The City of Ibadan - a muse that inspired John Pepper Clarke's widely-read poem 'Ibadan'- is in trouble. It has become a contradiction of itself.Bookish, home to intellectuals but shabby and unkempt! The city proud of its status as one of Nigeria's leading cities, capital of the old Western Region and host to many scholars and institutions such as University of Ibadan, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER). Today, it is overcrowded, untidy, filthy and unruly. Certainly many of its bigwigs and indigenes may raise their voices in objection to this description but these words and more describe the current state of the city. Besides being home to the country's premier university, it has several publishing houses, a large expatriate community, top-notch private schools, and new housing estates. Its political bigwigs from famous families all carry the city shoulder 'high. Surely they must travel in and around the city daily; certainly their eyes must take in the rot. Ibadan has over the years transformed from a citadel of optimism to an environmental nightmare. It comprises a GRA which boasts of rows of state of the art houses, pockets green belts and an elitist class. Vast parts of the city comprise a muddle of houses, shops and shanties; overflowing drainages. Piles of refuse 'adorn' the vicinity like street furniture competing for space with the shops and shacks that also litter the crumbled areas.During last Saturday's visit to the city of intellectuals and literati, one was once again confronted with familiar ugly scenes. Nothing had changed. Undeniably, the city is in need of surgical attention. But where to start from' With re-orientation on sanitation and driving habits' The commercial transport drivers are unruly and rude; the slightest traffic pile up sees them forming extra lanes on the roads. Facing on-coming traffic is no problem for the Ibadan taxi driver. His brazenness and adeptness at this abnormality appear to encourage drivers of private car owners to copy them. Indeed, private cars with the owners sitting at the back have no qualms about driving on the wrong side of the road. Besides the unruly behaviour on the roads, visitors are 'treated' to the roadside shops. Every available space is taken up by sellers of fruits, snacks, cosmetics, soft drinks, water even bath towels. These open-air businesses litter Ibadan and contribute to the general confusion that makes up the city. The last flash floods to hit the city took close to hundred lives with it. The devastation was not totally surprising. The channelisation plan to sort of the Ogunpa River was not implemented to the full. It reportedly fell under the hammer of politicalisation. Besides, the channels are streaming with refuse. In a bid to escape the traffic gridlock that gripped the city on Sallah Saturday, we navigated our way through side streets. This provided yet another opportunity to see the city at its 'best.' Packed slums and broken roads greeted us. Suddenly we stumbled on a giant bill board with Governor Abiola Ajimobi smiling down on the chaos below and thanking the people for voting him in and promising not to let them down. These are familiar words from political class. Has he acted on the promises he made in the aftermath of the flash floods or is he busy playing 'progressive politics'' The sum total of Ibadan is disorder. Ibadan is crumpled and needs straightening out. And Fast too! Is Governor Abiola Ajimobi up to the task
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