Residents of Wire and Cable/Ita Faaji/Oganla/Agbofieti as well as Tioya on Amuloko road in Ido and Ona-Ara local government areas of Oyo State, yesterday, were seen in groups discussing the calamity that befell them as their homes and roads were washed away by heavy rainfall.
The rain, which was supposed to be a blessing to many due to the heatwaves that have been ‘microwaving’ Ibadan in the past few months, turned to sorrow.
The rain, which started at about 5:30 pm on Friday and continued till midnight Saturday, washed away the road from Oganla up to the All Saints College end of the road in Ido local government area.
One of the affected residents, Olarenwaju Ajibola, said he spent more than two hours driving on the bad road from Gbekuba area through Agbofieti before he could get to his house at Ita Faaji, a trip which he said normally takes him about 10 minutes.
He said: “Where can we go from here? Many of us are landlords in this community. Can we remove our houses and relocate to another area? This is impossible. Even how many of us can afford to live in better environments?
“This is a very big community housing thousands of people. We can only appeal to the state government and other authorities concerned not to abandon us in this area.
“This is the first rain of the year; the road is already gone. We are already witnessing pains and agonies, going out and returning to our various homes in tears.
“This has been our fate over the years. But we thought the present administration in the state has come to our aid when they filled the road with trucks of sand late last year. Somebody should please do something.”
In Ona-Ara Local Government Area, the alternative route created to ease the re-construction of Tioya bridge on Amuloko area was washed off by the rain.
It would be recalled that the alternative road was created by the state government when the bridge was demolished for reconstruction.
One of the residents, Sodiq Abdulfatai, lamented: “Many residents and visitors are stranded as we speak. Nobody knows the next line of action. It is so sad that this bridge caved in just after the first rain. I recall that we complained to the government last year that this project was not properly handled. We were accused of being used. This is the only road that links the local government headquarters in Akanran.”
