On a quiet Thursday afternoon, Aboru, a community tucked near Iyana Ipaja, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, presented a striking contrast to the usual hustle and bustle typical of Lagos communities.

When The Guardian’s correspondent visited, just a handful of shops were open, and the streets were nearly empty.

The untarred main road remained largely silent, except for the occasional rumble of commercial tricycles, popularly called Keke Maruwa, as they passed through.

Abiola Omowunmi, a resident who has been living in the community since the early 2000s, sat in a wooden kiosk where her friend sells Ankara fabrics.

Omowunmi said the road in the community has remained impassable since she moved in, as she gestured toward the untarred main road.

From conversations with residents in the community, The Guardian learnt that the roads are worse when it rains, trapping residents in the community and stopping people outside from accessing it.

Residents also said the community used to suffer from floods during peak rainy seasons, which has resulted in the deaths of some residents and the loss of properties in the community.

Omowunmi told The Guardian that she has lost one of her husband’s relatives to the flood. She added that the government began repairing the road three years ago, but it is nowhere near completion.

“It is even a bit better now. After all, they have constructed a bridge over the canal. Before, all we had was a makeshift wooden bridge, which we used to access the community. We thank God that when it rains, the flood no longer carries people away. But we need good roads,” said Omowunmi.

Bad roads stall trades in the community

The Guardian first reported in 2021 on the deplorable state of Aboru Road and other roads in Iyana Ipaja. Four years later, residents say little has changed.

The Chairman of Oki Central Community Development Association (CDA), Gbadamosi Oluwafemi Razak, told The Guardian in 2021 that the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment at the time, Tunji Bello, had handed over the project to a contractor and that the bridge over the canal from the community and Agbele to Ipaja would be made with concrete on both sides, with roads that would take vehicles.

Razak said work had started at the time and hoped that it would be completed.

The Guardian’s correspondent confirmed that a concrete bridge has been constructed over the canal, but the roads still remain in deplorable condition.

The bridge was constructed over the canal.

Despite the construction of a canal in Akinolu that links to Aboru, residents say proper road infrastructure is still missing. They still groan over the poor state of the roads as they did in 2021, and female traders lament poor sales.

In the wooden kiosk belonging to her friend who sells Ankara fabrics, Omowunmi said she met her friend sleeping when she arrived because she had no customers to attend to. Omowunmi said it was the norm around there, particularly for female traders who struggle to make sales.

“We need the roads to be repaired so we can sell our wares in our shops inside the community. If the road is good, many customers will patronize us and sales will move,” said Omowunmi.

Good roads, no doubt, are a prerequisite for good trades. This was echoed by the former corps marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, in 2022.

“Roads are inevitable to economies at the micro and macro levels. In underscoring the importance of roads to building economies, the roads and road infrastructures must be designed and built to be safe, resilient, smart, and sustainable. Roads should be built in a way that would not become ‘death traps’ to the users.

“The world’s leading economies have better-built roads with networks that promote road safety and minimal socio-economic consequences,” said Boboye.

The absence of it, however, stalls trade.

A tailor in Raji Rasaki Street, who has been living there for the past seven years, Labake, said the roads have been in the same condition since she moved in. According to her, officials of the Lagos State Government have made several promises to repair the roads, but they have never fulfilled their promises.

Labake decried the state of the road, adding that many residents have moved out of the community, sold their homes, and children cannot go to school when it rains.

“Many residents have sold their houses and moved out because of the bad road. They are not glad to do it. We have seen that they have begun repairing the canal, but the work is not near perfect or completion. We want them to fix the roads. The road repair is not something the residents can do all by themselves.

“Our children who have resumed won’t be able to go to school when it rains. We also cannot leave the community when it rains. Even those who work outside the community can’t go to work or return home on rainy days. How will businesses boom when the road is bad?” she lamented.

The tailor added that several shop owners have locked and abandoned their shops because poor road conditions have slowed businesses. The Guardian’s correspondent observed that Labake was the only trader who opened her shop in the building, while her neighbors’ shops remained locked.

Labake’s shop opened, while her neighbours’ shops are shut.

When contacted, the General Manager of Lagos State Public Works, Ayodele Somide, directed The Guardian to the agency’s public relations officer. As of press time, the spokesperson had not returned calls or text messages. (The Guardian)