One of the bad road in Okorodu
For residents of Ogijo, Likosi and Arigbabu communities in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, fate couldn’t have been more cruel. Despite being surrounded by over 30 companies with a combined turnover running into billions of Naira every year, the communities, which lie on the outskirts of Ikorodu in Lagos State, are lacking in every basic necessity of life. Olaolu Olusina, who visited the communities last week, reports
It was a beautiful day in Likosi-Remo, a rural community in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, last Tuesday. Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles from the companies operating in the area zoomed past as they blow hot red dust on the residents of the linear community as they pass. For the companies, it was business as usual, with the day promising another bumper harvest.
But for Alhaja Funke Osota, the Iyaloja Likosi, who was flanked by some of the market women in the community, there was nothing beautiful in the day. Sitting by a borehole in front of a house by the roadside in the village, she was close to tears as she told THISDAY what the people of the community have been going through for years.
But for Alhaja Funke Osota, the Iyaloja Likosi, who was flanked by some of the market women in the community, there was nothing beautiful in the day. Sitting by a borehole in front of a house by the roadside in the village, she was close to tears as she told THISDAY what the people of the community have been going through for years.
Total Neglect
“You can see for yourself that we are in prison here, having been shut out of the outside world. All we get is pollution and total abandonment by those whom we freely gave our land. We have been deliberating on how to go to the market in Sagamu since morning but the road is very bad to the extent that commercial vehicle operators are no longer interested in plying the route. And those who try are left with no choice than to jerk up the fare,” she told this reporter.
“You can see for yourself that we are in prison here, having been shut out of the outside world. All we get is pollution and total abandonment by those whom we freely gave our land. We have been deliberating on how to go to the market in Sagamu since morning but the road is very bad to the extent that commercial vehicle operators are no longer interested in plying the route. And those who try are left with no choice than to jerk up the fare,” she told this reporter.
Sitting by the Iyaloja was another woman, who has been having some problems with her eyes and was planning to see a specialist in Sagamu for treatment. “My sister here has been trying to go to Sagamu for days but she hasn’t been able because of the bad road and high transport fare. If it were to be an emergency case, you can imagine what would have happened. Once it rains, the road is flooded and nobody can pass. We have to go through Ikorodu and Mowe on Lagos Ibadan expressway before getting to Sagamu, which is just at our backyard here. What kind of life is that,” she stated.
No Light, No Water
Femi Adekoya is the spokesperson of Baale Likosi, Chief Bode Dawodu. He corroborated what the Iyaloja Likosi had just said as he quickly brought out a recent bill from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).”Look at this bill, it’s for N19,000: 00 for just a month. And we’ve not had light for three months. The borehole here is powered by a generator, yet all the companies around here have steady light. We have nothing to show for having them here. Not even a school or a government health centre in this community. The small community health centre was built by our people. Yet our land has been taken over by all sorts of companies who have turned their back on us,” he lamented.
Femi Adekoya is the spokesperson of Baale Likosi, Chief Bode Dawodu. He corroborated what the Iyaloja Likosi had just said as he quickly brought out a recent bill from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).”Look at this bill, it’s for N19,000: 00 for just a month. And we’ve not had light for three months. The borehole here is powered by a generator, yet all the companies around here have steady light. We have nothing to show for having them here. Not even a school or a government health centre in this community. The small community health centre was built by our people. Yet our land has been taken over by all sorts of companies who have turned their back on us,” he lamented.
Sheer Exploitation
The Baale, Dawodu, who spoke to this reporter on the telephone, also lamented what he described as the exploitation of his people. ”What we are going through is sheer exploitation. Those who took our land claim they don’t know us and we also don’t know them. Our children have no land to build houses. All our lands have been taken under the guise of government acquisition. They took a large expanse of our land and fenced it round thus pushing us back to the other side of the road. They are having their way because we are not trouble makers. I’m sure they can’t try this with the Niger Delta Delta people. The Yoruba and South-west people are peace-loving people. We cannot carry arms against anybody but we want our land back,” the Baale said. He however expressed gratitude to Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for the construction of a model college in the community. “We thank Amosun for the school; he even came to check the progress on the work recently,” the Baale said.
The Baale, Dawodu, who spoke to this reporter on the telephone, also lamented what he described as the exploitation of his people. ”What we are going through is sheer exploitation. Those who took our land claim they don’t know us and we also don’t know them. Our children have no land to build houses. All our lands have been taken under the guise of government acquisition. They took a large expanse of our land and fenced it round thus pushing us back to the other side of the road. They are having their way because we are not trouble makers. I’m sure they can’t try this with the Niger Delta Delta people. The Yoruba and South-west people are peace-loving people. We cannot carry arms against anybody but we want our land back,” the Baale said. He however expressed gratitude to Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for the construction of a model college in the community. “We thank Amosun for the school; he even came to check the progress on the work recently,” the Baale said.
Same Story in Arigbabu
The story was not different in Arigbabu, a community just by the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mosimi. The Baale of Arigbabu community, Chief Kolawole Soile, sat by the market site located just opposite the NNPC gate looking helpless as he tried to fix his old Mercedes Benz at a mechanic workshop.
The story was not different in Arigbabu, a community just by the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mosimi. The Baale of Arigbabu community, Chief Kolawole Soile, sat by the market site located just opposite the NNPC gate looking helpless as he tried to fix his old Mercedes Benz at a mechanic workshop.
“This is the way we have been living all these years. We have been without light for five months now, yet NEPA supplies light to the companies.No light, no water. NNPC took our land and nothing was done for us. We took them to Ogun State House of Assembly, the people there asked them to provide water and light for us but nothing of that has been done. No indigene of Arigbabu has benefitted anything from them since they came in 1976.
“ We live in the midst of abundance but we suffer greatly. No assistance whatever has come from these companies. The NNPC claims their pipelines do not pass through our community and therefore cannot take care of us. All we see every day are big cars . Our children are not even considered for employment. Last year, they placed bids for the auctioning of over 300 vehicles, they could not even give us a lot. They claim they don’t know us. All they do at the end of the year is to bring their useless basket (hamper). Do they think we are beggars?
Ogun Govt Accused of Neglect
“The state government is also not helping matters. Our market has been under construction since 1999 without any assistance. We have more than 200 stores here. Yet, when we finish it, they are going to send revenue collectors to come and tax our people. We have been abandoned to our fate. We don’t have any school here. The only primary school around if located five kilometres from here. We don’t even know where to go.
“The state government is also not helping matters. Our market has been under construction since 1999 without any assistance. We have more than 200 stores here. Yet, when we finish it, they are going to send revenue collectors to come and tax our people. We have been abandoned to our fate. We don’t have any school here. The only primary school around if located five kilometres from here. We don’t even know where to go.
“Many people have advised that we should block the road and embark on a massive protest for them to listen to us. But I always replied that we are not Niger Delta people. I cannot carry gun against anybody. I don’t know anybody in Abuja. The road from Sotubo to Sagamu is impassable. Those who are feasting on us will surely face the judgement of God, ‘’ the Baale stated.
Confusion on Ogijo Road
Coming into Likosi and Arigbabu through the Ikorodu-Ogijo road was not a pleasant experience. Right from the Lagos State Cooperative Farm Settlement down the sloppy road to Lagos State Polytechnic, it was a nasty experience. The road, with the craters and potholes, is not a respecter of any vehicle. With frequent breakdown on the dilapidated road, the daily experience of thousands of people living in this axis can be anything but pleasant. A trip, which, ordinarily, shouldn’t have taken 20 minutes took almost two hours as vehicles of all sorts struggled with commercial motorcycles on this bad road. At Odogunyan, there was confusion as the entire area presented a picture of a community in disarray. Dirty-looking okada riders and rickety commercial vehicles welcomed this reporter into Ogun State . The on- going road maintenance work being carried out at a very slow pace on one side of the road by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) only compounded the confusion.
Coming into Likosi and Arigbabu through the Ikorodu-Ogijo road was not a pleasant experience. Right from the Lagos State Cooperative Farm Settlement down the sloppy road to Lagos State Polytechnic, it was a nasty experience. The road, with the craters and potholes, is not a respecter of any vehicle. With frequent breakdown on the dilapidated road, the daily experience of thousands of people living in this axis can be anything but pleasant. A trip, which, ordinarily, shouldn’t have taken 20 minutes took almost two hours as vehicles of all sorts struggled with commercial motorcycles on this bad road. At Odogunyan, there was confusion as the entire area presented a picture of a community in disarray. Dirty-looking okada riders and rickety commercial vehicles welcomed this reporter into Ogun State . The on- going road maintenance work being carried out at a very slow pace on one side of the road by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) only compounded the confusion.
A landlord at Ogijo, Mr. Kashimawo Karounwi Ahmed, told THISDAY that the situation in Ogijo is pathetic, saying Ita Sanni used to be called the border on the way to Likosi as no vehicle could move beyond that point. “We have pollution everywhere from the discharge from the different factories that we have here,” he said. At a spot in front of the Ogijo Community High School was a big pool of stagnant water, in which two students of the school allegedly drowned recently. Opposite the school by a filling station owned by MRS was a building that was abandoned after flood swept away two children during a recent downpour. “Whenever it rains, this road is always impassable. Then water being released from African Foundry Limited, a steel factory, compounds the woes of the neighbourhood,” Ahmed said.
And just by the corner, another resident, Jimoh Babalola, corroborated Ahmed’s statement, saying several complaints had been made without any action. “We are tired and don’t even know what to do next,” he said.
Suffering in the midst of Abundance
Most pathetic about the fate of these three communities is the fact that they are all hosts to high net worth companies who make billions of Naira from their operations, yet doing virtually nothing for the community in which they operate. THISDAY gathered that aside the NNPC facility in Arigbabu, Lafarge WAPCO has its facility in the community. Also several steel and metal recycling factories operate in the area, constituting nuisance to the immediate environment , yet offering nothing in return as alleged by the residents of the area.
Most pathetic about the fate of these three communities is the fact that they are all hosts to high net worth companies who make billions of Naira from their operations, yet doing virtually nothing for the community in which they operate. THISDAY gathered that aside the NNPC facility in Arigbabu, Lafarge WAPCO has its facility in the community. Also several steel and metal recycling factories operate in the area, constituting nuisance to the immediate environment , yet offering nothing in return as alleged by the residents of the area.
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