The Ota branch of the Ogun State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government foto address the issue of bad roads in the State.
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Branch chairman, Isaac Ogbah said this on Thursday during a protest to call the attention of government to the state of the roads.
While the branch was expressing their displeasure over the dilapidated state of the road in the state Ogba cited the quote of the first Nigerian lawyer who was called to the Bar in 1879, Mr. Sapara William;
“The Legal Practitioner lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country”.
He said that as lawyers living in Ota they are the mouthpiece of the people.
“We are here today, as lawyers living and practicing in Ota, and its environs. We are here to give direction to our people, and ensure the advancement of the cause of our country.
“For now, these revolve around the issue of the bad state of our roads.
“Like every other person who resides, works or passes through Ota, our lives are being adversely affected by the bad road network in Ota and its environs.
“Researches have shown that the road network in Nigeria is about 194,000kms. Many of these roads are bad, owing to the carelessness of the concerned authorities. In many instances, though budget allocations are made, nothing reasonable happens, at the end of the day.
“Among the major bad roads that are of utmost concern to us are the Sango-Ota-Owode-Idiroko Expressway, the Atan-Agbara Expressway and the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, among others.
Bad roads in Nigeria cause Nigerians, annual losses in terms of vehicle maintenance, the estimated sum of N133.8 billion. Out of every two (2) vehicles you see on Nigerian roads today, one must be damaged and perhaps, off the road, within a month.
Most of these vehicles are found on this Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, which has been adjudged as one of Nigeria’s busiest highway. It is Nigeria’s busiest Inter-state and intra-city route. It handles more than 250,000 vehicles on a daily basis.
Good roads aid the economic development of the national society, through speedy transportation of commodities, and quick movement of people. Good roads also save the time people spend on their daily activities. Good roads also aid efficient security system (internal and external). Good roads ensure improvement in the living standard of the people.
Despite the foregoing, Ota people, and every other person passing through Ota, have been consigned to the harrowing experience of going through bad roads, every time and everywhere; by the governments especially the Federal Government.
We note the efforts of the Ogun State Government. We appreciate the rehabilitation of the Ota-Ikola Road, and the Old Ota-Lagos Road, being carried out. Presently; people are going through hell, passing through the roads. But the Ogun State Government can still do more, considering the densely populated nature of the Ota metropolis and same being the industrial hub of the state.
“Most of the other roads in the Ota area are terrible. Obasanjo and Oju-Ore area, in particular, has become a nightmare, and a source of heart aches/attacks to the Ota people. It has taken the notoriety of Oshodi-Lagos of the old.
“Mention must also be made to the Ogun State Government of the Anglican Road, Ota-Ilogbo Road, Sango-Ijoko Road, Alagbole-Akute-Lambe areas etc. After the destruction of several properties, it is unfortunate that people still find it difficult to access Lagos State through the Ijoko axis of Ogun State.
“Last year May (2018), the Federal Government was reported to have awarded the total re-habilitation of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, to Julius Berger Plc. The contract sum was N22.387 billion. The project was to last 21/2 years.
“Unfortunately, up till this moment, no substantial improvement has occurred on the road. It now takes an average of 3-4 Hours to get to Abeokuta from Ota. A Journey that should not be more than 30 minutes normally.
“There have been days that commuters and motorists spent up to Six (6) Hours at a spot– the Iyana-Ilogbo area.
“On some other occasions, people have had to trek to their destinations, or slept on the road. In the process, some have been sexually molested, while some people were robbed of their properties. The most terrible portion of the road is the Iyana-Ilogbo area. But the Itori-Ewekoro-Papa axis is now seriously competing with the Iyana-Ilogbo area. The Papa-Sagamu Road is something else. Sona-Igbala-Joju areas are presently death traps!
“While we do not have the statistics of the number of deaths on these bad roads, we know that everyday, people’s health is being impaired. Millions of naira is spent to repair vehicles. Transport fares have gone up astronomically. Many car owners now have no cars they can call their own.
“As Lawyers in the Ota judicial division/jurisdiction, we can no longer keep quiet. We are seen by the people as the voice and conscience of the society; we are trained and meant to uphold the Rule of Law and Democracy.
These involve asking the relevant questions, making the necessary statements, and demanding for corresponding answers and actions.
“We demand answers within seven (7) days from today. We demand ACTIONS, within fourteen (14) days from today, Thursday, 31st October, 2019.
“We demand the commencement of the reasonable fixing of the Roads. We demand that the completion period be made certain and reasonable.
“Note that we shall not condone increasing the suffering of commuters in the name of road repairs. As the work is going on, reasonable traffic management measures must be put in place by the Ogun State and the Federal Government.
“TAKE NOTICE that should the concerned governments, Ogun State and Federal Governments fail, neglect or refuse to take the necessary REASONABLE, CONCRETE, SWIFT and URGENT ACTIONS, we shall not hesitate to mobilize the entire citizenry of Ogun State, especially the people of Ota, to carry out further protests against the Ogun State and the Federal Government as it relates to the bad roads.
“Be rest assured that we shall also take some other legal actions which may not be palatable to the governments,” Ogbah said.
The inscriptions on the placards displayed by the lawyers include the following:
Governor Dapo Abiodun: Right The Wrongs Of Past Governors Meted Against Ota And Its Environs, Fix Ota Roads Federal Government:Stop Killing People Instalmentally Via Bad Roads!!! Owode/Iyana Ilogbo, Sango/Ijoko: Roads Are Death Traps, Dapo Abiodun: Will You Allow Bad Roads To Continue To Kill Ogun People? Nigerian Bar Association Ota Branch: Ota Lawyers Say No To Bad Roads, Ota Roads Begging For Government Attention, Economic activities in ruins in ota because of bad roads, bad roads have turned many children to orphans, Ota Roads: Hell On Earth, Federal Government: Where Are The Billions Budgeted For Our Roads?
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