By Vivian Onyebukwa
In many parts of Lagos, as in Nigeria, you never know the state of the road until the rains arrive with their continuous downpour. Right now, we are in the rainy season, and the roads in a part of Lagos called Ijegun are simply impassable. Asked to choose between the thigh-high flood and muddy roads elsewhere in the country, residents said there is nothing to choose from because both seemed to have found a meeting point in the area. If prizes were to be awarded for the worst roads in Lagos, there is no doubt that none would beat the roads in Ijegun to clinch it. To this end, the residents of the community and its environ are asking the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to come to their rescue.
The community, under Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, probably has the highest number of dilapidated roads in the state. These are, definitely, not the best of times for residents and motorists plying the roads. This is a result of continuous downpour that has rendered many of the roads impassable. Residents are crestfallen whenever they are leaving their homes in the morning to work elsewhere in Lagos or returning to them in the evening. Either way, many tales of woe abound.
A popular road called Community Road behind Ijegun Market has become something of a nightmare. Passersby sigh and curse aloud as they wade through the body of water that has taken over the road. This untarred road which connects Ijegun with Ijege Imore in another suburb is in shambles and impassable to residents and commuters. In other parts of the city or country, people may be suffering and smiling. At Ijegun, the residents are suffering. But they hardly smile. Instead, they wear frowns on their faces in a way that mirrors the inner state of their minds.
The situation is made worse by the fact that the state of the adjourning streets to the almighty Community Road is also deplorable. Residents jump like frogs while trying to navigate them. Some of the roads and streets include Irepodun, Labata, Adebayo, Tijani Alabi, Mukaila Adio Apaola, Ifelodun Tomomewo, Bola Akerele, Alhaji Monsuru and others. The daily cry of residents to the Lagos State government this season remains the same: Come over to Ijegun and help us!
Commercial motorcycle operators called Okada and tricycle riders called Keke who ply the area are full of complaints. They talk of how the bad roads affect their businesses. Okada riders said that whenever it rains heavily, the entire road would be flooded, and passengers would not want to patronise them at such times. Keke riders on their part complain that their Keke is always breaking down at some spots.
Tales of woe
But it is not as if Community Road’s problem happened or developed overnight. No. A resident said that the road has been in bad condition for a long time. Rather, it is because the government of the day did not pay attention and address the situation when it should. Hence it got worse with the onset of the rains. “The road is bad and affects the movement of vehicles and pedestrians within the community,” an Okada operator said, with a heavy sigh. “Because of its poor condition, we commercial motorcyclists charge exorbitant fares, especially during the rainy season.”
Another resident who identified himself simply as John said that once the journey commences, the passenger has to pray that the motorcycle does not break down inside the usually large pool of water. He recalled an ugly experience: “I was once thrown inside the mud by an Okada rider while returning from work. It was at night and the road was terribly bad. Many people here do not take their private vehicles out to their offices anymore because of the bad road. Whenever it rains, people, including students, would find it difficult to board public transport. This is why students in this area are always going late to school.”
Mike Okonkwo who sells articles on Ijegun/Ijege Imore Road, added: “The bad state of the roads is affecting us economically. We don’t make good sales because customers try to avoid the roads. We pay land use charges, revenue and taxes to the government. Now, we want the government to rehabilitate these roads to improve the lives and economy of people living in this area. But I don’t know why they are not thinking of us. They only remember us during the time of election or campaigns.”
He, however, noted that although the Lagos State government seemed to have forgotten them, they did not forget themselves as they engage in acts of self-help to ameliorate the terrible situation. They do this, he said, by clearing the drainage regularly to ensure that the road is at least passable after the rains.
Imoh Edet, another commercial motorcyclist operator plying the area, agreed that the bad roads have brought a lot of hardship to them. “Our business is suffering because the roads around here are bad and whenever it rains, passengers would not come out.” Motorists point to the huge wear and tear they have been experiencing in recent times and blame it all on the poor state of the roads. A resident who identified himself as Okon pleaded with the Lagos State government to help them, reiterating the obvious while doing so: that the state of the roads is very terrible.
In the absence of concerted efforts by the government to fix the roads and bring the much-expected immense relief, residents in some parts of the area said they have no choice other than to help themselves in any way they can.
Self-help efforts by residents
Ogueri Anomneze, a landlord, told Saturday Sun some of the efforts they are making to make the roads a bit passable. “We contribute money to enable us to fix our roads,” he said. “But there is little we can do unless the government comes to our aid. We try our best to mend the roads, and create gutters and culverts by ourselves. Each successive government in Lagos had visited here during their tenures to promise to do something about the state of the roads. But at the end of the day, they never do anything. No one knows why they are avoiding us. Ijege Imore Road is a very long road leading to Iyana-Iba. We are suffering from bad roads. Tenants are always complaining about the road. But we are hoping that one day Lagos State government will remember us.”
Rose Nnanna, a landlady, alleged that there was a time the Community Road was awarded to a contractor from a prominent family in the area. But instead of doing the road, he pocketed the money and nobody dared to ask him what he did with it up till this day. Talking about the same contractor, Nnanna alleged that he used the money to build a house in Ikoyi after which he packed out of Ijegun.
But there’s no gainsaying the fact that roads in the Ijegun area of Lagos, especially Community Road, which cuts through the community need to be built or tarred because it leads to a number of places such as Okerube, Abaranje, and Iyana-Iba. It is a major access road that can help to ease the traffic on Ikotun and Ijegun roads. Residents are worried that the way things are at the moment, they have been abandoned to their fate.
A passenger inside a commercial tricycle, who spoke to Saturday Sun, said he has lived in that area for the past 20 years. This Community Road has been in a bad condition for more than 20 years. I moved into this Ijegun area in 2002, and this road has remained like this since then. The government has refused to do something about it. Election time has come and they will come here with their unfulfilled campaign promises. I have packed out of my former place and moved a little farther down the road. My wife and I cannot use the services of Okada on this road. Looking at its deplorable state, I will rather wait for a Keke for three hours than take Okada.”
Why we hike fares – Keke, okada riders
But while residents are appealing to the Lagos State government to come to their rescue, operators of commercial motorcycles and tricycles are not praying for the government to answer the residents’ prayers any time soon. This is because the situation has afforded them the opportunity to charge commuters exorbitant fares. A trip of N100 during the day goes for N200 at night and as high as N300 to N400 whenever it rains.
A woman living around Macciland, off Community Road, lamented the hardship she goes through. She said: “Ordinarily, I can trek from Ijegun Bus Stop to my house. It is not that far. But as it is now, I can’t because of the bad road. We are practically living in bondage here. For a long time now, commuting in the area has been costly and hellish.” She, therefore, implored the government to have compassion for the residents and business owners and rehabilitate the road.
But a keke driver, one Chuks from Delta State, tried to justify the hike in fares, blaming it on the poor state of the road and its effect on their vehicles.
“I have been in this community for the past 22 years,” he said. “I met the roads in this form. And, it is getting worse because of the increasing population. Most often, you find some broken-down keke parked along the road. It is because of the bad road. For instance, I have spent one hour today fixing one of the legs of my keke. The other day, the cup on the leg broke. I was wondering how it happened because there is a rod that is supposed to hold and prevent it from doing so. Every day, I am having one problem or the other, despite praying to God. This road is one of my problems.”
Asked what efforts the landlords, landladies, business owners and other residents are doing to fix the problem, Major, an okada rider, referred the reporter to the landlords in the area to answer the question. He said: “The road is bad and there is nothing we, the okada riders can do about it.” Like others, he pleaded with the government to do something about the Community Road before it gets worse than it is at the moment. Friday, another okada rider, a native of Akwa Ibom State, added: “We are helpless because this road has been like this for a long time. It spoils our okada steadily.”
Like his colleague, he begged the Lagos State government to help