Going down to my place of work on Friday, I again saw the new expanse of road that some people within and outside Ogun state have been praising Governor Amosun for constructing.

To my dismay the roads are already showing signs of cracks here and there in less than 3years of construction. And that got me thinking.

Could this be the road constructed with several billions of naira? Could this be the road that enriched China in a capital flight of our naira? (an act devaluing the naira). Could this be the contract our workforce can not get but turned labourers for what could be termed a Chinese project? Could this be the road our people were deprived of their sources of livelihood? Could this be the road many houses were destroyed to pave way for? Could these be the roads and bridges some members of the public have alleged were constructed to siphon money at the detriment of our people?

In my mind, I could not but worry on the bogus figures giving out as costs for the various projects.

The popular Totoro-Sokori road which is about 1.8km was said to have cost a whooping sum of N1.6billion with an overhead bridge amounting to N1.3billion. The only pedestrian bridge there is said to cost N250 million. It is then succinct to say that the Totoro-Sokori road gulped over N3billion. Then, how much would the Itoku-Sapon bridge and others across Ogun state cost? It is a fact that roads were constructed in the state for N50 million per kilometre and below since we all know too well that bitumen/coal tar is found in Nigeria here. Why then are we now constructing roads at N700 million per kilometre in Ogun State?

At present, while these roads are gradually being filled with pot holes, many other roads are impassable as the Government could not touch such roads whether they are economically important or the hardship on the users is much, simply because the bogus roads have taken "so much" for "so little", yet many of the road construction are flagrantly abandoned.

My mind went to how we attended public schools with little or no fee then, with better quality compared to what is obtainable now.

I remembered my recent experience when I joined fellow old students to visit our Alma mata which used to be our pride. Behold!, our home economics, science and agricultural laboratories as well as sporting facilities were in total shambles. We were faced with dilapidated buildings while more than enough students were stuffed in their classrooms.

No doubt, the mess in the education sector is a story for another day, but this however underscores how the education sector and other sectors in Ogun State have been neglected by the present administration all in the name of constructing roads. Alas! these roads are not new roads but existing roads which are only being expanded.

Of course, the uncompleted billion naira model schools across the state is another misplaced priority when existing schools are not well catered for.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying motorable roads are not needed, but a situation where the Government of the day is alleged to have expended over N200 billion naira on existing roads and bridges is quite worrisome. I mean in a State where workers' cooperative deductions are not remitted, where there is high unemployment rate, where the health sector is in comatose, where banks cannot open and people are murdered regularly because of high insecurity, where existing schools are in terrible state and examinations are not conducted or done late, for lack of money, where cost of being educated is going beyond the reach of an average person, where viable projects are intentionally paralysed (Deep seaport, Cargo airport, ICT Polytechnics, TASUED, OKLNG etc), where economic activities are in doldrums, where an enabling environment has been turned to a mirage, where the people are being turned to paupers and stringent taxes are meted out to the people.

Whether this whooping sum expended is a loan, debt, allocation or revenue, the question is "why spend so much on so little without a scale of preference"?

I am sure visitors and people living outside Ogun State would now realised why majority at home are always condemning the evil spending of our future on "existing roads expanded" to siphon money without looking at the immediate needs of the people, in a system where life is so hard for an average citizen. The people in Ogun State are the ones wearing the shoes and they know where it is pinching.

The main fear for writing this is not about the present sufferings, it is about a future being truncated now. It is about the fact that this shenanigans would continue if the Ogun people continue to pretend that all is well. This would continue, if the citizenry find it so hard to connect their low life and misery on the policies and programmes of a government that has tied all money that accrued to the State on road expansion and bridges at the expense of other sectors and good planning.

No American, Deltan or foreigner would save Ogun State from this mess, Ogun indigenes and residents are the only genuine people who should rise up and take their lives in their own hands by saving a future being truncated now.

Dayo Olufemi, a social analyst and psychologist writes in from Ogun State.

Eeyah

The bad news here be say some people never yet recover from their trauma to realise that governor is a scam

Ogun is one of the overated States in Nigeria building projects without scale of preference, feasibility studies and economic importance of those projects.

I visited Akute on 2011 and saw massive bridge around there, I asked my sister about the project last month she said they are abandoned in 40 percent completion.

These massive bridge and flyover are being build in most backward side of the state without much economic activities but Keke and Okada dropping people are Berger Bus stop.
The buildings that have demolished for the project to commence were massive and I know they will still demolish more.

I went to Babcock University at Ilesha Remo, the town is just a sleepy village, the only secondary school opposite Babcock look like the ruins of wartorn Somalia.


Ogun government carry ten fingers put for mouth

Ok

Amosun remains there because PDP remains a non better option. They are still parading a candidate highly identified with OGD who has the history well known to all residents. APC will keep ruling as long as the old faces of destroyers and cult breeding entities keep appearing in the main opposition parties in Ogun State.
@OP, you could be right but what could have been the better option?