From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Fish farmers around Ikangba-Agoro Road via Ijebu Ode in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, have pleaded with Governor Dapo Abiodun to fix the road, lamenting that its deplorable condition had become an opportunity for criminals to operate at will on the road.
The Chairman of Yemule-Ikangba-Agoro Fish Farmers Association, Lazarus Okole, made this plea in a press briefing, held in Ijebu-Ode, at the weekend.
Okole, who spoke through Nicholas Eko, the spokesman of the association disclosed that the poor state of the road upon which the fish farmers and the residents of the communities in the area had in the past sought for the intervention of the state government and other relevant agencies, has now become a nightmare for the users.
He disclosed how on December 12, one of them, 32-year old Amos Oyemachi, who augmented his fishing business with the operation of a tricycle business was brutally murdered on the road while his newly bought tricycle was taken away.
Okole said that the family of the deceased had raised the alarm the following day after which his mutilated body was discovered at Agoro end of the bad road.
Oyemachi was said to have been buried on Saturday, December 17 leaving behind a wife, two children aged five and two respectively.
“Not too long ago, a commercial motorcycle rider popularly called Okada was also killed on this road while his motorcycle was taken away.
“We are still grappling with the sorrow of over N500m loss we suffered in July this year due to the flooding of our various fish ponds which was aggravated by the terrible erosion on this road leading to overflowing of Yemule river, when one of us was also killed in a very callous manner while looking for what to feed his family with”, he stated.
Okole further explained that fish farmers and other residents of communities now ply the Agoro-Okun Owa axis of the road with palpable fear.
He, on behalf of the fish farmers, demanded that the police should as a matter of urgency fish out the killers of Oyemachi, while also ensuring presence of security agents along the road, which according to him, had been overtaken by bush.
He contended that while the police usually mount at least four check points between Obalende and Ikangba, their obvious absence around Agoro-Okun Owa end of the road must have also boosted the confidence of those perpetrating evil on this road.
While calling on the Ogun State government to compensate the family of Oyemachi, Okole also urged both the state and the Federal Government to fix the road due to its economic importance.
He also pleaded that the Yemule River be dredged during the dry season to forestall another devastating flood and its attendant losses during the wet season.