From CLEMENT ADEYI, Osogbo
Osun State Government and the World Bank have opened up the rural areas with the construction of roads across different communities. Farmers, market men and women are the happier for the roads neglected over the years, resulting in farmers’ inability to transport their farm produce to the markets.
As an agrarian state, 70 percent of the people of Osun State live in the rural areas with vast farmlands. It is on this premise that they need access roads to enable the farmers, traders among others engage in commercial activities, which remain their major source of living.
Daily Sun’s visit to some beneficiary communities confirmed that the vehicular movements have increased because the roads are more motorable than before.
The Olosi of Osi, Oba Solomon Adeyeye Adenipekin, said members of his community had suffered terrible effects of bad roads for over 100 years. He noted that the construction of the roads opened up the world to his domain as vehicles plying Lagos and other major cities pass through his community.
Some landowners, however, lamented that the road projects caused problems to them because their farmlands, crops and houses worth millions of naira were destroyed.
Chief Rufus Adebayo of Oyere Farm Settlement expressed delight that their farm produce are now sold at better prices following increased patronage, leading to improved income of the farmers.
A resident of Bode Osi in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area noted that the new roads had brought some development to the village.
Another resident at Patara, Mr Abdulazeez Ajadi, said the roads opened up his community to the eyes of the world as a result of patronage. He said people now travel from far and near to the village farms to buy them and take them to various markets in Lagos and Abuja for sale.
