Letter to Minister of Works

Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen
| credits: File copy

Let me start by acknowledging the eagerness of the Minister of Works in implementing the President’s transformation agenda in the area of road construction and rehabilitation. It is indeed the minister’s seeming display of commitment to alleviating the sufferings of the people in this regard that informs my decision to write him on the subject matter with a firm belief that he will turn on listening ears.

Generally, the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway is in a terrible state. The Ota end of the road is so bad that it needs an urgent attention in order to put a stop to incessant somersault of heavy trucks and forestall further catastrophic occurrence. Of particular interest, however, is the fact that the left wing of the dual carriage way (coming from Lagos) was thoroughly reconstructed about two years ago by Julius Berger. The job was never completed leaving the right lane abandoned since then for reason not known to the public. A particular portion of the road, right in front of First Bank, has become a nightmare to motorists who experience untold hardship daily from the resulting traffic gridlock. The all-important major highway may be cut off if something urgent is not done before the forthcoming rainy season. The beginning of Ota-Idiroko road, another federal highway, is an eyesore begging for his attention. To get a proper picture of my submission in this regard, I hereby appeal to the minister to pay a visit to Ota and see things for himself. Reports from aides to the effect that all is well might be grossly deceptive. Doing that, I am confident, you are sensitive and humane enough to take immediate action in order to alleviate the sufferings of Ota residents, judging from your track records of performance so far. Suffice it to mention that the general activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Authority call for thorough evaluation and auditing. Its impact on road maintenance is not significantly felt. There is little or nothing to justify its being always on the federal roads especially on the basis of poor quality job rating. FERMA’s rehabilitated portions on our roads hardly last for one month.

I am of the opinion something needs to be done in FERMA to foster improved quality jobs thus preventing allocation of funds to the same project every year with little or no impact on the quality of lives of the people.

However, I will like to seize this opportunity to appeal to other stakeholders to complement government efforts. Everybody has a role to play in this regard. It is obviously a question of a job well done to the Ogun State Government looking at the appreciable level of its commitment to the urban road expansion and rehabilitation agenda. The state government will however boost its employment generation drive as well as generate more revenue if greater attention is given to total road rehabilitation in Ota due mainly to its industrial base status. Banks in Ota should equally play crucial roles joining hands with the government to tackle the challenge. Particularly, an old generation bank recently described as occupying the first position in the country, is no doubt financially buoyant enough to fix the extremely bad portion of the road right in front of its Sango-Ota branch perhaps in line with its expected corporate social responsibility to the community. In a similar manner, companies operating in Ota, which are the major victims in this regard should stop folding arms feeling unconcerned. With commitment and dedication and through public-private partnership, companies operating in areas such as Ota industrial Estate, Abeokuta Road, Lynson Chemical Avenue, Ijoko Road, Animashaun Road among others can do something to make roads in those areas at least motorable without necessarily waiting for government to do everything.

Matthew Adeleye

Ota, Ogun State

08033280115