Kunle Adelabu & Mariam Akinloye
-Demand urgent actions
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo – Olu, has been called out by the youths in Igbogbo, over the state of roads and other infrastructures in Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Ikorodu Division, Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria, and demanded urgent intervention.
The aggrieved youths, under the aegis of Igbogbo Youth Coalition (IYC), made the call at a press conference held at the Adeboruwa palace in Igbogbo, on Saturday.
The youths said that the call through a press briefing, is necessary since all their correspondence to the Governor, have not yielded any response or action on the concerned projects. They charged the governor to act on their clarion call to prevent youths and the entire community from going on the streets of Igbogbo, to press home their demands.
The youth body listed some of the abandoned roads and others needing attention in Igbogbo kingdom and surrounding communities like Bayeku, Igbe, Laara, Ofin, Oreta, Agunfoye, Selewu, Oreyo, Olu-Odo, Lajo, Ewu-Ebiye, Ibeshe, Ewu-Elepe and Ginti, during the press conference.
Chief among the roads, which, according to Comrade Kazeem Ogunmuyiwa, President, IYC, has been abandoned for over seven years, is the Ebute/Igbogbo/Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road.
“Igbogbo Youth Coalition has been making frantic efforts to get the attention of our dear state government, through numerous correspondences to the appropriate quarters on the state of infrastructure in Igbogbo kingdom, most specifically on some abandoned infrastructure across the Igbogbo kingdom and her environs (Bayeku, Igbe, Laara, Ofin, Oreta, Agunfoye, Selewu, Oreyo, Olu-Odo, Lajo, Ewu-Ebiye, Ibeshe, Ewu-Elepe, Ginti)”, he said.
“We gather here today to apply direct medium to communicate with our Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, since our correspondences are not getting the required attention”.
The Igbogbo youths stated that the council deserved better, having worked for the Governor’s re – election and the victories of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), in the last general elections where, according to him, residents of Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, delivered in terms of votes, for all the candidates of the party.
“Dear Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, we expended our intellect and effort to rigorously convince, admonish, and promise on your behalf. We won souls for you, especially after the unimaginable outcome of the presidential election in Lagos State. Our people marched out en masse and gave you bulk votes – this kingdom delivered massively more than any LCDA in Ikorodu Division”, he recalled.
“It is not too much for a society, more so a supportive one, to enjoy the meaningful governance it deserves as dividends of democracy and for her active progressive disposition. Alas, the disdainful treatment of Igbogbo Kingdom by your government, is worrisome”.
Ogumuyiwa, who said that the Bola Tinubu Road, which has been under construction for about ten years, has caused residents and others a lot of harrowing experiences, while he also described what students in Igbogbo faced accessing their schools located in different parts of the council, as traumatic due to bad roads.
“To start with, the Adeboruwa Road- Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way – Igbe Road, Igbogbo, is still under construction since November 2017. The construction started with a stakeholders meeting in November, 2017, followed by demolition in December, 2017, with series of monuments sacrificed to pave way for what we expect to be a monumental development. It is important to stress that most affected families are yet to get the compensation promised them by the state government. Till this day, the road construction has caused us more damages beyond our imagination. We have reached our tolerance limit!”, he lamented.
“The daily trauma being experienced by pupils and students of Ansar-Deen Primary School, Igbogbo, United Africa Methodist Primary School (Eleja), Igbogbo, Oreyo Grammar School, Igbogbo, Zumratul Islamiyah Grammar School, Igbogbo, Reri Grammar School, Oreta, Igbogbo, Community Grammar School, Bayeku, Igbogbo, cannot be overemphasised since 2017. We witnessed school children falling and having their school materials messed up, as a result of the government’s lukewarm attitude towards the construction of the road projects”, he added.
While commending the governor for the ongoing construction on Obafemi Awolowo /Igbogbo/Bayeku Way in Igbogbo, by the Lagos State Public Works. He, however, described the construction works as not meeting up to expectations.
“We acknowledge the construction of Obafemi Awolowo Way (Bayeku Road), by Lagos State Public Works and we use this opportunity to demand for a modern approach to road construction. We are pained that the project is dead slow. Twelve (12) months out of 24 months have been expended on the project, yet the project crawls with excruciating hardship on the people. The percentage of completion is abysmal. This is far below Lagos State standard as the 3rd economy in Africa”, Ogunmuyiwa said.
Aside from the state of roads which Igbogbo youths said are of great concern to residents, they also called on the Governor to urgently go to the Igbogbo stadium and Igbogbo Primary Health Centre, for urgent attention.
“The construction of the Igbogbo Sports Stadium, Igbogbo, was flagged off in 2022, but suffered a technical setback: an outright frozen stage exactly like water in iceland. This has been denying many potentials the opportunity to build on their chosen careers. If truly the government is concerned with building the youths, why should such a project not completed with alacrity?”, Igbogbo youths asked.
“Health, they say, is wealth, we appeal to Mr Governor to complete the abandoned rehabilitation of the Igbogbo Primary Healthcare Centre (Agbele) that has been the only health centre serving two wards of more than ten (10) communities. As a matter of development, the health centre deserves an upgrade to a general hospital standard. It is doable, our governor”, IYC pleaded.
The Igbogbo youths assured the governor that they will remain peaceful while demanding for what is due to the Kingdom, and other parts of the council.
“Your excellency, as we await your response and actions on our appeal, we assure you that the youths and the people of Igbogbo kingdom, shall remain peaceful even as we remonstrate and demand for actions and interventions to better our lots. We would not be tired of demanding social justice, equity, fair governance, improved public amenities, for all parts of Igbogbo-Baiyeku LCDA, which is largely sidelined in the scheme of things in the state. Your excellency, please take immediate actions, sir”, the IYC President stated.
“We trust that under your watch, our dear Lagos state shall have sustained sterling governance that other states in the country, will continue to copy. Even more, we expect your government to project the outlook of our dear state internationally. ‘Making Lagos a 21st century economy’, must not become a mirage”.
Engr. Lateef Oduntan, General Secretary, Igbogbo Development Association (IDEA, Mr Babatunde Afuwape, IDEA chieftain, Mr NTA Andus, Chairman, Igbogbo Day Planning Committee who attended the press conference commended the youths for the peaceful way at which they addressed their demands.
They assured members of the IYC that IDEA with the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, HRM Oba Semiudeen Kasali and other leaders are making efforts to ensure that the projects are completed in good time and facilitate further developments.
