On the old Abeokuta–Ibadan road—especially the 15km stretch from Osiele to Odeda in Ogun State—potholes, eroded surfaces, and flood-filled craters have turned every journey into an ordeal. With the rainy season in full swing, large sections of the road now drown in water, trapping vehicles and deepening the anguish of motorists, farmers, and residents who say they’ve been abandoned by the government, writes BANKOLE TAIWO
What was once a vital transportation artery linking communities between Abeokuta and Ibadan has become a source of daily anguish for motorists, commuters, farmers and residents.
The old Abeokuta-Ibadan road, particularly the stretch between Osiele and Odeda in Ogun State, has deteriorated into a dangerous corridor of potholes, eroded surfaces and flood-prone craters that have turned every journey into an ordeal.
With the arrival of the rainy season, fears among road users have intensified as large sections of the road become submerged in water, trapping vehicles and worsening an already dire situation.
Speaking with our Correspondent recently a commercial driver, Abiodun Sotonwa said that travelling on the road has now become a nightmare.
Sotonwa said that “The Ogun State section of Abeokuta-Ibadan road is completely in a state of disrepairs and as the rainy season is here the drivers are always apprehensive plying this road because of the nightmare experience.
“Generally the stretch of the road from Moore Junction to Odeda and from Odeda to Killa should be totally reconstructed. The worst segment of the road is from Federal College of Education, Osiele to Odeda. There is also another terrible spot around Olodo and then Kila where we have the railway crossing.
“These are some of the highly dreaded parts of the road because whenever it rains, the pool of the water that usually cover this area of the road is so much that many times some vehicles may get stuck in it.
“However, the section from Kila to Ibadan is motorable. About five years ago, the reconstruction of the road was done from Ibadan end but the project was terminated around Odeda.
“We really don’t know what happened and since that time the road has continued to deteriorate forcing many of our colleagues to abandon the road, some of them would rather prefer to go through Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu and then link up with Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“It has been frustrating and quite depressing considering the risk we are exposed to when traveling on this road. Because of the poor state of the road, our vehicles are negatively impacted, we are always frequently visiting the mechanic, we lost our tyres regularly, large chunk of our income are spent on maintenance.
“We are just pleading with the government to come to our aid on this road. It doesn’t matter if it is federal road, what we want is for the road to be fixed so urgently and bring relief to the people”
Another driver, Adeoluwa Awoniyi, also re-echoes the frustrating experience of the motorists and commuters saying that the Abeokuta-Ibadan road is now a huge source of worries and unbearable pains to the road users
Awoniyi said, “The most terrible part is from Osiele to Odeda end of the road, it is the Ogun State section of the road which may not be more than 15 kilometers.
“And the importance of this road cannot be overemphasised, particularly in the area of food production. The garri, yams, vegetables, pepper among other farm produce that the people of Abeokuta eat come from some of the communities along this road, so bringing all of those farm produce out has been quite burdensome.
“Many drivers have withdrawn their vehicles from the road because the little earnings are spent on maintenance, it is really tough for those of us still plying the road. We just beg the government to come our way.
“The worst areas are Idera, Agbetu, Aderupoko, Orita Ijaye, Papa among others. We beg the government to help us fix this road. It may certainly be a federal road but the people are suffering and most of the users of the road are residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, so, the excuse that it is a Federal Government road is no longer tenable
“We humbly beg Governor Dapo Abiodun to please show up and help with the reconstruction of this road, we need the urgent intervention of the government. With the rainy season, our fears are heightened because of the flood that use to cover those terrible portions of the road and subjecting all the road users to unimaginable hardship.”
Similarly, Monsuru Ogunrinde, another driver, spoke about the collapse of the road from Camp to Odeda and the attendant harrowing experience for the drivers and the commuters especially when it rains.
Ogunrinde said that recently, it took the intervention of the Speaker of the state assembly, who is also the lawmaker representing Odeda Local Government Area, Daisi Elemide, to fix the broken bridge on the road at Osiele some months after it caved in
“The terrible state of the road has affected the economy along the axis of the road because many people are also running away from using the road because of its state of disrepair.
“Every two days we must visit the mechanic, our vehicles get spoilt easily, the little that we make is spent on maintenance and fuel. I have been on this road for some years but there was never a time things got this bad.
“The road is said to fall under the Federal Government control but those suffering from its devastating effects are the residents of the state. We are tired and we should not be allowed to continue to suffer unnecessarily.
“We call on the government to please rise and help us and begin the reconstruction of this road. We also have lots of truck plying this road and it is always dangerous when we both meet at this bad sections of the road trying to navigate our way out…we beg the government of President Tinubu and Governor Abiodun to please help us.”
Denis Ede, a businessman who lives in one of the communities along the road, also expressed his sadness on the state of the road, saying that it is seriously affecting the economy of the area.
Ede said, “As a resident of one of the communities along this road, who also makes use of the road virtually everyday, I will say that the experience has been painful and discomforting.
“The road from Osiele to Odeda is very bad, there are no other words to describe it, the motorists are always left in pain. We have always engaged each successive government but it has been promises with nothing to show for it.
“We are not talking about any palliative, the road needs to be reconstructed, the bad sections are from Osiele to Odeda local government secretariat. We sincerely pray that the government can start the reconstruction before this month ended because we have suffered enough.”
A resident of the local government, who simply identified himself as Ade, lamented that despite the fact that the senator representing Ogun Central, Sen Shuaib Salisu, and the Speaker of the state assembly are from the local government, they have not been able to do anything tangible to address the challenge of the bad road.
He said, “For crying out loud, both the Speaker of the state assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, and the senator representing Ogun Central, Shuaib Salisu, are from this local government yet it appears like we have been abandoned.
“We urge them to please combine strength and see how they can ensure the reconstruction of this road within the shortest possible time”
Speaking with our correspondent, Elemide said he had in recent time caused palliative measures to be done on the road from More Junction to Somorin with the help of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency while he had also caused some bad sections of the road to be filled with his personal resources.
The Speaker said Governor Abiodun might have fixed the road but for the challenge of litigation on the road occasioned by the federal contractor.
Elemide stated that the good news however is that the stretch of road from More Junction, Abeokuta to Odeda Local Government Area is receiving due attention of the Federal Government, adding that very soon this challenge would be consigned to the dustbin of history.
The state Commissioner for Works, Ade Akinsanya, said, “It is a federal road, and the Federal Ministry of Works is planning to re-award the reconstruction contract soon. I will check with FERMA if palliatives can be done
The Ogun State Federal Controller of Works, Olayiwola Komolafe, said the attention of the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, had been drawn to the section of the road by various groups and individuals, including the Provost of College of Education, Osiele and various community leaders
Komolafe said, “The minister is currently studying the reports and possibly dotting his i’s and crossing the t’s. Remember the ministry just awarded the dualisation of lbadan-ljebu-Ode road, efforts are ongoing to improve the state of roads in the country.”
For the thousands of people who rely on the old Abeokuta-Ibadan road daily, the issue goes beyond transportation. It is about livelihoods, safety, economic survival and access to opportunities.
As rains continue to expose the road’s worsening conditions, residents, drivers and business owners are united in one plea: that the cries from Osiele to Odeda will no longer be ignored, and that the long-awaited reconstruction of the road will finally begin.
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