If you are visiting Igbonla in Irepodun LGA, Kwara state, there are five routes to take. Offa, Ila, Oro, Iludun, and Egudu. All five roads are deplorable. It is not enough that we are reporting it; we witnessed it when we visited. It was raining heavily that day, and our saving grace was pure luck and the skillfulness of our driver.
Other visitors and traders who visit the community are usually not so lucky, which has poorly affected the standard of living of the villagers.
When we got a DM that morning saying, “Tracka please, you need to visit Igbonla in Kwara State. The government has neglected them.” It did not sound special to us because we get such requests every day, and our human resource is limited compared to Nigeria’s unlimited problems.
We engaged further, and their youth representative was very eager, which prompted us to send our team to the community for a comprehensive engagement.
The villagers, predominantly farmers of cocoa, cassava, yams, and other food crops, have borne the brunt of these bad roads. Chief Kayode Afolabi, the Onire of Igbonla Kingdom, spoke to Tracka about how the bad roads have affected their income.
“For the past fifteen years, our standard of living has suffered. When we call traders to come and buy our farm produce, the transporters charge us exorbitant prices to transport our goods due to the bad roads and the extra costs it takes them to come in. Sometimes their trucks will break down, and we will have to look for another truck.
Our market has become an empty shed because people do not come to buy goods from us again. If the roads were motorable, people would come from different states like Oyo and Osun to buy from us. We have written to the various government agencies about our problem, but they only give us promises and nothing more.” Chief Kayode lamented.
Apart from the inability of farmers to sell their farm produce, insecurity is on the rise in the community.
According to the residents, ‘Bororo’, a synonym for Fulanis, have continued to destroy their farms and kill villagers when confronted. Oloye Jimoh Afolayan, Ajiroba of Igbonla, told us that they have been battling the herdsmen crisis for the past fifteen years. When the villagers called on security agencies and got no response, they took matters into their hands.
“Many have been rendered destitute due to the atrocities of these herders. When the cows destroy our farmlands, and we report in Agbamu, they will take sides with the herders. Sometimes, they stab and try to kill farmers who try to stop the cows from destroying their crops. So we decided to build a police station within our community.
We have completed the police station, but the police and DPOs quarters need roofing, plastering, and perimeter fencing. The community people funded this project, so now we are seeking the government’s intervention to complete it.” said Oloye Jimoh.
Once the DPO and officers’ quarters are completed, the residents have been assured that police officers will be deployed to the police post.
Another issue facing the community is access to quality healthcare services.
In 2018, the hospital in Igbonla was renovated, and residents thought it would be the end of their health problems. They joyfully went in droves to wash and clean the hospital on the launch day. Unfortunately, the renovation was the end of the reform. Residents returned to square one as the vast building has been a mere decoration stand for three years.
Balqis Salaudeen, Igbonla’s women youth leader, confirmed to the team that nobody in the facility can attend to pregnant women and sick people.
‘Only one medical personnel is in the entire hospital, and she only attends to malaria and typhoid. There is no equipment at all. Just yesterday, Oloye’s brother had some symptoms of cholera. He was vomiting and stooling. When we took him to the hospital, the personnel on ground told us that she couldn’t handle his case and we should refer him to Ilorin, a three-hour drive from Igbonla. The man died this morning.
Our pregnant women and sick people have to travel about 100km to other communities to access healthcare facilities. We have written several letters to Hon. Raheem Olawuyi representing Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency and Sen. Lola Ashiru representing Kwara-South Senatorial District, but they have all ignored us.” she said.
When our team visited the hospital, it was under lock and key. A resident had to call the medical personnel in charge to come and open the facility so we could take a tour. We observed cobwebs all over the facility when we got in, which shows that it has not been in use despite its completion.
The hospital is already dilapidated because of lack of use. It is better off closed, as only the reception area functions and all other rooms are under lock and key. The nearest functioning major hospital is in Ilorin, which is three hours away. The villagers can only pray to God to spare their lives whenever they need medical attention during emergencies.
Pa Oloyede, a resident, narrated the promises their representative, Senator Lola Ashiru, gave them during his election campaign. He promised to fix the roads for them after his first year in office, but it’s been three years, and there has been no sign of him. Saka Olanrewaju, APC Ward Chairman, Ajase Ward II in Igbonla, complained about how hard their communities’ work for the politicians during elections. Still, they have nothing to show for it.
“We participate fully in every election period, but after the elections, they will neglect us. Even if they can’t address all our problems, they should send professional medical personnel and equip the hospital so our people can stop suffering.” Saka told Tracka.
We are calling the Kwara state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Senator Lola Ashiru, Honourable Raheem Olawuyi, and other relevant stakeholders to address the problems of the Igbonla community in Irepodun LGA. When citizens are poor and have no access to quality healthcare, citizens are just dead men walking.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo, Maxwell Adetoye, Oladayo Olufowose, and Olanrewaju Lawal.
I hope Saka is still eating the largesse from the 2019 election cycle. That’s the danger in selling your vote.
Thank you TrackA for all that you do for God and Humanity. This is my town and I tell you, the situation is even more gory than its captured here.
It’s quite unfortunate that public officers don’t care about the electorate. They’ll only remember the electorate during election year.
The most annoying thing is how voters still support such candidates against their own plight because of political party affiliation, religion or tribal sentiments.
Voters need to be educated by the enlightened.
Kwara state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Senator Lola Ashiru, Honourable Raheem Olawuyi, and other relevant stakeholders
Please come to our aid,
the development of Igbonla will give faster development to other neighboring towns
Thanks Tracka
We need the Government intervention Igbonla village has been suffering for years with no single development or assurance from the Government all promise end up as empty I hope with Tracka awareness something good can comes up the road is nothing to write home about