all the lands around the axis using the Ibadan Properties Development Limited as the arrow head. Chief Oyekunle as the Chairman of Ibadan Properties Development Limited who also doubles as Chairman Omi/Apata was advised by me to generate a memo through the ministry of local government and chieftaincy matters to his Excellency, the State Governor, for the purpose of acquiring all lands and properties along the axis for proper lay out, planning and development in line with the best national and international practices such as we are witnessing along the Lekki/Epe axis of Lagos State.
So when I read tonight the alarm raised by the Hon. Minister of Transport on the consequences of having the most pragmatic rail system linking Ibadan from Lagos with the addition of the dry port along the Ibadan/Iwo single lane road of Olodo spanning Erunmu/Lalupon/Iyanna offa with no service roads in between, I deemed it necessary to draw the attention of all thinking patriots on this platform to the looming dangers of our lack of thinking rulers at all level of governance.
It may interest all thinking patriots on this platform that ever since I brought this issue to the attention of the scribe of CCII and the incumbent Chairman of Omi/Apata LCDA, nothing concrete has been done to stem the tide of wave of environmental catastrophies starring all of us in the face.
The consequences of industrial revolution and infrastructural developments must be addressed timely and before things get out of hand. For now no one is thinking of service roads between Apata and Dugbe against the backdrop of the fact that Abeokuta/Ibadan road remains the only exit road from Ibadan that is of single lane compared with other exit roads from Ibadan such as Lagos/Ibadan, Ife/Ibadan, Iwo/Ibadan, Oyo/Ibadan and IjebuOde/Ibadan roads at least from Orita Challenge.
There is, therefore, the need to draw the attention of the incoming administration in Oyo state to the need for prompt actions on the issues raised by the Honourable Minister of Transport and also acquire all lands and properties along the Rail corridors in Oyo State in other to keep land speculators at bay, do proper and pragmatic development plans of the corridors and enhance the IGR of the state through proper management of our land resources. Land in Ibadan is the crude oil of Oyo state and that is where the large chunks of our Internally generated Revenue emanates from. A thinking government would not leave the management of such in the hands of charlatans, this en percenters and speculators. I hope those who have ears are hearing this clarion call. So long to all in the house.
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