By Bilesanmi Olalekan

This is an emergency. There are two roads in Lagos. Ekoro Road is off Abule-Egba. Ige Road by Iyana-Ipaja leads to Aboru. The two areas- Ekoro and Aboru-are heavily populated. The two roads are disaster waiting to happen, recording to residents. Ekoro Road links Command Road and then Ikotun. The more than 18 kilometres road was constructed by Hitech Construction some six years back.

However, there is danger lurking in the corner especially during this rainy season as erosion, arising from rains, has eroded the part where one of the culverts, a major one for that matter,is seated. Rather than flood directly entering the drain, it bypasses it and continues to destroy the foundation of the culvert. The culvert in Ige Road appears worse. The foundation is eroded by erosion. Unfortunately, it is the only road that links Aboru.

Gov Ambode

Once it caves in,the entire community is cut off from the rest of Lagos.

When Sunday Vanguard visited both areas, residents expressed fear on the danger that road may pose to residents and motorists if the culvert eventually collapses. Mr Bakare John, a landlord close to the  culvert, said the landlords association in the area had lodged a complaint through a letter sent to the state Ministry of the Environment, dated August 18,2016.

The letter, addressed to the Commissioner for the Environment, appealed and requested that the eroded culvert be attended to because it constituted a threat to the road.”Unfortunately, we have no heard anything from the ministry. We sent the same letter to Public Works Corporation, but it appears both organs are less interested in the repairs. If and when that culvert collapses eventually, it will disrupt a lot of things here “. To Madam Subuola, a landlady in the area, the culvert is a disaster waiting to happen.

She said the eroded base of the culvert is already affecting the negbourhood such that the flood from rains tend to hit the fence of her house. “If I don’t reinforce the fence soon, the intensity of the flood may eventually pull down my fence. I learnt the association wrote the state government sometime last month but, as it is with everything in the country,nothing would be done until it becomes a major disaster that would benefit some of them in government and make political statements out of it. If you people can help to reach out to them, may be,just may be, they may listen to you”.

Some residents of Ige Road claimed lack of genuine representation on the part of members of the state House Assembly representing the area. “This is pure insensitively on the part of the state government, knowing that it is only one road that leads to Aboru.

This culvert, once it collapses, there is no way we can come out or go in. The erosion has seriously eaten up the base of the culvert. Anything can happen to that culvert any moment from now”,submitted Mrs Aderounmu, one of the landladies on Ige road, said.

Sunday Vanguard’s efforts to get the state Commissioner. Environment and Director General of the Public Works Corporation, to respond to the issues connected to the two roads were unsuccessfully as they did not pack calls to their phones.