25 Osun Communities Protest Bad Road, Urge Adeleke to End Years of Neglect

25 Osun Communities Protest Bad Road, Urge Adeleke to End Years of Neglect

Residents of 25 communities in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State took to the streets on Monday to protest the worsening state of the Kelebe road in Osogbo, calling on Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene urgently.

With placards bearing messages such as “We reject neglect,” “Gov Adeleke come to our rescue,” and “Approve construction of our road,” the demonstrators expressed frustration over the government’s continued silence on the road’s poor condition.

Speaking during the protest, which began at Olu-Omo, one of the community leaders, Kehinde Olusegun, said the road connects more than two dozen communities from Kelebe to the Osogbo/Ikirun road via Kobo area.

“We have gathered here today to appeal to the state government for intervention on this road, the road leads to about 25 communities, from Kelebe to Osogbo/Ikirun road via Kobo area of Osogbo,” he said.

“For some time, we have made a series of efforts to make some repairs, at least twice a year we use our resources for grading of the road, we are appealing to the state government to give us attention so that our road can be rehabilitated.”

Olusegun added that several letters have been sent to relevant authorities, but the communities have only received excuses of lack of funds in response.

“We believe that with the little resources, we can still benefit from the government. It was the community that did the bridge over there but it may soon collapse because it is getting out of hand. The bridge is between an untarred road, it will get eroded during the rainy season,” he warned.

Highlighting the significance of the affected communities, he said over 5,000 houses are situated in the area, with a sizeable voting population.

“We have Aratumi, Araromi, Akogun, Okete Igbale, Asejere, Alagbede, Isundun, Olu-Omo, Ona Satia among others in this area located in Olorunda local government area of Osun State.”

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He lamented the adverse impact of the road’s condition on healthcare access, children’s safety, and local transportation.

“The road makes it difficult for us to access healthcare during emergencies, our children are prone to accidents on this road because they take bike. Infact the commercial transporters avoid this road making it difficult for us to enjoy more development.”

Residents urged the Adeleke administration to act swiftly to prevent further hardship, especially as the rainy season threatens to worsen the situation.