Ede’s major township road now a death trap

Sir: The only major federal road in Ede – Babangida Way – is right now in a state of total disrepair. The road stretches from the State Hospital junction to Oke-Gada end of the town. It carries heavy volume of human and vehicular traffic, since the town boasts of two world-class universities, Adeleke University, Redeemers University and a Federal Polytechnic. But for heaven knows what, the township road under reference, has for a long time been subjected to complete abandonment and disrepair and it calls for serious attention.

This very important road, therefore, requires very urgent concern of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) as well as the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), all with a view to reducing the agonies currently encountered by commuters that daily ply the road.

A journey of 10 minutes from one end of the road to the another now takes not less than 30 minutes, because some corridors of the road, such as Oba Laoye/Mosebolatan; Adelebare junction; Arinago junction; Daodu/Ile Pere/Wema Bank; Total Petrol Station frontage; the Railway “level” crossing and the Oke-Gada axis are a nightmare to whoever uses the road. They have been turned into deep gullies and craters, which can literally ‘swallow’ up any vehicle of whatever the description.

So many avoidable accidents, involving motorcycle riders on some of the portions of the road, have sent innocent citizens to their early graves.The state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in the course of his second term governorship campaigns at Adventist Grammar School Ede, in July 2014, entered into a covenant with the people of Ede to the effect that by January 2015, he would commence the dualisation of the very road under reference, in appreciation of Ede people’s massive support for him. Whether that promise will materialise tomorrow remains to be seen.

The NRC ‘level’ crossing at Oke-Gada, is already a death trap for vehicular movements.To improve the condition of our roads nationally, President Muhammadu Buhari, should seriously consider the exploitation of bitumen at Agbabu in Ondo State, so as to make production of asphalt for tarring our roads, including the failed Ede township road, a lot easier. In fact, a state of emergency should be declared on Ede township road that goes by the name Babangida Way.
Olumide Lawal
Ede, Osun State.