One of the major challenges plaquing the nomination and implementation of capital projects in Nigeria is the bias around lack of proper needs assessment to decipher which project is a major need of a particular community from the other. There have been several cases where communities in need of certain needs have been handed over other projects not pertinent to them. Imagine a community in need of a health centre but given wheelbarrows as empowerment items, yes, that’s how terrible it can be.
Our visit to Olojabala and Apara communities in Atakunmosa West LGA, Osun State in March 2024, was first, to find out whether or not their provision in the 2024 budget was truly a germane need and whether or not they knew anything about it. Interestingly, it turned out that the Twenty million Naira ‘Electrification of Olojabala Community in Osujela and Electrification of Apara Community in Osogbo and Neighboring’ project was a major necessity in the community.
The communities have not had electricity in the last three years, a situation occasioned by their defunct transformer. “All efforts to get government’s attention to the situation have been futile and over 4,000 residents of this community have since been suffering from blackouts through the years” said Mr. Rauf Suleiman, Apara’s community leader.
In all of these, the major puzzles Tracka was keenly interested in solving are; How will this community get heard? How do we connect them with their representatives? How do we ensure this project is not diverted, or unfunded. To ensure all these questions get the needed attention, in April, 2024, we held community sensitization meetings at Olojabala and Apara on the projects allocated to their communities. From here, we encouraged them to demand accountability on the budget line item by writing to their National Assembly’s representatives and to also take it a step further by writing community needs assessment letters to the state Governor. We delivered these on their behalf to the respective offices for prompt attention.
With persistent engagements, their voices were harkened to. When we returned to the community in February 2025, we realized that two brand new 300KVA transformers have been supplied, installed and serving both communities. One of the transformers was supplied by the state government while the other by the Federal Government.
Nothing brings us greater joy than hearing directly from the people we serve. Mrs. Aiyedun, a trader and longtime resident of Olojabala community, captured it perfectly when she said “We are so happy to see this new transformer standing tall in our community. For the first time in four years, our lights stay bright, our children can read at night without struggling and economic activities are restored. Now our community is now rid of hoodlums and we are safer now, we can only thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Stories like this remind us why we do this work. The restored reliable power isn’t just about cables and transformers; it is about brighter homes, safer streets, and new opportunities for everyone. Together, we are truly lighting up lives.
Story by: Osiyemi Joshua, Ademola Ademide, and Akinola Tolulope
