Ibadan: Disaster looms as Ayeye bridge collapses

Residents of Oritamerin, Beere, Agbeni, Itamaya, as well as Foko and Gege may not be able to link Ayeye area, all in Ibadan metropolis, if the state government failed to act fast to fix Ayeye bridge which has totally collapsed, thus creating problems for both motorists and pedestrians.Some residents of Ayeye who spoke with Community News also frowned at the slow reaction of the appropriate authorities to the deteriorating condition of the environment where the popular bridge is, stressing that there may be a serious disaster in the area if the collapsed bridge was not rehabilitated quickly.When Community News asked Mr Musibau Oderinde, a resident of the area his reaction to the damaged bridge and the cause of the damage, he replied; 'it is only that we don't have a sensitive government which is so compassionate and sympathetic to the yearnings and feelings of the people. Before Ayeye bridge finally collapsed, thus cutting us away from other communities in Ibadan, there were many cracks on the road with some potholes. When this began, we raised the alarm and we intimated the people concerned with the maintenance of the road on the impending danger, but they never took us serious. In fact, some television and radio stations came here to give media coverage to the road so that urgent steps could be taken to prevent disaster that was looming then, but see what has happened to the road now,' he lamented.Some shop owners whose business activities are conducted around the collapsed bridge lamented that the bridge, did not collapse in a day, adding that the disintegration process on the road had been on for some months. According to Mama Tope, a pepper and vegetable trader in the area, 'it seems our government like watching things until they finally collapse. Why should the local government concerned wait until disaster occurred' Honestly, it is very annoying that it was when the bridge collapsed finally that it began to make news.'A commercial vehicle operator plying the route, Mr Adekunle Oladiti, told Community News that there was an urgent need for the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Yinus Akintunde, to direct either the State Road Maintenance Agency or the authorities of Ibadan North West Local Government Council to direct road rehabilitation engineers to the site for immediate repair of the bridge.Oladiti said, 'Ayeye is a very popular community not only in Ibadan North-West Local Government Council, but in the ancient city of Ibadan. So, we don't expect the bridge to collapse and immediate steps won't be taken to ameliorate the suffering of the community dwellers. We are begging Governor Abiola Ajimobi to act fast by helping us.'An okada operator in the area, Samuel Ogundokun, tasked Mr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan North-West Local Government Area, to live up to expectation by repairing the damaged bridge and the road.Other people in the area who spoke with Community News urged the state government to act fast, stressing that with the coming of rainy season, if care was not taken, there may be disaster in the area, especially if there was heavy rainfall with flood.
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