‘We can’t fix it anymore,’ residents bemoan bad road linking Soyinka terminal, 52 Ogun communities

Residents of Kenta-Olokuta-Idi-Aba in Abeokuta, Ogun State, have called on the federal and state governments to fix the road that leads to Wole Soyinka Train Station.

They said repairing the road had cost them over N20 million, and that they were now too broke to do it anymore.

Checks showed that parts of the road have collapsed, while some portions have been washed away by erosion.

The Wole Soyinka Train Station is one of the 10 stations that made up the 156km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail commissioned in 2021 by former President, Muhammadu Buhari.

When the state-of-the-art train station was completed by the Ministry of Transportation, government did not take into consideration the need to fix the access road.

Speaking with Vanguard, a community leader, Chief Ezekiel Olushola, said a student and one pregnant woman lost their lives due to the poor condition of the road.

He said apart from the train station, the road also connects about 52 communities in Abeokuta South Local Government.

His words: “A student coming from school at Kemta, and there was a truck coming, too.

“Because of the bad road, the driver wanted to manoeuver from a bad spot and, unfortunately, hit the student and he died.”

On his part, Olabisi Ogundipe, who is the secretary of cab operators at the train station, said, “On a daily basis, we visit our mechanics, for minor and major repairs on our vehicles.

“At the end of the day, when you calculate what you have gained, you would have spent over 70% of the income on the maintenance of the vehicle.”

Chairman of the communities in the area, Babatunde Folarin, said about N20 million had been spent by residents to fix the road, which he described as a disaster.

Folarin said: “It’s glaring; this is an ecological disaster affecting over 52 communities in this area. This road is totally cut off. What else can we do?

“The economic viability of this area has been destroyed. This is a disaster. It’s a failed road.

“This road is less than three kilometres. We have tried our best. We have done palliatives. We have called people for donations, but right now the residents are tired, we are broke.

“This the road that leads to a federal complex, the Wole Soyinka Train Station. We know it’s a state road, but if people cannot enjoy the facility of that train station, if people cannot get there, what is the purpose?

“This is an embarrassment to government. We’ve been on this for over five years and this is a new tenure. What more? How many years do we need to wait? People are dying every day.”

Folarin called on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to urgently fix the road to ameliorate sufferings of the users, especially those accessing the train station.

A resident, Olaniyi, acknowledged that the Abiodun administration had fixed many roads in the state, and begged him not to forget the Olokuta train station road.

Kumid:
Blame the state government

Sultty:
Nigeria government is the most inept in the world no cap. How can u construct such beautiful edifice along with train track and not put into consideration access roads to and fro

Varunpulyani:


The state government and the governor that shares foam (mattress) to it's citizens?

Then make them queue up later for cups of rice .

Una must wise

happney65:


The Major road is good. It is the access road that they are complaining about. The access road should be done by the state government

The FG cannot come and fix the access road for them na

Sultty:
oga shut up if you don't have anything to say, I have my land around here though yet to complete it so i have a say