Residents of Soliyi community, Gbagada, in the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos
State, have decried the alleged neglect of the area, saying the state
government abandoned them for the past 40 years.
The community said the only road linking the community to
the outside world was too narrow for the more than 500,000 residents, who were
usually held in heavy traffic jams.
They said they were afraid that the inauguration of a
newly-constructed auditorium of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, could
worsen traffic congestion in the community.
The Chairman of the Action Commitee, Mr. Moses Eniayewu,
said residents wanted the government to create five additional routes to ease
traffic in and out of the community.
He said, “Our community can only be accessed through one
route – the Ayodele Okeowo Street – which serves as both the inlet and outlet
to the community. There are over 500,000 people living here, who are mostly
career men and women in various organisations, including traders and
businessmen, who operate outside the community and have to commute daily to and
from the community. This causes a lot of
traffic in the morning and evening.
“We are afraid that by the time Deeper Life opens its new
auditorium, which will take over 30,000 worshippers at a time, 700 luxurious
buses and over 2,000 cars, we may be completely locked in. The Gbagada General
Hospital, which is along that road, may also become inaccessible due to heavy
traffic jams.”
Eniayewu said the community had been requesting additional
routes from the government since 2013, adding that letters sent to the
ministeries did not receive attention.
“We once wrote to the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure,
Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning, and at a point, we sought the
intervention of the Kosofe LGA.
“When we heard that the government planned to construct 181
roads in the state, we suggested that two of our roads should be considered.
Our Sole Administrator told us she forwarded our request to the government; but
nothing came out of it.
“We later wrote another letter through our representative in
the state House of Assembly and wrote to the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.
The governor forwarded the letter to the commissioner for local government. The
commissioner invited us for meetings twice. He later sent a director, one Mrs.
Aina, who came for an on-the-spot assessment. We took her round the community
and she took pictures. But nothing came out of it,” he added.
The Baale of Soliyi, Solomon Olamiju, said the community was
ready to make sacrifices, including demolition of their property, for the five
additional routes to be created.
He said, “For more than 40 years, we have been neglected. In
this community, the electric poles and cables were bought through communal
efforts. More than 50 inner roads were constructed through contributions of
residents. Unfortunately, none has been tarred by the government. There is no
health centre or primary school in Soliyi, despite our high population. The
community is totally neglected.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that Ayodele Okeowo Street was also
constructed through the help of a former resident by that name who graded the
road before a private company tarred it.
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