Egbe-Idimu: Fear Grips Oduwole, Graceland and Gloryland Residents Over Accessibility

Not fewer than a million residents of Oduwole, Graceland and Gloryland communities in Egbe-Idimu LCDA are faced with the threat of losing access to other communities as a result of the many years of neglect and abandonment by all the relevant authorities.

All roads to these communities have degenerated and are now worse than death traps.

According to an elderly resident who pleaded anonymity, the area, especially the Graceland and Gloryland Estates, was originally mapped out for a burial ground by the federal government but because the living also needed to find space to live, the land was encroached on and there arose the need to forgo the original plan. Continuing he said, “You can see (pointing to a portion of the road earlier tarred) this Federal Site and Service Road was constructed by the Federal Government years ago. I am sure it is no longer in the government’s record or plans.”

These communities used to be accessible almost through any of the streets but today it is a difficult and tedious task to find a route out of these estates. Oduwole Road is now the only manageable way out despite it being in a state of disrepair. Mayowa Olakanye Street is now like Mount Everest for motorists to climb as a result of years of long neglect worsened by erosion. The Federal Site and Service Road has also long been taken over by weeds as a result of its bad state. Tomi Williams Street and many other routes to the Egbeda-Idimu Expressway are all washed away.
Another resident of Graceland Estate said that continually the estate executive spends millions of Naira annually to grade the roads in the community to cushion the toil of hardship they have been facing for years but currently it is becoming very challenging as the entire neighborhood faces an impending disaster if the authorities fail to do the needful soonest.