This is not the best of times for commuters who have anything to do on the Moniya-Iseyin road.
The Moniya-Iseyin road is the only road that connects the people of Ibadan with the ten local government in Okeogun part of the state.
For those who travel to Iseyin via Ibadan, it is worse. A journey that should not take more than less than two hours now takes more close to four hours. The only alternative – Oyo to Iseyin – is more terrible.
OYOINSIGHT.COM recalls how former governor Abiola Ajimobi had approved and awarded the rehabilitation of the 65km constructed by the late former governor Lamidi Adesina administration.
The Ajimobi administration had, in February 2018, approved the rehabilitation of the 65km Moniya-Ojutaye-Iseyin Road for N6,952,565,074.97. The project was expected to be completed in 18 months.
See reactions below:
Alhaji Miftah Adediran is a cashew farmer. Thrice in two weeks, he has to pass the route to his farm in Ofiki, one of the towns in ATISBO local government. This is after he must have spent close to two hours from his Lagos base to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Hear him after spending over an hour before Kings International College to Moniya: “There is no presence of government on this road anymore. Traveling on this road is now a nightmare… The road infrastructure is in a total collapse. Nothing could be tortuous than this. And this is one of the two roads that leads to Okeogun, the widely acclaimed food basket of Oyo State. The ditch before Kings College is the biggest problem here.. this traffic has been here since Tuesday.
“Running away from this road and passing by Oyo-Iseyin road is another nightmare,” he added.
—————————————————————-
Oluwatoyin Adeyemi after returning from Iseyin, had written on her facebook:
On the terrible state of Ibadan-Iseyin road and reasons its re-construction should be prioritised by the State Govt.
Two days ago, I started a conversation around the highly degraded state of the Ibadan-Iseyin road as a result of my harrowing experience travelling on it. The decision to write this was borne out of the desire to get the attention of the state Govt. on the need to speed-up action as regards the reconstruction of the road.
Iseyin is a special town.
It is a fact that Iseyin town is centrally located which makes the Moniya-Iseyin road a gateway to the Oke-ogun towns which are generally regarded as the food basket of the state and even Nigeria. If you have interest in Agriculture, Iseyin should interest you as the town boasts of large arable farmlands where yam, maize, cassava, plantain among others are grown successfully. The climate of the area is such that the annual rainfall can sustain large scale farming carried out there. Do you know that the British American Tobacco (BAT) has an office in the town? It should also interest you that Friesland Campina (Wampco) has a milk processing centre there. Most notable of all is Iseyin’s fame for Aso-oke weaving. The town is unarguably the home of Aso-oke in South West Nigeria.
Have you also ever heard of Ebedi International Writers Residency? It’s the first of its kind in Nigeria. Established in 2010 by Dr. Wale Okediran, a former house of representatives member, right in the heart of Iseyin, the centre has been made available over the years to Nigerian and foreign writers of international repute who wish to complete their works in a conducive environment. These resident writers who stay in the private facility at no cost in turn mentor secondary school students in Iseyin as their Community Development Service to the town.
Why is the re-construction of the Ibadan-Iseyin road still being delayed?
It is no longer news that the new administration in Oyo State led by Engineer Seyi Makinde has revoked the Moniya-Ojutaye-Iseyin road contract which was awarded by the previous administration. The government explained that its decision was as a result of what it described as “lack of capacity” of the contactor to deliver. Recall that the commissioner of information during the Ajimobi administration had then signed a press release publicising the award of the road project contract to M/S Oladiran Engineering stating that the road construction firm was chosen to execute the project having been properly evaluated and found capable of delivering on the project by then consultants on road projects to the state of which Reyog Int. Nig. Limited played a principal role.
Honestly, the parties concerned owe the people an explanation. I mean the people of Oyo State deserve to know what actually transpired between M/s Oladiran Engineering, Reyod Int. Nig. Ltd. and the Ajimobi administration. How do you try to sweep under the carpet something as massive as a contractor receiving an incredibly huge sum of #2bn meant to mobilize him to site and we still have this terrible situation on our hands.
However, while we await the explanation, it is also pertinent to address the issue of governance being a continuum. We cannot afford to keep politicizing the lives of our people. What I expect from the the Seyi Makinde administration is that, having uncovered the deficiency in the project contract, he should find a way of holding those involved in the scam accountable especially the company that has received a staggering sum of #2bn and refused to deliver anything meaningful.
Of Iseyin residents and travellers’ woe tales…
Bureaucracy is the bane of good governance. The people cannot continue to suffer like this. Maybe the alternative roads should be fixed. The detours we had to take during my Iseyin trip could not have been a better route than the one the driver was trying to avoid. I believe a form of remedial effort should be immediately instituted on the road to lessen the difficulty and bumpy ride travellers have been subjected to while the irregularities uncovered are being addressed.
Residents who spoke to some news reporters last year lamented on how the road has caused more harm to ill people who needed to be transported to a more specialized or better equipped hospital out of town. Another resident revealed that many traders have been forced out of the area due to bad roads.
As stated earlier, I started this discourse on this page where I recounted how goats were sitting down right in a badly damaged portion of the road in an arrangement that looked like the goats were having a family meeting. I also described the large pools of water covering significant stretches and portions of the road where vehicles practically swim and sometimes sink, a situation that has been worsened by the rainy season. Responding to my post, Mr. Mukhtar Adebisi Aderogba commented on how he had had to repair his car’s shock absorber each time he travelled the Iseyin road on his way to Saki, his hometown. In Tomori Idris Kolawole McTommy words, he was practically bouncing like basket ball inside the commercial bus he boarded to the ancient town recently adding that the road could be a soft spot for kidnappers.
Joining the sad narrative from another angle, Olumide Aremu Paul Ishola opined that riding in SUV’s often paints false realities of our predicaments which explains why most of our politicians may not understand the terrible state of the road and what travellers on the road experience daily. The reaction to that Facebook post was overwhelming, it was as if everyone was waiting for the right opportunity to share their ugly experience travelling the road.
I hope people in relevant quarters now see reasons the Ibadan-Iseyin road should be fixed as a matter of urgency? Asides the need to alleviate the hellish condition travellers on the road are subjected to and the fact that it is the gateway to Oke-ogun which is the food basket of the nation, the town has so much potentials that are waiting to be fully explored.
—————————————————————
The Oke-Ogun Professionals also expresses sadness:
THE OKE-OGUN PROFESSIONALS
PRESS STATEMENT
OKE-OGUN people: Crying For Respite over suffering on Moniya-Iseyin Road.
We members of the above organisation wish to call, again, the attention of the administration of Gov. Seyi Makinde to the grievous pains being experienced by our long suffering people of this strategic region of our state as they carry out their daily economic and social activities on the terribly dilapidated Moniya-Iseyin Road.
We are convinced that your Excellency is well briefed on the state and politics surrounding the aborted reconstruction effort of the last administration in the state and therefore wish that by now, all necessary adjustments must have been effected, bidding processes concluded for work to re-commence on this vital road linking the state capital with the food producing region of the state.
This suffering, we wish to emphasise has been further heightened by the rainy season getting to its peak in the last couple of weeks when those plying the roads have had cause to pass nights on the road, think of the security situation, it is rather precarious!
This is from an eye witness /sufferer on the road this last Wednesday, 09:28 a.m- ” good morning, we experiencing terrible and bad road situation on my way to SAKI this morning. It is total breakdown until this moment i cannot move, three loaded trucks sank at middle of the road after Moniya at Odo-Oba specifically. Every road user is helpless except okada. How okeogu n have to be suffering to this level? It’s very sad and devastating, nothing is at our advantage. Whoever is capable to help please do not hesitate… “.
The above aptly captures the general feeling of helplessness amongst our people, with majority of the youths in a bellicose mood to ignite an” o toge” revolution. Ours has always been hope – raised, hope – dashed affair with the previous administrations, with the current one as well, they remain skeptical, hoping that they have not merely succeeded in exchanging a monkey for the baboon?
Signed :
Dejo Adebisi.
Protem Coordinator.
—————————————————————
Related
