By Liberty ‘Ruyi
His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki must be appreciated by all well-meaning Edolite for his concern and cries over the deplorable state of federal roads in Edo, particularly the doorways to the state capital Benin City. From Sapele, Agbor, Auchi, Lagos, and even the connecting by-passes. His lamentation echoed across the country for the collective good.
The only cry that hasn’t been loud enough is the extreme flood in Benin City GRA, the slow pace of work on Ekenwan Road, the neglected County Home Motel and Limit Roads, the abandoned Uwasota Road, the neglected Ohovbe axis, the pains in Evbuabogun and Evbuomoman Roads to mention a few that requires the Governor’s direct interventions as state roads beyond tears.
We joined voices after Obaseki openly instructed us all to plead with the federal government to grant him approval to reconstruct the federal roads since they have denied him the kind gesture over time. Two days later and just last week, the Honourable Minister for Works His Excellency Dave Umahi requested that Obaseki should send him such a request as simple as using the WhatsApp platform. We all watched him declare that he was ready to partner with Obaseki.
My confidence in Obaseki’s ability to respond was my knowledge of the 17 billion paid back to his administration which Oshiomhole the former governor expended on federal roads in the state, and the fact that his allocation from Abuja is now more than double with the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit. I was almost sure the technocrat wanted to approach palliative differently.
Twice, the majority of Edo people have heeded Obaseki’s plea for support to fix our roads which are the most critical of all basic infrastructure; the first was to get him re-elected on the grounds of taking resources away from godfathers to meet our basic needs of public amenities. With the condition of internal roads in the state and from the position of a loud majority, he has failed woefully.
The second was our call on the federal government to permit him to fix federal roads in Benin City. He seems to be heading toward failure again having changed his tone after the federal government gave him a nod. He now speaks of the same internal roads he has failed to construct in the last seven years with another grammar he calls the ‘alternative routes.’
What other alternative routes is the Governor talking about beyond the Old Sapele Road that has been staring at him for seven years? Isn’t the governor aware that Uwasota is an alternative route? What other alternative route could be more important than the Benin City GRA that is sinking? Edo people are getting more confused.
It is one year to go and Edo people are frustrated with too many news headlines accompanying beautiful pictures that continually surprise the reality. The clock is ticking on this administration while it battles on in the politics of blame. It is time to wake the governor up, like waking him up to hear the music in the streets because beyond repaying his gesture in the 2024 Edo governorship election as widely clamored, one year more of waste after seven unproductive ones can never be retrieved.