By
Fatimah Idera
In what seems to be an unending lamentation for Students and Residents, plying the Offin, Igbogbo-Baiyeku roads in Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area, the students have called on government to speed up actions towards making the roads conducive for usage as the cost of transport as continue to eat into their parents finances.
Students who commute around the area who spoke with this reporter bemoaned how the road has been hindering their education as many were made to quit schooling.
Adewale, a student of Community Secondary School, Baiyeku narrated his ordeal with tears rolling down his cheeks as he revealed that the bad road has made him quit schooling at a very young age.
“I use to go to school some time ago before the road got worsen like this but I quit due to the stress and incapability of my mom to fund my transport, most times I stayed for almost 2hours at the bus stop before seeing a vehicle to convey me to school, while I often trek to school whenever it rains.”
“I quit schooling because I couldn’t fend for myself as I have only a single- sick mother who couldn’t foot my bills to school, so I decided to quit and start working as a labourer but I hope someday I will return to back to school”, he narrated.
“Even though my school is a government school, the t.fare from here to my school is almost the school fee for private school if added together , but now I am working as a labourer to fend for myself and my sick mother”
Adewale added that the government with their negligence on the road has made many students turn wayward as they couldn’t afford transport fares to school due to the bad road and increase in transport fares.
Another student, Adefuye Rachel, SS3, Commercial student of Zumratul Islamiyyah, who is also the Biology laboratory prefect shared her difficulties due to the bad road. She said she has to trek to school every day and ended up getting late to school and got punished for it.
“I and other students living in the same area trek from Baiyeku to Igbogbo everyday for one hour as the price of transport fare inflates due to the bad roads. Community leaders are trying their best but the government needs to put more effort into these roads as it affects student studies”, she added
On his side, Idera Muslim, SS3 student of the same school but in commercial class, maintained that this road has discouraged many students to go to school and many had to trek to school since they don’t have enough bus transportation in our area.
“I am not comfortable about the road to my school because it is not favourable for us students to be going through a lot of stress on our way to school and the transport fare is too high and due to this bad road accident frequently happens on our way to school. We will be grateful if our government could be of help by repairing the bad road”, he added.
Bad Roads Leads Students to Bad Gangs
Rokeeb Olanrewaju a prefect in his school said the bad road is affecting secondary school students, residents’ education as many students find it difficult to make it to school daily and when they do, they are usually late to school.
“As a prefect, I am always tired of inflicting punishment on latecomers because they are much and their coming late is not their fault but the bad road, I also experienced it too, mostly when rainfall, the transportation fee will be increased from #200 to #500 which is higher than the monetary value our parents can afford. A lot of students have dropped out of school due to these challenges while some have left to join bad gangs since they couldn’t afford the hike in the prices.”
Also sharing her views on the matter, Adebayo Deborah opined that the bad road has affected students in many ways as the transportation fare had increased drastically.
“Our transport fare from home to school has now been increased due to the bad road, and even sometimes there won’t be any means of transportation other than trekking so as a result of that many students come late to school”.
Deborah urged the community leaders, government and local government chairman to find a way in making sure the roads are repaired. Similarly, Ayomide narrated to this reporter how some of his friends had joined cultists and other bad gangs as these bad roads have kept many students out of school..
“I have friends who now belong to a big cultist group that disturbs the Offin-Oreta community as they don’t attend school nor have any moral upbringings.”
Residents Reaction
Mrs Bolajoko who is popularly known as Iya-ibeji, a food vendor at Community Secondary Baiyeku said the issue of bad roads is very alarming, especially in Baiyeku when it rains, everyone treks from their residence to their destination because there won’t be a vehicle to convey people.
“It is so sad that we have written several letters to the government, especially the one at our local government, but negligence has been shown on the roads and no positive response ever gotten.”
She added that several wards in the community dropped out of school and are now wayward due to the bad roads and challenges they faced before getting to school.
“Most times I had to force my grown-up twins to school because they get tired and lose concentration on their studies as they experience stress on their way to school.”
Another resident, Mr Olayiwola who works at Lagos-Island narrated the challenges he faces every morning while going to work on the Offin-Igbogbo and how the road problems started as the government has neglected it.
“These roads have been bad since the administration era of Babatunde Raji Fashola being the governor and nothing tangible has been put in place or done.” Mr Olayiwola said.
Also, these roads make me spend more than my earnings. ‘As a salary earner, I don’t have much so I often sleep at work due to traffic and the bad roads.’
Munir Abdulkabir Ayomide a resident of offin Ile said he feels very bad seeing the road the way it is.
“The condition of the road is the cause of the increase in the transport fare. Also, if you decide to wake up early as a student to get to school just keep in mind that the bad road will surely make you get to school or your destination late.
“The residents need to come together to make decisions and also choose a representative to relate the issue to the local government.
“The only thing needed to be done is for the to intervene. The only preventive measure being taken at the moment is grading the road which is only of relevance during the dry season. And this grading also has its disadvantages, it is of no use during the rainy season.”
Community Leaders React
In an interview with the President of Igbogbo Youth Coalition, Comrade Ogunmuyiwa Kazeem, he said the alarming state of the road has attracted high increment in transportation fees more importantly when it rains.
“I am unhappy about the state of some roads in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, especially roads like Bayeku, Offin / Oreta roads which have affected the economic activities of these routes.”
He revealed that the road has tremendously affected the motorists and residents of that geographical location (Offin, Bayeku) as residents find it very difficult to board their car when it rains due to the ends of the journey I.e unplanned financial implications that will arise in the aftermath, so they prefer to board commercial buses to transport themselves to and fro.
“Whenever it rains, motorists find it difficult to get their way which affects some parts of their vehicles and this leads to the increment of the transportation fee as the motorist doesn’t have a specific price.”
More so, on the side of learners (Students), the present state of the road not only affects their parents by the daily funding but negatively affects the cognitive domain of the Students as most of them feel weak immediately after they arrived at their various school premises and classes, they hardly concentrate on their studies rather they will be thinking and ruminating about the road challenges and how to get home quickly.
“I had never witnessed any hardship on the road but concrete reports have it that Igbogbo to Oga-Oloye, Offin and area roads are not always friendly, more importantly when it rains.”
“I want to beseech the Community Development Association (CDA) not to relent in their actions, as their performances over time have contributed meaningfully to the growth and development of the town but more is still expected, we urge them (CDAs) to be more steadfast, Civil, proactive and optimistic in their dealings. Although they are not government personnel, over time they have been playing significant roles toward achieving their set objectives.”
However, the Government knows their duties and responsibilities but has slow decision-making in the implementation of policies.
Furthermore, we hope the Igbogbo-bayeku local government, Olusesan Mayokun Daini plays assiduous roles towards the development of the roads.
However, BlackBox Nigeria reliable gathered that the Local Government Chairman, Builder Sesan Daini is not resting on his effort to bring succour to the people as it concerns road infrastructure in the LCDA. In August 2022, the Lagos State government began the rehabilitation of the Obafemi Awolowo Way in the Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area of the state.
