By Funso Alarape
Wednesday April 3, 2024
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Residents of the Gege area of Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State have said they are living with their hearts in their mouths, sending a Save-Our-Soul message to the state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde over alleged mysterious killings by the river.
Gege River, which courses through the main center of the Ibadan locality, has a deep ditch behind the popular Gege meat market.
The top of this deep hole is covered with refuse and all manners of waste, making unsuspecting passers-by think it is a dry spot, but immediately they step on it, they fall into the deep hole.
Findings have revealed that the dead bodies of the victims would come back to the surface three or four days later.
Residents said this has been the experience of the people of this area, as they claim that more than nine people, mostly youths, had fallen into the ditch.
They are calling on Governor Makinde to visit the area and do something urgently to avert more deaths.
The residents said the former House of Representatives member, Hon. Folake Olunloyo, did some work on the river, but that she couldn’t finish it before the end of her tenure in the National Assembly.
They averred that her successors, Hon. Saheed Fijabi and Hon. Stanley Adedeji (Odidiomo), did not continue with the project.
It was gathered that the chairman of Ibadan-West Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Tajudeen Adigun (Attuu), where the troubled spot falls, visited the area and promised to call the attention of the state authorities to the problem.
However, nothing has yet been done since his visit.
It was learned that the day the chairman visited coincided with the day the river returned the dead body of a young girl who was trapped in the river three days earlier.
When our reporter visited the spot, a temporary barricade was made by the community with the use of Red and White Caution Tapes around the spot to call the attention of passers-by to the danger zone.
It was gathered that about nine people had fallen victim, five of whom were buried by the riverside.
The residents of the area appeal to the state government to help clear the river and remove a dilapidated drainage erected in the middle of the river by a former member of the House of Representatives.
Speaking with our reporter, Miss Akinade Kehinde said she was born in the Gege area and had been living there since.
She said the problem started some years ago, when it was discovered that there was a deep hole inside the river that is as deep as a storey building. “As young as I am, I have witnessed the burial of some victims by the riverside.
“Our appeal goes to His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde to please help us remove the dilapidated concrete in the middle of the river, close up the ditch, and ensure the free flow of water as a first step.
“Then, he should help do proper channelization like it has been done for the Ogunpa River,” she said.
Another resident who simply identified herself as Alhaja Mujidatu, pleaded with the governor to assist the people.
“Our governor should come to our aid. As a mother, it is very sad to be witnessing the death of young and agile men in this river.
“We voted for Governor Makinde and now that we have a problem, he should reciprocate by helping us out.
“Let him visit us, we will tell him, what is happening. God bless our governor,” she said.
Also speaking, Omotosho Saheed said the problem started when drainage was constructed in the middle of the river in 2012.
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