I want to share my most recent tour with you before I return to Cost of Living Mainland vs. Island in the next episode.
Yesterday I went to my farm; all the ploughing is done, & the last planting is nearly done. Cassava shoots if the initial planting is out.
After leaving the farm, I meet Alhaja Yetunde, the Community Care Nurse II at Obete Health Care Centre, which serves the local community in Odeda Local Government in Ogun State. She was giving an injection to a little girl crying profusely.
The Centre has a reception, a treatment room, a 6-bed ward, a 3-bed Labour room, & a pharmacy. It has solar power, but the batteries need replacing.
The health centre is well maintained & equipped; thank you to the Ogun State Government for a job well done. Govt is working.
The health Centre needs 6 new mattresses & 2 more beds to make it an 8-bed ward and replacement batteries for the solar power. If you can assist, please contact me directly. I will also contribute. We should all do our bit to help the government safeguard the health of rural farmers who feed Nigerians.
I then took a trip to the Idiroko border after being challenged to go to the Ipokia local government to see where some on social media allege Fulani have invaded, making life unbearable.
From Randa Junction outside Abeokuta, we took the road to Ilaro, the capital of Yewa. The road is a Fed road part of the Badagry to Sokoto Expressway.
The road has recently been repaired and is in good shape all the way to Ilaro. You reach Ibese before Ilaro, where Dangote cement is located. A massive factory, the roads around the factory are too narrow for the volume of traffic & in deplorable condition with cement dust everywhere. The number of trailers there is unbelievable, and the place reminds me of Apapa-style gridlock.
At the cement factory there is a junction that leads to Itori & the old Lagos Abeokuta Expressway. Again, this road is said to be in bad condition. I suspect most of these roads are damaged by heavy-duty Dangote Cement Trailers.
There is an urgent need for state governments to impose stringent planning conditions on big companies such as Dangote, Lafarge, etc. to address traffic management, expand, & maintain the roads.
As we passed the cement factory under the conveyor belt feeding the factory with limestone, we heard a massive explosion as if on cue. To my right in the distance, I saw a huge plume of dust. I guess they just exploded some explosives to break up the limestone.
The road up to & beyond the factory to Ibese town is very solid concrete. Ibese and all the towns on route to Ilaro were great with drainage & streetlighting, thanks to the trio mentioned earlier. I understand the work is a Fed project, but it goes to show that some Senators are truly showing what their influence can do. Please find out what your Senator is doing in your community; you might be seriously disappointed.
After Ibese, you reach Ilaro, which has had a lot of work done; the main roads are newly tarred with proper drains & street lighting, which is very impressive.
There are posters of Pres. Tinubu, Gov. Dapo Abiodun, & Senator Adeola, aka Yayi, together commemorating the road & lighting project throughout the Yewa Senatorial Zone. I suspect 2027 politics loading watchout lol 😆
In Ilaro, there is a massive petrol station at the junction where you take the road to Papa. This road leads to my maternal village called Ajegunle, where you will find Ajegunle Technical College. It also leads to the old Lagos Abekuta Road junction, Mowe & Saganmu, but the road to Saganmu is said to be still practically unmoterable. I will have to find out.
We stopped in Ilaro at Asiri Abo Restaurant, the most famous restaurant in Ilaro—what a name! It means Your Secret will be covered, lol. What secret is that? I had Iyan vegetable soup with beef & goat meat. The food was good.
From Ilaro, the road is excellent to Owode Yewa junction, a busy intersection where you can take the road to Sango Otta, Agbara, and Idiroko.
The road in Yewa Owode itself leading to Idiroko Rd. is in a bad state. I urge Senator Yayi to look into it and get it done to match the excellent work on the road from Ilaro to Owode Yewa.
After Owode Yewa, it’s a long stretch to Idiroko;; the road is in good condition. You will pass an infantry battalion barracks & army surveyor’s barracks on your right.
You will reach Ajilete bridge, Ojumo Ebedi & Ajegunle, which has a lot of fish farms, then you will reach Idiroko border town, a very busy border crossing to the Republic of Benin
I then went to the immigration post. You have to make sure you have your yellow card before you cross any border in Nigeria, or you will have to pay a bribe. If you don’t have it physically, you can present it on your phone or from your NHS app if you are from the UK Diaspora.
What is most disturbing is that immigration treats you as if you must pay them a bribe before you can cross the border, despite the fact that a Nigerian passport & even an NIN card ought to be acceptable after all, we are all Ecowas citizens with freedom of movement. The same is the case on the Benin Rep side; they even said, Sebi, you paid in Nigeria; you must pay here; this is your first time across the border; you must pay. Na wa. Who is teaching who how to collect bribes?
To cut a long story short, I paid but not what they insisted I should pay. I told them you cannot dictate to me what I should pay when it is my right. To stamp my passport shouldn’t cost me anything. Too much Oyinbo abi lol 😀
Meanwhile, I saw numerous people crossing freely without a passport and no wahala. I guess because I wanted the stamp, see me see trouble o 😀
I urge the Minister of Internal Affairs to modernise all border crossings and make them digital, just like airports.
All services at the border are still writing manually in books. This is scandalous in 2024, a serious danger to our internal security. No biometric data or photo capture. Problem de o. This can be done within a year to all our borders if we are serious about our security & invasion from across Ecowas.
Anyway, I went to Rep of Benin; their border town is Igolo, a sleepy town with little activity. The government is building a new road to the border that is under construction. The people speak French and Yoruba as well as some English.
Most of their products are from Nigeria, but I bought a bottle of Beninise Sangria & came back to Nigeria. I will stay a few days in Cotonu next time.
Travelling back was at night, and I was pleasantly surprised to see all the towns & villages from Yewa Owode to Ilaro & beyond within Yewa constituency had working streetlights. Life appears peaceful, and there are many estates, impressive properties, & resorts en route. Most of the towns are linked to the national grid
You see many traders in small towns & villages selling their goods and sitting outside enjoying the light, making nightlife in the rural areas pleasant and safe. A far cry from the darkness we are experiencing in practically all of Abeokuta. I just don’t understand. Anyway, the government is working, and everything is work in progress.
The road from the junction to Ita Oshin is very bad, and once you land in Abeokuta, the difference is clear. Bad road greets you from Ita Oshin & no street lights into the state Capital from old Lagos Abeokuta Rd
If Govr PDA doesn’t deliver Light Up Ogun or Light Up Abeokuta like Light Up Lagos & Light Up Oyo states during his 2nd term, can we assume the message from Sen Yayi with his Light Up Yewa is he will do it in 2027? We are watching, lol 😃😀😀
What’s your view? Please share
Femi Oke Betta9ja
