Two decades ago, there was wild jubilation in  Ikija, a rural community in Idi Ayunre, the headquarters of Oluyole Local Government Area, Oyo State, as one of their sons and then governor of the state, Alhaji Lam Adesina, approved the construction of a health centre and a technical school to bring development to  the remote area.

Contractors were mobilized to site shortly after the projects were approved and they were completed in goodtime.

“We were excited at the speed with which the buildings were completed and looked forward to the commencement of medical and academic activities in the two buildings, believing that the twin projects would bring tremendous transformation and prosperity to our community,” a member of the community said.

Unfortunately for the people, the governor could not go on with the project before the expiration of his single term tenure. Since then, the buildings constructed with tax payers’ money have been neglected by successive governments in the state and left to rot.

The people are more pained that rather than put the buildings into use, one of Lam Adesina’s successors built another technical school not far away from the community.

The buildings designed for the technical school project sit on a large expanse of land, but they can hardly be seen from outside because they are covered by weeds while giant trees threaten the foundations of the buildings with their roots.

It actually took the people who took our correspondent on a tour of the site quite some time to clear a part of the bush before he could gain access to the premises. Walking deep into the bush with men armed with a sharp, big cutlass sent jitters down the spine of the reporter.

His fears became worse when he noticed that the okada (commercial motorcycle) rider who took him to the place had vanished.

“Gentlemen, please, I think we should go back from here. There is no point going into this thick bush with so much uncertainty,” he said in a feat of apprehension to dissuade the locals from continuing with the journey. But his pleas fell on deaf ears as the locals were determined not to lose what they considered a rare opportunity to tell the world about their pains and frustration from the abandoned projects.

“Don’t worry sir, we are almost there. We are already looking at the buildings,” one of the two escorts said as he vented his anger on the weeds on our path. Frightfully, the reporter continued the journey with his hosts, intermittently looking over his shoulders to be sure that his escorts were not out for any sinister move.

Source: The Nation