Some
visitors and passersby had, over the past few months commended what they
more often than not, refer to as the new face of Ogun state going by
the massive road construction embarked upon by the present
administration. The sprawling six-lane 'highways' and the walkways, the
flyovers and the N250million pedestrian crossing all made up the major reason for this new-found love for the
Gateway State. Impressive and intimidating as they are, the huge
construction site which Ogun State is as of now triggers some
yet-to-be-answered questions.
Those who fall into the category of
'Ogun State Is Working' incessantly praising the current government of
Ogun state are not to blame, they have only said what their eyes saw.
However, the salient fact remains that they have only seen what they
have been programmed to see. Ogun state Governor, Senator Ibikunle
Amosun has tactically ensured that all projects or would-be state
projects are sited where the unsuspecting visitors to the Gateway could
easily see at firstcontact; in the preview of visitors, that is, very
close to the highway. This is one of the main reasons why the proposed
model schools which primarily should be within communities are
conspicously located right beside major roads for 'all to see' .
Renowned educationists will percieve this as dangerous to the lives of
the students when the schools eventually take off.
Another is the proposed housing project.
Arguably, residential areas are believed to be serene and quiet; free
from the hustle and bustle of the cities. It is therefore shocking that
the dual residential estate project by the state government in Abeokuta
and Sagamu share the same fence with the busiest highways in Nigeria.
Some have tagged the roads project of
the state government as mere playing to the gallery while others have
proposed village renewal against the much advertised urban renewal, but
these are topics for another day. The story today is that of ‘Imagbon
community’.
Like other communities in the state
where hardship and struggle for survival remain unsung even amidst the
unending borrowings, bonds and bank loans, people of the communities
wallowing in abject poverty, towns and villages populated by jobless
youths who have taken to advance fee fraud to make ends meet, the
Chinese and other foreigners counterparts are being awarded road
contracts with the indigenes only being employed as labourers. Imagbon
community is a story of outright neglect, lost hope and sadness which
has continued to rock the boat of Ogun state.
Why Imagbon you may ask. One of the most
intriguing revelations about this community is that it shares the same
boundary with the state's seat of power located at Oke Mosan. The
people of Imagbon see and watch the governor’s convoy drive by their
community to his tastefully furnished office everyday. It is therefore
unfortunate that with so much proximity to the seat of the government in
power, the community of Imagbon in Abeokuta South local government of
Ogun state is light years behind civilization!
A recent visit to the community shows
absolute contrast with the live outside. While the seat of power was
glows with constant electricity and potable water, the residents of
Imagbon lives in hell. When we demanded why the community has failed to
table their grievances before the state governor or any of the agencies
and ministries, a community leader who wishes to remain anonymous
revealed that on several occasions community leaders have approached the
ministry of local government affairs but in vain having been referred
to their local government council to lay their grievances. The community
chief who was in tears revealed how he lost a son to cholera just three
months ago as a result of the dirty water which is the only source of
water for the community.
A staff of the only school within the
community who spoke also spoke anonymous said; ‘We have tried all we
could, you know this community is a border town. Anytime we go to the
Abeokuta South Local government they will say they are not responsible
for our predicaments and that we should go to Obafemi Owode but is the
same story. They only come when it is time for elections..
Investigations reveal that few months
ago an aide to the state government who happens to be the daughter of
late Chief M.K.O Abiola, Costello was in the community with a team of
CNN crew parading the community as one of the few areas her NGO is
offering humanitarian aids to. This we learnt got her an exclusive
international interview on the Cable Network News (CNN).
When asked what happened to the
intervention provided by the governor’s aide, a member of the community
said; ‘After all the white men came with cameras and took pictures of us
and the school nobody ever came back. What the tall lady (referring to
Costello) only gave us was 500 naira!
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