By OLASUNKANMI AKONI

Residents of 18 riverine communities of Onisiwo Island Kingdom, Apapa area of Lagos State, have cried out loud to any ‘messiah’who could save them from their present predicament of alleged marginalisation, total neglect and misrepresentation.

The communities included Tomaro, Okoata, Ifako, Igalla, I and II, Chiku, Araromi, Agbojedo, Ito Agan, Maja Estate, Sagbokodji, Bishoppkodji, Irede. Others are Whlakodji, Akponowa, Ganviekodji, Ilutitun, Igboelejo and Nanti, which are all geographically located within Onisiwo and Oluwa chieftaincy families of Lagos. Apart from the alleged total neglect of the area, the communities are protesting their being placed under Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area instead of Apapa Local Government Area.

For these reasons, they said they had written several petitions to the then Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the incumbent Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Speaker of the state House of Assembly; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Secretary to the Boundary Adjustment Committee; Executive Chairman of Amuwo-Odofin, among others.

Basic infrastructure such as modern schools, health centres, motorable roads, potable water, electricity are some of the amenities said to be lacking in the communities.

The inhabitants, approximately 360,000 in population according to the 1991 National Population Census, alleged that since the creation of the area under Amuwo-Odofin, there had been nothing to point to as evidence of development.

Also neglected is the L.A. Primary School built in 1954 which has become dilapidated with pupils taking lessons on the dusty floor of a building with its roof blown off. Also, a health centre, said to have been built during the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, remained uncompleted with reptiles competing for space with human excreta.

The spokesperson and a community leader, Alhaji Sakariya Adenrele of Tomaro Island, while lamenting the long neglect of his birthplace by successive governments said: “Our people have continued to groan under poor health services due to neglect and selfish leadership.

The people are now crying out for a saviour who will take us to the promise land. We feel the pains of our communities and we know that failure to act now threatens this generation and the generation yet unborn.

“At this golden age of democracy, we want to be carried along in the administration of Lagos which is a megacity and a state of excellence. It is disastrous and complete betrayal of trust for the inhabitants of these Islands that after all our contributions and loyalty to Amuwo Odofin our homes are mere sheds. People often ask if we are part of Lagos State because we have been neglected for a very long time.

We neither belong to constituency I or II. People of these constituencies have never treated us as part of them. Let us end our Israelite journey here; we want to be at home where we belong, that is Apapa Local Government Area.

Quick intervention

“We are passionately appealing for quick intervention in our communities.  We are badly in need of infrastructure.” Adenrele also lamented that their children risk their lives every day while going to school in Apapa and Ajegunle in boats on the deep seas.

Also lamenting, the Baale of Irede Community, Femi Alade, stressed that being categorised under the controversial Ward J of Amuwo Odofin has resulted in stagnation, pains, neglect, hardship and poor grassroot development in the communities.

“We are Ward C of Apapa LGA. We want our political slavery in Amuwo-Odofin to come to an end. We democratically and morally request for immediate extension of Apapa LGA to include the riverine communities of Apapa; the ambiguity in the boundary adjustment  had made the communities remain under-developed in spite of our natural endowment.”