The deplorable condition of the Old Ojo Road in the Amuwo Odofn Local Government Area of Lagos State has created agony in the neighbourhoods as residents, motorists, and business operators bemoan their plight amid prolonged reconstruction of the road, reports DANIEL KELECHI.
Walking through a cratered road and getting splashed with mud water by motorists and commercial motorcycle operators otherwise called okada while waiting for a bus among other unpleasant encounters has become a sub-routine for most residents around Old Ojo Road, Lagos. The worsening condition of the road, whose reconstruction began several months ago, has taken a toll on dwellers, including road users and business operators, in the neighbourhoods.
The decaying road is not just tearing up asphalt. It is tearing apart livelihoods, especially around the Maza Maza/Oluti axis.
Gabriel Ibeabuchi, who deals in motor tyres, lamented the impact of the poor state of Old Ojo Road on his business. Ibeabuchi said: “People no longer follow this road anymore because of how bad it has been for years. So it is seriously affecting our businesses.
“This is an alternative road, whereby if the highway is not free, you can as well use and manoeuvre the usual heavy traffic. Before the road became this bad, customers driving by might see where they are selling tyres and stop to buy them. However, since the road became deplorable, vehicles no longer access the road, hence our businesses here are suffering.”
Ibeabuchi said the government is fully aware of the dilapidated condition of the road, adding that the reconstruction has been politicised. He said: “They (politicians) came to a meeting held by our association during the electioneering campaign and asked that we vote for them with a promise that they would fix the road, but after getting our votes, they did nothing. Even when some people want to repair the road, the government won’t allow them to fix it. If you try to fill the potholes on the road, you will be arrested.”
Motorists, residents lament
A commercial bus driver, Godwin Onuoha, shared his experience plying the road in recent times. Onuoha said: “This road is not only affecting me/ It is affecting everybody. But we transporters here are mostly affected. When it rains, you won’t be able to work. So the road automatically reduces our income. The impact of the bad road on my vehicle is so enormous that I have been taking my bus to the auto-mechanic workshop for repair every week due to the damage caused by the bad road on this vehicle every day.”
Onuoha recalled that a recent protest by his association at the headquarters of the Oriade Local Council Development Area did not yield fruits. He said: “We drivers here have taken our protest to Oriade Local Council, but the council chairperson said that there was nothing she can do about the road as it is a state road.”
He recounted how school children during the rainy season have had to come down from his vehicle and walk to their school because some portions of the road cannot be accessed once it rains. He added: “Where we are standing now, during the rainy season, I cannot reach this point. I will have to stop at the Fashiru end of the road. When passengers complain, I will tell them the road is impassable and they will see reason with me and they will disembark.”
Onuoha, however, noted that he is aware that the first phase of the entire Old Ojo Road is currently under construction, but the second phase, which will pass through Oluti/Maza Maza to Kirikiri, has not got the attention of the government. He said he is hoping that the government will award the road and kick-start work so that their pains can be ameliorated.
A Supervisor at Young Shall Grow Motors at First Gate, George Amukwu, recalled how on many occasions his drivers had to drive through the streets with their luxury buses to beat the portions of the road that were inaccessible. He, however, said that he was happy that work is currently ongoing at the Oluti-Abule Ado section of the road and that he only hopes that it will get to Agboju/Maza Maza axis, where his company is located.
Amukwu said: “Thank God that the government has started work on it for now. I’ve seen their work towards the Alakija side. So I’m appealing to them to complete the work and repair the road so that the road can be in a good condition to enable our passengers to follow in easily whenever they want to come here.”
Prolonged reconstruction
It will be recalled that the reconstruction of the road was initiated in 2022 and designed as an upgrade to a dual carriageway to serve as a strategic by-pass for motorists from Kirikiri/Ajeromi Ifelodun to Ojo Local Government Area. The work commenced in August 2022.
For the convenience of delivery, the road, which is also parallel to the Lagos-Badagry Expressway from Mazamaza to the Trade Fair complex, was divided into two phases. The construction of the first phase, with a length of 4000 meters and an average width of 15.2m spanning from Irede Road to Oluti Bus Stop, was to last 18 months.
It is over 18 months since construction began on the first phase of the project. A visit to the construction site by our reporter showed that the work is far from nearing completion. And with the pace at which the work is going, the first phase might not be completed even this year and this will dash the hope of any kind of intervention on the second phase of the road.
In July 2023, the Lagos State Government reaffirmed its commitment to the completion of the road by the end of the year.
Community leader reacts
A representative of the Royal Palace of Amu-Kuje in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Chief Sehu Ariyo, who is also the General Secretary of Kuje Amuwo Royal Family, said that for close to 10 years, the road has been in this terrible situation. Ariyo noted that during the tenure of a former local council chairman, who he simply identified as Sanusi, there used to be some kind of palliative work on the road until recently when nothing has been done about the road.
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He said: “Since the Old Ojo Road is bad, all the inner roads are bad too. I think if you have somebody in government that has a listening ear, you can talk to that person and he or she will make some adjustments and ensure the road is fixed on record time.”
The Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Lagos State Public Works Agency, Samuel Ayetutu, did not revert to our correspondent who contacted him for his response, despite his assurances, at press time
. This report is facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism under its Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project.
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