Abiodun, Come to ‘Macedonia’ and Help Us

Femi Ogbonnikan

At a stage, when the hopes of the people being governed are dashed and also, their spirit dampened, resulting from several years of neglect and marginalisation, it takes the courage, magnanimity and candour of a God-sent man to come to the rescue and restore the lost confidence in the citizenry.

The recent local government campaign train of the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to Imeko-Afon Council Area, on Monday, July 12, 2021, was literarily a blessing in disguise to its inhabitants and an eye opener to the states helmsman. The event amply afforded the Governor an opportunity to feel the pangs and pains motorists and other road users plying the only age-long-single-entry-and-exit route that traverse three local governments (Abeokuta North, Yewa North and Imeko-Afon), go through on a daily basis. Honestly, the governor, in his humane stance, begged the people of the area on behalf of the state government, stating that he never knew that the road was as terrible as that.

“This government belongs to you; continue to support us in prayers. On my way from Abeokuta, enroute Lafenwa to Rounder and through Olorunda, until I got here, I saw how deplorable the road is. I feel your pains. I want to promise you today that, before I come here next time, this would almost have been completed”, he averred.

It was a clear demonstration of empathy by the governor who beat the youths to it, with their torrents of demand. All was a chorus for the rehabilitation of the Abeokuta-Olorunda-Imeko road, with various placards, beckoning on the governor to come to the rescue of the people of the area. But a placard carrying the inscription of, “Come Over to Macedonia (Imeko) And Help Us,” caught the attention of Mr. Governor. It was reminiscence of a Holy Scripture injunction in ‘Acts 16:9’ where a man of Macedonia sought the intervention of Apostle Paul to come to their aid, while in dire need.

Given the promise by Mr. Governor to reconstruct the road, in due course, it is expected that the rehabilitation would, to a large extent, ease the hardship travelers of the route often encounter.
It is seldom of a man, especially a Nigerian politician, to live up to his billing within a space of two years in office to execute 52 projects across different parts of the council. With these projects, they aptly lent credence to fulfilling the electoral promises of ensuring an even, fair, just and equitable development of all parts of the state; that no section would be developed at the expense of others. In clear terms, it is the gospel of an inclusive government, which always involves the people in the decision-making process on the issues that affect them and by extension, a transparent and accountable administration which always ensure strategic allocation of resources in order to derive optimal benefits from all the spending.

Imeko, the administrative headquarters of Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, is an ancient town that shares common borders with neighbouring communities and villages in the Republic of Benin. Local dialect (Yoruba-Ketu), culture and tradition, except currencies and official language barriers distinguish the locales of the neighbouring communities and villages between the two West African countries.

Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, is 68-kilometres to Imeko. With its historical development, the rich and vast arable land of the area is second to none, thus, making it a food basket of the state.
Predominantly, the inhabitants are both commercial and peasant farmers. Notwithstanding, apart from the locally reared cattle in the area, on a daily basis, there is an influx of herds of cattle from both Republic of Benin and Togo via Save (Republic of Benin) for the supply of very big markets in and around Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

Meanwhile, the realisation of the enormous and potential socio-economic significance of this Federal road (initially constructed by the defunct Western Administration of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the early 60s) to the state, and the nation, at large, prompted the facilitation of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), under the then, Chairmanship of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, now President, in financing the resurfacing of the Abeokuta/Imeko Federal Route 102 in 1996. It could be recalled that a passionate appeal letter the duo of Professors Anthony Asiwaju and Segun Adesina to the then, Minister for Works, Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa, facilitated the quick and speedy adoption of the Abeokuta-Olorunda-Imeko road project for reconstruction, amongst others in the state, in 1996.

Resulting from the proximity of Imeko (Nigeria) to Ketu (Republic of Benin), the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, in 2003, took it upon itself and facilitated the extension of the road to link Ilara, another commercial nerve centre that shares a common border with Kanga, a neighbouring community in the Republic of Benin.

Worthy of note, the 2003 extension route, linking Ilara (Nigeria) to Ketu (Republic of Benin) and hence Southward through to Port Novo and Cotonou via Pobe and Westward to the Republic of Benin-Togo border via Gbohicon, all in the Republic of Benin, has significantly impacted positively and also increased trade and commercial activities in the wider member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Looking inward, also worrisome is the 16-kilometre deplorable road condition linking the people of Okeagbede-Moriwi, Okuta-Wasimi and Iwoye-Ketu/Jabata from Imeko. From time immemorial, and as early as human existence, the road has never been asphalted, but it has always been at the mercy of communal efforts. Whenever it is wet season, the residents of these affected communities often come together and engage in the road maintenance-with the cutting of logs to fill wide-gap and sand-filling eroded portions-to facilitate the movement of their farm produce from one location to another.

Of paramount importance, Imeko, being the International headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), attracting pilgrims from all walks of life, annually and especially during its bi-annual events (Easter and Christmas festivities), often occasioned with heavy traffic jam (both human and vehicular), lends credence to the importance the road deserves for its urgent rehabilitation. The road, owing to total neglect from previous administration, has degenerated into death traps for motorists and also bait for kidnappers and armed bandits who often cash in on several potholes along the route to make brisk business of collecting ransoms from their victims in exchange for their release from captivity.
Still fresh in memory, the armed robbery attack on a bullion van conveying cash from Imeko branch of Zenith Bank to Abeokuta, at a location within Olorunda axis, along the Abeokuta-Imeko road, sometime in August 2011, was a sad reminder of the deplorable road condition.

During the attack, seven policemen and three civilian staffers of the bank were murdered in cold blood, while the rampaging bandits made away with the cash, running into millions of naira. What did we expect next? Within a jiffy, the Imeko branch of the bank had to be shut down from operations. For the bank customers, the only option that was available was either to travel as far to Aiyetoro branch of Wema Bank, in Yewa North Local Government Area, or to Abeokuta, the state capital, to transact businesses, because no bank was willing to open shops in any part of this area where its investment can’t be guaranteed or, is unsafe.

Consequently, since good road network is a ‘sine qua non’ for the economic growth and development of any society, which is lacking in the area, not only financial institutions have shut down their shops, but it is now a common excuse given by International organisations and several potential investors for snubbing investment initiatives.

Fast forwarding, past administrations that have ruled the state have been unfair, and done less to rehabilitate the road. Imeko-Afon LGA has always been at the receiving end of bad governance. It was only when the governors are scouting for electoral victory in order to shore up their support base that they remember, ‘there is a local government called Imeko-Afon’, but they soon afterwards forgot and fail to redeem their pledges to the electorates.

For instance, preparatory to the 2015 re-election bid of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, when he was having a supremacy battle with his godfather, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, over subtle contrivances to rupture the political machinery of the Octogenarian, Imeko-Afon Local Government was used by the Ogun Central Senator to achieve his objective.

Surprisingly, little did the people realise that they were used to achieve a set objective when they became jolted by the abrupt stoppage of reconstruction works on the two culverts, shortly after Amosun was re-elected. Contractors handling the project disappeared, with his equipment.

Till date, the uncompleted culverts have remained abandoned. Playing politics with people’s lives is as dangerous as an act victimisation and wickedness, for no just cause. The much-touted 105-kilometre road linking Oja-Odan (Yewa North) with Ilara (Imeko-Afon LGA) as already designed, to aid trade and commercial activities on account of its proximity to International markets with the Republic of Benin, but, now abandoned, was a hoax, and a disservice to the development of the area (Ogun West district) he claimed to promote their economic interests. Not far-fetched, the project was another conduit pipe the past administration used to siphon public funds. Instead of ploughing the billions of naira in rehabilitating the ever-busy Abeokuta-Olorunda-Imeko that has been competing for attention, the purported Oja-Odan/Ilara road which had almost 5 kilometres asphalted is of no economic benefit. Motorists, Okada riders and other road users have abandoned route, because it has been deserted, and converted to dens of kidnappers and ritualists.

By and large, Governor Abiodun has rekindled the hope of the people of Imeko-Afon Local Government Area and it is in no doubt that, his giant strides in key sectors of the economy in the last 25 months, without the satirical guile of “we-are-going-to-do- all” projects, would enable him make good his pledge that, “before I come here next time, this (road) would almost have been completed”.

Ogbonnikan wrote from Imeko, Ogun State