For 72 hours, progress froze on Imoniyamen Street. What was meant to be a celebratory kickoff for a long-awaited Delta State government road contract in Iwhrekpokpor, an Ughelli North suburb, turned into a standoff between community leadership and the project contractor.

Okoroba Cottage Hospital, a once thriving healthcare sanctuary, has been reduced to a haunting symbol of governmental neglect and the natives are crying out for help before it’s too late.

From Obanlikwu in northern Cross River, where the state shares a boundary with Kwande Local Government Area of Benue, to Obudu which neighbours Vandeikya, and Yala rubs shoulders with Konshisha and Oju, the story remains the same; two people with one heritage, but constantly at war with each other.

For over 15 years, the people of Isoko nation, an ethnic nationality blessed with over 100 oil wells and eight flow stations, have been living in what they describe as “total darkness,” even as the rest of Delta State moves forward.

“Dem go jail us tire,” a resident told Vanguard, cigarette in hand while squatting near his house. “Do they know the cost of building a toilet?”