The conversations on the development of Osogbo are inexhaustible since human perceptions are quite diverse. However, there are basic conditions that a growing town must meet to be called a true city. These are basic things I will explore in this text and I hope policymakers read with an open mind.
First, how qualified am I to speak on the subject of infrastructural development? Eminently qualified, I will say. Aside being a very prominent journalist in Osun State, I also have a background (education and work experience) in both Structural and Transportation Engineering. Thus, my insights on these subjects are both technically and socially calibrated.
Before we proceed, let us identify certain unarguable problems in Osogbo as it exists today:
1. An average Bolt driver knows that Osogbo has one of the smallest network of Intra-city roads of any State capital in Nigeria. This is one of the reasons it is quite difficult for ride-hailing services to function efficiently in Osogbo. This is also one of the reasons Google Maps is not as efficient in Osogbo as it is in some other places.
2. Successive administrations in Osun have paid lip service to the true development of new growth areas in and around Osogbo, with a view to expanding the urban capacity of the town. This text will touch on this a lot.
3. Osogbo dwellers, save for young internet fraudsters, have very low disposable income compared to dwellers of some other cities within the South-West region. This alone is a major reason many investors will think thrice before coming into Osun, knowing most of the dwellers do not have capacity to patronize them. Human Development does not seem to be a concern for us here.
The three problems above, except we want to be hypocrites, are unarguable. They are evident and they form the core reason for our under-development.
Before I proceed, let me do some commendations. These will be efforts of successive governments that I consider to be in line with the developmental needs of Osogbo, as a State Capital.
1. Oloye Adebisi Akande
Baba’s decision to build the expansive Osun State Government Secretariat is a decision that has spread the development of Osogbo towards the Abere axis. Housing Estates that sprang up opposite the Free Trade Zone came there because of the proximity to Abere. Owode-Ede and its rapid development is directly attributable to the existence of the State Secretariat. We can go on and on, but the situation of all government offices in the same place, opened up the development of many areas around that axis.
2. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola
The Prince of Okuku executed two very important projects that redefined the urban landscape of Osogbo. These are the Akoda-MDS road dualization (including a bridge over Osun River), and the Oke Fia-Dele Yes Sir road dualization. The will to embark on the two projects, despite the paucity of funds to the State at the time, is commendable. Both projects gave Osogbo its first true urban ambience.
3. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
The administration of Ogbeni Aregbesola embarked on the audacious Ona Baba Ona project. This project singlehandedly opened up development in many areas within Osogbo. All of the new development we see on both sides of the road from Dele Yes Sir to Africa and to Ilesa Garage, were made possible because Ona Baba Ona opened up a new vista of development.
His decision to also execute the MDS to Ila Odo dualization is also one major reason development moved in the direction of Ikirun.
Then there is the Ota Efun to Oke Onitea road that cuts through Ayekale. The road singlehandedly boosted the development of Ayekale area, encouraging a lot of persons to move there, tripling property prices in less than 10 years, and easing pressure on the Ota Efun to Stadium road.
The same administration constructed the slip roads at Olaiya. Despite the very short distance of the Olaiya to Odi Olowo slip road, the Aregbesola administration took the difficult decision to remove the popular ECWA Church that was then situated just beside the Olaiya junction. The importance of slip roads in intersection management was further emphasized at the time. His administration also constructed slip roads at Dele Yes Sir to link up with Ona Baba Ona.
The same administration, through O’RAMP, opened up the Okinni to Aduramigba road. The development that has happened in that axis between 2016 and now (8 years) is unimaginable.
4. Alh. Gboyega Oyetola
The first key decision that his government took, in my honest opinion, was the construction of the arterial roads in Alekuwodo and Awosuuru. The roads in those areas today provide quicker alternatives to the Olaiya to Oke-Fia road, especially for commuters coming from Capital or Aregbe junction, easing traffic at the city centre.
His administration also extended Ona Baba Ona from Ilesa Garage to Oke Baale, and then to Kelebe, completing the cycle of the all-important circular road. All of the development we see in that axis today, are because of that important road.
He also embarked on the Dele Yes Sir to Sawmill dualization, resolving once and for all, the persistent traffic congestion at Dele Yes Sir, and easing traffic flow for dwellers of Ofatedo, Onibueja and Aduramigba.
The construction of LAMECO to Ilobu road also eased life for Agunbelewo and Okinni dwellers, making life more comfortable for them and encouraging development of those areas. The same can be said of the Kelebe to Iragbiji road that has not only opened Kelebe to a lot of development, but has also provided a viable alternative to the Ikirun road.
5. Sen. Ademola Adeleke
I insisted in 2020 that the dualization of LAMECO to Old Garage is a more productive project than the construction of the Olaiya flyover. Sen. Adeleke’s decision to finally execute that long overdue project is quite commendable.
The Riverside to Islahudeen Central Mosque alternate road is also a very commendable move. It eases pressure on the Oke Fia road and provides a quicker alternative to the road. The same can be said for the Dada Estate to Adetunji junction road construction that is currently ongoing, which eases pressure on the Dele Yes Sir road, especially as it discharges traffic from Dada Estate to Ring Road without touching Dele Yes Sir.
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The road projects listed above clearly play(ed) key developmental roles in Osogbo, including increased property values and better traffic management that befits a true urban centre.
Why are flyovers currently not necessary?
1. There are many roads in Osogbo today, that deserve attention and have better capacity to urbanize Osogbo. I will list some below:
a. Dualization of MDS through Oja Oba to Ilesa Garage Road. There are loads of economic possibilities that a wider Station Road can offer, if executed.
b. Construction of Okinni to Aduramigba road. This completely eases pressure on the LAMECO Intersection and cuts travel time for Civil Servants residing in Okinni.
c. Dualization of LAMECO to Okinni. The quantum of traffic that moves in and out of Agunbelewo everyday can no longer be handled by the single lane road that traverses Agunbelewo. Dualizing the road would also have ended the bottleneck at LAMECO junction. One, all the approaches to LAMECO are thus dualized, and traffic lights can easily be introduced and managed.
d. UNIOSUN-Coker village road. Coker and the adjoining villages are new growth areas that offer development opportunities for Osogbo as a State capital. Around same area is the New UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, the Airforce Base, and the Osun State University. Those offer a solid foundation for a new satellite town.
e. Ayetoro to Kelebe road.
f. Construction of a link road from Ayekale to Agunbelewo/Okinni. This will not only open up a lot of new growth areas, but also ease pressure on the LAMECO Intersection.
g. Resurface/Rehabilitate Oke-Fia to Dele Yes Sir and Abere to Olaiya, two important roads that are now riddled with potholes.
These roads listed, among many others, have capacity to reduce pressure on the city centre, open up new growth areas and satellite towns, while also deepening the economy through property appreciation and expansion of the metropolis.
2. The existing flyovers do not completely solve the problems of their current locations. Let us reflect more on these, one flyover after another.
a. Olaiya Flyover.
If approaching Olaiya Flyover from Alekuwodo with the intent to head to Ogo-Oluwa, you will use the slip road, not the flyover. This is same for Olaiya to Odi-Olowo, Odi-Olowo to MDS, and MDS to Alekuwodo. There is also a thoroughfare from MDS to Ogo-Oluwa axis, and from Ogo-Oluwa axis to MDS, providing the possibility of totally abandoning the flyover and using the road below.
What this clearly means is that the flyover at Olaiya is an overkill for traffic congestion that can all be settled beneath the flyover.
b. Oke-Fia Flyover
The problem of Oke-Fia, for anyone who understands traffic management, is that too many roads meet at Oke-Fia. These are Dada Estate to Oke-Fia, Alekuwodo to Oke-Fia, Old Garage to Oke-Fia, High Court to Oke-Fia, and GRA to Oke-Fia. Those are five roads approaching a tiny intersection.
With the construction of the flyover, the Osun State Government has resolved only one leg of the traffic conflicts that exist at Oke-Fia, leaving four to slug it out under the bridge. Government has only catered for the High Court to Alekuwodo leg of the conflict. The new reality is that traffic from Dada Estate heading to Old Garage will still pour into the intersection, traffic from Hight Court to Old Garage will still pour into the intersection, traffic from Old Garage to Dada Estate will still pour into the intersection, and traffic from GRA to Old Garage will still pour into the intersection. The conflict is still present!
The question then is, what should solve the Oke-Fia problem? A few simple steps:
1. Dualize LAMECO to Old Garage. Thanks to Gov. Adeleke for doing this.
2. Make the GRA road 1-way (Entry only). The GRA exit should be the one beside the Government House.
3. Install Traffic lights on all approaches to the Oke-Fia intersection. I suspect Government will still do this despite the flyover.
4. Construct slip roads: Alekuwodo to Old Garage, Dada Estate to Alekuwodo, Old Garage into GRA, and High Court to Dada Estate.
A lot of people will say there will be too much compensation to pay. Were we not alive when Seyi Makinde pulled down half of Iwo Road to make way for the Terminal he is constructing there? The new Oshodi Bus terminal constructed by Ambode nko? Was the land lying fallow before then? Sacrifices will be made for true urban development and our current populist approach will not take us there.
c. LAMECO Flyover
This one is the most needless of all the flyovers. A simple removal of the existing roundabout, followed by dualization of LAMECO-Agunbelewo road, followed by installation of traffic lights at the LAMECO intersection will better manage traffic there.
So, should we have a flyover in Osogbo yet?
This is a dicey question to answer, seeing as a lot of citizens and politicians alike think flyovers are a sign of development or a magnet that draws investors by force.
I think there is only one location in Osogbo that needs a flyover. That location is Old Garage. There are only three road approaches to Old garage, which means that once you resolve two approaches with a flyover, the third approach can have absolute peace on the road beneath. Old Garage is also the location that is most prone to traffic congestion in Osogbo, given the amount of traffic it handles daily.
What other things can we do with the billions we are sinking into flyover construction?
1. We can develop farm centres in our 9 Federal Constituencies to become world-class producers of food and industrial raw materials. We can also aggressively stimulate agro production across our Local Governments so that each LG in the State can easily house a Cottage Industry. Investors will come for nearness to raw materials faster than they will come for flyovers.
2. We can re-activate our Free Trade Zone project.
3. We can leverage on stable electricity to develop tech hubs that the rest of Nigeria will come learn from.
And so on…
So, “what if we are building flyovers for the future?”
Simple Answer: If your present is not sufficient to take care of your needs, you should worry about the present first before the future. A mismanaged present will ruin the brightest of futures.
Good afternoon.
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AT.
