I passed through the Omi Adio/ Ido Road on my way to Eruwa yesterday and I was shocked to see that a Road commissioned for use in about a year ago is already having issues to the extent that there are potholes on the Road.
I am not surprised at all. The quality of the Roads Governor Makinde has been constructing, most especially, outside the state capital is nothing to write about and before you jump up in defence of the Governor, go check on the Road by yourself.
The Ido/New Eruwa stretch of the Road has gone so bad that vehicles are now getting stuck occassioning a complete hold up!
I saw two different accident scenes. One involving a pickup van, carrying charcoal to Ibadan and that was about a kilometer to the Odo Ogun Bridge and the other one involving a Trailer carrying cassava shortly before you get to New Eruwa.
The two accidents were caused by the terrible state of the Road.
I recollect that the Driver told me that two Trailers got stuck earlier in the morning in a muddy part of the Road immediately after one of the popular Burial sites located outside Ido.
I recollect that he said all vehicles going to and from Eruwa had to park to assist with pushing those Trailers out of the way because without that, no vehicle could pass.
Sadly, Governor Seyi Makinde has brought the terrible memories of the harrowing experience commuters were used to while plying the New Eruwa/ Oloke meji/ Olowo/ Orile Ilugun Road to Ibadan.
Around Olowo village, during the raining season, you always prayed that no vehicle would be stuck because, if such ever happened, commuters would have no choice but to form a rescue team to get the stuck vehicle out of the mud and while doing so, they got dirtied by the mud and also would experience delay on their trips.
This was the experience commuters from Ibarapa and parts of Oke Ogun traveling to and through Ibadan were relieved of by the late former Governor Lam Adesina about almost twenty five years ago when he opened up the Eleyele/Ido/Eruwa Road as alternative route.
So sadly, Governor Seyi Makinde, about twenty five years later has taken us back to Egypt.
I noticed that the Contractor engaged to handle the project from the Ido end of the Road has abandoned site for some days now.
This is not the focus of this piece but I shall return to make reference to them later.
Governor Seyi Makinde has wasted so much of Oyo state resources on Agri-business.
Most of the resources in question are Loans.
Each time I listened to the Governor talked about what the president did or did not do about the hardships in the Country, I always laughed and say to myself, ” Saago nbu Igo”.
I am not saying that the president is not culpable. Far from it.
I am only curious that Governor Makinde thinks that all of us would be sold on his mischievous attempts to shift all the blames on Abuja.
Governor Makinde has talked a lot about how he intends to revilutionalize Agriculture and ensure food sufficiency through Agri-business .
He has wasted so much resources on the venture with nothing to show.
I make bold to say that the venture will yield nothing positive.
Why do I say so?
Agriculture is driven and sustained from the rural areas.
For Governor Makinde, linking the different zones of Oyo state with Ibadan the state capital and bringing some investors to Fashola is enough to drive Agriculture and ensure food sufficiency.
That is extremely ridiculous and that is why there will never be any positive results from Governor Makinde’s Agri-business ventures.
Whatever he thought he gave with the right hand through the Roads he constructed or rehabilitated to link the different zones with Ibadan, he took away with the left hand when he deliberately decided to illegally starve the 33 Local Governments of the funds to drive developments at the rural areas.
I will use my Local Government as a case study.
The Roads within the towns in Ibarapa East Local Government are so terrible.
It is so bad that some Communities are now separated from each other and many more would join soon.
That is within the towns.
The younger brother of the Speaker has continued to default on the contract for the rehabilitations of major roads within the town.
The Roads linking the farms and the villages are so terrible with many of them abandoned.
Recently, the Ipin Bridge along New Eruwa to Temidire Road was completely washed off.
The Bridge has been having issues for some years now.
The Road belongs to the state Government but if things were normal, the state Government should have given approval to the Local Government Chairman to fix the Bridge long before now.
Let me explain the importance of the Road to Agriculture within the area.
There are about four main markets situated in village settings in Ibarapa East where Agricultural products and foodstuffs could be purchased for both consumption and business purposes.
They are the Maya market, Alapa market, Okolo market and Temidire market.
The road to the Alapa market from Lanlate is in a terrible state due to neglect.
The Okolo market is located along the New Eruwa/Ido Road which has become so terrible for commuters.
Now the Bridge that links Temidire market with the town has been washed off.
That is not the only issue arising from the collapse of the Bridge.
Cassava is a product that is providing a good source of income for farmers these days.
Orisunmibare village was a cassava loading point before the Bridge collapsed.
The village is presently cut off from Eruwa.
The other route that ought to have served as alternative from Oke Ola junction to Orisunmibare village has been neglected for years by the Local Government.
The Temidire market is not only isolated, farm products from villages like Abule Elepo, Olorunda, Oloro, Iganun, Idi Ope and many more would be wasting because those villages and farms along the area are now cut off as a result of the Ipin Bridge that has been washed off.
How do you successfully drive and develop Agriculture under this kind of situation ?
If the Roads that links the different zones with Ibadan are in perfect shape but the Roads linking the farms and villages with the Towns are not motorable, how do you get the farm products from this areas to the markets?
I have written about my experience on the way to Otu in Itesiwaju Local Government.
My observations about the abundance of yams and the efforts by Local farmers to grow rice.
Presently, Governor Makinde is bent on continued suppression of the Local Governments funds.
He has directed the 33 Local Government Chairmen to open new Bank accounts with a popular Bank.
It is learned that this is with a view to ensuring that the monthly Allocations for the 33 Local Governments are used to service the Loan that the Governor has taken, using the Local Government funds as collateral.
I have written severally about this very unpleasant and criminal action by the Governor and Government has chosen to be deaf and dumb, refusing to make clarifications.
I think they chose to become what we call an ” olundu”.
Despite the deaf and dumb disposition of the Makinde Government, we will continue to write and talk about his criminal activities concerning the Local Government funds.
Not only that, we will take further direct steps to ensure that the criminal activities are not only exposed but also punished.
I have written to warn the Local Government Chairmen and Career Officers severally and I will repeat the warnings here for emphasis sake.
Governor Makinde will pave the way to the prison for many regarding this issue of Local Government funds.
Autonomy or not, there is no Law that empowers a state Governor to do what Governor Makinde has been doing with the Local Government funds since 2019.
What illegality has he not perpetuate?
Engaging Contractors to work on Local Government projects and deducting money from source as he did with Akesan Market and the Omi Adio/Ido Road which is now having issues in less than a year after completion.
Recently, Governor Makinde made a funny but sad statement when he admitted that he has been spending Local Governments funds to build Roads in Ibadan.
The said unfortunate statement was made during the opening of the Local Government Building recently.
The Governor said he has been ” collaborating with Local Governments to build Roads in Ibadan and that when he finished with Ibadan, he would move to other zones”!
Oro buruku toun teerin!
I remember raising issues about such an illegalities at the time, asking how the approval for such blanket usage of the money approved and released in the names of different Local Governments were polled together to fund Road projects in Ibadan.
As usual, Government and its spokespersons could not provide answers, perhaps, because they were yet to retrieve their mouths from the ” Alagbafo”.
We have asked Governor Makinde to oblige us information about the debt status of the 33 Local Governments and why they should be in debts, no answer.
The Ones I pity in all this are the Career Officers.
If the Governor is interested in creating scenarios that would make him scale the fence at the expiration of his tenure, so be it.
At any rate, without the Local Government funds, there are more than enough reasons why the Governor should consider reducing the heights of the fences around his homes before his tenure expires for affordability of easy scaling when the need arises.
My only worry is why Career Officers should elect to join him on such a risky journey.
We are carefully monitoring situations as they unfold and will do the needful when necessary.
Governor Makinde can not and should not be allowed to mortgage Oyo state and the 33 Local Governments through series of reckless borrowings and fraudulent projects.
If Governor Makinde is serious and passionate about developing Agriculture, what stops him from doing so, using the Local Government Chairmen as drivers of generally acceptable policies?
If he had been genuinely committed to the development of Agriculture from the grassroots and the rural areas through the development of infrastructures at the rural areas, I bet, he would have been one of the best performing Governors in Nigeria by now because Oyo state is blessed with expanse of arable land mass.
Unfortunately, Governor Makinde would rather choose to neglect the rural areas to concentrate on some misplaced priorities through Agri-business.
There is no length Governor Makinde would not go to cover his dirty tracks.
Unfortunately for him, he would have some of us to contend with regarding his continued intentions to keep mismanaging the funds meant for the developments of the 33 Local Governments.
If he could not take away his eyes from the funds meant for the Local Governments, he could easily resign from his position as Governor to take up the Chairmanship of his Local Government.
He won’t have any problems asking the puppet who currently pose as the Council Chairman to vacate the seat for him.
The choice is that of the Governor, whether to face his job as Governor of Oyo state or resign to become the Chairman of his Local Government since he could not take away his eyes from the funds for the Local Governments.
No matter how tough a dog is, it could not guard two Houses at the same time. ( Aja kii roro ko so ojule meji po).
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
