Ogun residents groan over deplorable community road

August 20, 2026 12:12 am

Jesuferanmi Adeeko

Residents of Karanla community, a rural settlement in the Mowe area of Ogun State, have appealed to the state government to fix the community road, saying the poor condition has hindered movement and affected their livelihoods.

The residents who spoke with PUNCH Metro during a visit to the community on Monday said the roads had been neglected for more than 20 years.

PUNCH Metro correspondent who visited the community observed residents and motorcycle operators struggling to navigate the deteriorated road, with some portions covered in dust and uneven surfaces.

They said the situation becomes worse during rainfall, making movement difficult for residents, motorists and motorcycle operators.

A commercial motorcyclist, Saheed, said riders and motorists often avoided the community because of the condition of the road.

He said, “When rain falls, the road becomes worse than it is now. We commercial motorcycle riders, and even people with big cars, run from this area because of the road. They should have mercy on us.

“If the government can help us to fix the road, we would be very happy, and the people of the community will also be happy.”

A community leader in Karanla Village, Mukaila Jimoh, said residents were struggling to access the community, noting that the two major routes linking the village to Mowe and Lotto were both in poor condition.

The octogenarian said the situation had deteriorated over the years despite residents continuing to participate in elections.

Jimoh said, “To go out now is a problem for us. Our road is a two-way road, one leading to Mowe and another leading to Lotto. Neither of them is good at all.

“I am over 80 years old, and for over 20 years, it has become worse than it was before. It is as if we don’t have a government here. If elections begin, we go and vote with struggles and still no enjoyment or gain.

“Apart from the hunger we face here and fuel that isn’t easy to get in our area, the road is very bad, and we need the government to do something about it.”

Another commercial motorcyclist, who asked not to be named, said residents faced different challenges depending on the weather.

“When rain falls, people will run away from this road. Now it is dust that is their problem, and they have catarrh because of the road, and when rain falls, it is bad,” he said.

He added that transport fares often increased during rainy periods because motorcycle operators had to take greater risks to navigate the bad portions of the road.

Another community leader, Mustafa Adisa, also took the correspondent around the community, pointing out the roads, residential areas and other infrastructure he said had remained neglected for years.

Responding to the residents’ concerns, the Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said the government had been investing significantly in road infrastructure across the state.

He explained that the classification of roads was important, noting that some roads were state-owned while others fell under local government jurisdiction.

“When you look at the road from Shun down to Owode to Ofada, they are state roads that we are building. Adjoining roads are local government roads,” Akinmade said.

He said that the administration had constructed more than 1,700 kilometres of roads since assuming office about seven and a half years ago.

He argued that some roads currently in poor condition had existed for a long time without adequate intervention from previous administrations.

“Since we came on board about seven and a half years ago, we have been able to construct over 1,700 kilometres.

“If your road that is bad is not just today, it has been there for a very long time, so if a certain government had constructed that road, it would have been in a very good order,” he said.

He assured the residents that the government considered every road important but had to prioritise projects across the state.

“What you need to know is that every road is very important to us and we make sure that every local government in the state, when we want to do the road, we give them all opportunities to have a sense of belonging,” he said.

Akinmade added that the government would not develop one community at the expense of another.

“We cannot begin to develop Mowe at the expense of Ibafo or Ibafo at the expense of Magboro. Everyone has a sense of belonging and government cannot do all these things alone,” he said.

He, however, assured the residents that the government would intervene if the road in question fell under its jurisdiction.

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