Residents of Olaoluwa Community Development Association in the Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have appealed to the government to urgently rehabilitate their road, which they say has remained in a deplorable condition for more than three decades.
The community’s deteriorating road network has reportedly disrupted transportation, crippled commercial activities and exposed residents, particularly pregnant women and schoolchildren, to serious safety risks.
Residents said the situation becomes significantly worse during rainfall, when parts of the road become impassable, forcing commuters to trek from the nearest bus stop to their homes. Commercial motorcycles and tricycles, which ordinarily provide convenient transportation within the area, are also unable to access the community.
The chairman of the community association, Moses Adeola, said residents had repeatedly appealed to the relevant authorities without receiving the intervention they desperately needed.
According to him, the community has written several letters, submitted videos showing the condition of the road and sought assistance through radio stations, but the situation has remained largely unchanged.
Adeola explained that the road serves as an important link between neighbouring communities, making its poor condition particularly troubling because it affects residents travelling to hospitals and other essential destinations.
He disclosed that pregnant women and people experiencing medical emergencies have encountered dangerous situations while being transported on motorcycles over the damaged road. Some pregnant women have reportedly fallen from motorcycles while being taken for medical attention.
The community leader also expressed concern about schoolchildren, who struggle to get to school during the rainy season. Recent rainfall, he said, had left residents with virtually no alternative route.
“We are now helpless and need the government to come to our rescue,” he said.
Adeola further lamented that local businesses were suffering because customers found it difficult to access the area. He accused local government officials of enforcing shop permit payments, including shutting some businesses, despite the difficulties traders face in attracting customers.
The hardship was also highlighted by Oluwokiti Ephraim, a former chairman of Prestige Community Development Association, now known as Ultimate CDA, who said residents had spent years attempting to address the problem without lasting success.
Ephraim noted that the road leads to a general hospital, making its condition especially dangerous for pregnant women, children and people with health challenges. He added that government officials had visited the area and documented the situation, but residents were still waiting for meaningful action.
He explained that people arriving from the expressway often have to stop at a junction and continue on foot because commercial motorcycles and tricycles can no longer navigate the road. Residents transporting goods are sometimes forced to carry them on their heads to reach their homes.
Ephraim warned that the situation could become even more dangerous at night, particularly when residents need urgent medical assistance and vehicles struggle to pass through the damaged road.
Another resident, Doris Alaba, who has lived in the community for nearly 20 years, recounted how she once fell into a water-filled pothole while travelling to work.
She also described the difficulty she experienced when preparing to travel to the United States last year. Unable to get an Uber driver into the community, she had to enlist the help of young men to carry her luggage to the nearest bus stop before continuing to the airport.
Alaba said the road had severely affected local businesses, with some shops closing because customers were reluctant to visit the area. She also raised concerns about children falling into water-filled potholes during the rainy season.
Residents, she added, frequently pay people to transport their goods from the bus stop because vehicles and commercial tricycles cannot reach their homes.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Executive Chairman of the Igando-Ikotun LCDA, Lasisi Akinsanya, were unsuccessful at the time the report was filed. His phone reportedly rang unanswered, while a text message seeking his reaction had not received a response.
The residents are now calling on the Lagos State Government and the relevant local council authorities to prioritise the rehabilitation of the road, warning that continued neglect could worsen the community’s transportation, economic and safety challenges.
For a community that says it has endured the problem for more than 30 years, residents insist that another visit or promise is not enough. They want urgent, practical action to restore access, protect lives and revive economic activities.
