Senator Stella Oduah’s Ogbaru Communities Protest over abandoned roads

By Felix Oti, www.odogwublog.com

The people of Obeagwe, Akiliogidi and Ogwuikpele communities in Ogbaru local government area, Anambra state, are not happy with the Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial zone, Princess Stella Oduah who is also the former Minister of Aviation, over an abandoned 1.5-kilometre road project sited in the area.

The road according to them, Senator Oduah attracted to the Communities when she was the Aviation Minister, but couldn’t monitor it’s progress.

The road which links the three communities had been seemingly abandoned by the contractor. The communities, as a result, had endlessly groaned and suffered following the pitiable condition of the road, having been deprived of vehicular movements in the area.

www.odogwublog.com learnt that those handling the project had foot-dragged for too long on the said road before it was finally abandoned by the contractors, leaving the communities trapped and in despair. 

As a result, residents of the communities have had to spend fortunes before they connect to it’s neighbouring community, Ossomala. Sometimes, they walk their energies out trying to traverse through the sorry state of road in the area.

The residents expressed dismay at the former minister of Aviation for her role in their plight on the road, saying it was orchestrated by the lukewarm attitude of the politician whom, they alleged, gained the contract for the road from the federal government.

It was, however, gathered that the road project was handled by Inter-Bau Construction Limited, a leading indigenous construction company before they were reportedly substituted with a M/S Young Stallion Nigeria Ltd by the former minister.

The residents alleged that, though the officials of Inter Bau showed no sign of seriousness at work when the said contract was given to them, the situation became worse when the latter company took over.

They reported that the sands and equipment brought for palliative work on the road had been long abandoned, near the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Obeagwe.

Speaking to www.odogwublog.com alongside others, Emeka Udogwu from Akiri Ogidi said that government had shown lukewarm attitude and unwillingness to monitor progress on the work, saying it had promised completion of the road but failed in their promise. 

“I don’t know the particular company that is handling the road but I know that Stella Oduah was the person that brought the contractors handling the road now. She took the contract from INTER BAU and handed it over to the present company.  

“Since over three years that the company took the contract, they have not done anything tangible on the road. They have not done up to 50 meters for over three years. They parked their equipment and left.

“Federal government needs to see what the contractors are doing here. They have messed up the whole place and rendered us trapped. I remember when Inter Bau was doing the job; most times, the state government will come and inspect progress of the work. Such inspection gingers them up to perform their duties.” 

The people of the area, Wednesday, took to the uncompleted road in protest of the prolonged delay in the completion of the road and the continued suffering of the people of the area.

www.odogwublog.com reports that the protesters carried placards bearing inscriptions: “we cannot transport our farm produce because of bad roads”, “Obeagwe-Akiliogidi-Ogwuikpele road has been abandoned for years,” “Government, please fix Obeagwe-Akiliogidi-Ogwuikpele road.” 

Recounting their experiences on the road, the protesters, made up of the aged farmers and local traders in the community accused the contractors and politicians of subjecting the people to hardship. They complained that the road had prevented them from marketing their farm produce which they claimed to be their only source of livelihood.

They also complained that they lacked basic amenities like light, water and access roads and cannot even access their farmland. 

According to Victoria (surname withheld), “our farm work is in vain as we have no means of taking them to the market. Our farm produce waste at home. We only take the little we could carry to the market, leaving others which later waste.” 

Also, Agnes Enemuwo, from Obeagwe, said “we trek several kilometres to the Ossomala market but whenever it rains, nobody goes out. Any week that witnesses rainfall, we don’t go out because the road will be terribly bad. 

“Motorcycle operators charge us between 1,500 and N2, 000 from Akiri Ogidi to Ossomala while from Obeagwe to Ossomala is N 1000. I remember the day a group of people got trapped with their vehicle on the road for a complete two days due to their inability to meander through the muddy road.”

Another indigene, Izuchukwu Otunuya lamented “we are totally abandoned here. We lack access road, water, and other basic amenities. We are trapped inside the bush, without electricity. 

“They have been constructing the road since I was born and, up till now, the road is still under construction. The company had worked on the road for so many years with no remarkable progress. Every month, they bring one trip of sand and that is all for the month.”

Corroborating, Mrs Maryann Odili, said that since she was born, almost over 40 years, she had never seen good road and water in her community, neither was there any good hospital to take care of the people of the community. She added “it is God that is saving us here. Most of our patients die on the road while being taken to the hospital in Ossomala.” 

Elsewhere in Amiyi community in the same Ogbaru local government area, the people staged a peaceful protest over the poor state of Amiyi-Umuzu road. The agrarian community said their poor access road had denied them means of marketing their farm produce and reduced their movements to other communities.

Speaking, the president general of the community, Nwanze Afubera, said the community was facing serious challenge in the major access road in the community, especially during the rainy season.  

“Our experience on the road is like a movement of gnashing teeth. It is not as if the road is too wide or lengthy. From Ochuche here to Amiyi is not up to 5 kilometres. We urge the Anambra state government and our representatives to come to our rescue and make the road even motorable for us.”

“Our community is more or less a depot for cassava stem. After heavy flooding in the early part of the year, people, especially neighbouring communities in Ogbaru, come to our community for cassava. He feared that this year’s case could turn out the worst as the road is no longer manageable for transporters. 

According to Afubera, “I have written several letters to governments since my five years as the PG, but such efforts had never yielded any result.”

www.odogwublog.com further reports that the PG urged the state and federal government to come to the community’s rescue and save the residents from starvation.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the accused Senator Oduah was unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report as her phone was switched off and she was yet to respond to the message sent to
her line.