By Cynthia Orji and Isaiah Onifade
for people operating or residing in or just visiting Agbara, the industrial and manufacturing hub of Ogun State, commuting has become a nightmare on account of the terrible state of the road.
The road is the only one that gives access to the area, and allows manufactured goods to be transported to warehouses in Lagos State and onwards tom other parts of the country.
The companies operating in Agbara include Beta Glass Nigeria Plc, Vitamalt, Pharma Deko, Nestle, Lotus Plastics, Reckitt Benckiser, Evans Medicals, and most recently, Procter and Gamble, which is constructing the largest of its plants in West Africa in Agbara.
Sadly, staff of these industrial companies are daily exposed to the bad roads within the estate, the poorly managed industrial waste, ill-equipped sewage treatment plant and the lingering legal tussle between the management of the companies and the host community.
The biggest concern of the private residents of the estate is the deplorable state of the road leading into the estate, which takes off from the Lagos-Badagry expressway.
Agbara road is now a death trap because of the high rate of accidents involving heavy duty trucks as well as snatching of cars, robbery attacks, all of which are made possible by the bad road that forces motorists to slow down.
On a recent visit to Agbara, Sunday Sun interacted with some of the residents. One of them, Mr Romans Onyema, lamented over the terrible things happening within the community. He said that vehicles develop different kinds of problems everyday, resulting in the owners going to the mechanics often.
“Practically everyday, heavy duty trucks fall along the road and cause traffic jam. The container being conveyed by the trailer might fall on cars or motorcycles and crush the people.
“Every last Saturday of the month, we hold the meeting of the Estate Residents Association. In one of the meeting the chairman of the estate informed us that the executives were planning to invite the state government officials to visit the estate, to experience what we are passing through all day. He said some residents have been moving out of the estate because of the bad road. Besides, they don’t want to be victims of armed robbery.
A driver who has been living in the estate more than a year, lamented over the poor environment, and appealed to Ogun State governor Ibikunle Amosun to reconstruct the road. Moreover, he also complained about the penchant of commuter bus drivers to just park by the side of the road and begin to call passengers to board their buses.
Expectedly the irresponsible practice of the commuter bus drivers adds to the chaotic situation. The residents appealed to the state governor to give the estate a facelift.