The Supreme Court declared on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for State Governors to hold funds allocated for Local Government administrations. 

The seven-man panel, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves. 

The apex court held that the power of the g

overnment is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the Local Government. 

In the same vein, Nigerian Road networks are also calibrated into Trunk ‘A’, Trunk ‘B’ and Trunk ‘C’ roads, belonging to the Federal, State and Local Governments respectively. 

The Federal roads are the major highways interlinking States, Cities, major towns, major streets, heritage sights and others; State roads are major arterial roads crisscrossing States, linking major streets, business districts and highbrow areas together to give seamless traffic flow and easy commuting. 

They also serve as tributaries to federal highways, emptying their traffic into them. 

Trunk ‘C’ roads however, belonging to the Local Governments are commonly referred to as Community roads, which are found mainly in residential areas, connecting homes, the suburbs and localities. 

These roads are the most closest and dearest to a large number of the citizenry. 

In principle, the construction, maintenance and repairs of community roads are the prerogatives of Local Governments, but this is far from the reality. 

The responsibility had since been that of the State governments, who cornered their funds, part of which could be used in executing their responsibilities of constructing and maintaining community owned roads. 

This lopsided scenario is responsible for the poor state of a high number of community roads in the state. 

The local governments under the present arrangement can only grade and carry out minor repairs on roads in their localities. 

Many communities are therefore, poorly connected with road networks leading to depreciation of the value of properties and a general slowdown in the developments of those localities. 

It is worth making the reference here that quite a number of people have a pretty strong emotional attachment to community roads because of its closeness to them and are seen as an extension of their homes. 

Residents ply community roads in a routine manner every day. Community roads are just steps away from houses, the shortest or the longest journeys taken from your home will make you trek, ride or drive on your community road every day. 

There is a need therefore, to give greater attention to the poor state of community roads which have suffered obvious neglect from the past. 

Daily Independent’s findings from the following Community Development Associations (CDA’s), revealed the deplorable state of roads in their localities. 

According to Akogun of Awori land, Ibeshe, FESTAC, Okun-Mopo 1, Chief Atiku Rasheed Abogun, said: “We have cried out for long; maybe you will help us again to look into the problem because it is becoming unbearable. 

“The bridge on the road linking our communities is broken and nobody has come there to repair the bridge or the road. 

“Other community leaders in the area comprising Baales, business owners and other stakeholders also disclosed that the communities depend on communal efforts to get other basic amenities such as water, light and for the road not to be cut off completely. 

Community leaders, also from; Okun-Ajah, Okun-Mopo and Iwerekun in Eti-Osa and Ibeju-Lekki Local Government areas in Lagos State also decried the worsening conditions of the road which links the three communities together up to Eleko Beach, due to government’s neglect. 

The road which serves as an alternative route to Lekki-Epe Expressway when there is traffic on the expressway inward Epe, according to the residents, has not seen government’s intervention for decades. 

Aside serving the immediate communities, community roads often serve as alternative routes to motorists, who ply them to escape heavy traffic buildups on state or federal highways especially during rush hours. 

Communities who bestride the Lagos – Ibadan expressway spanning between the Ojota end to Mowe in Ogun state, have no identifiable or motor-able community roads that could serve as links to escape traffic choke points on the highway. 

Communities along the Oshodi – Apapa express road, are either land locked by the industries dotting the industrial layout or simply the community road networks are not designed to serve as alternative routes to the highway. 

Emerging suburbs offer superb opportunity for the liberated Local Governments to design their road networks in such a way that it would be motor-able for dwellers and serve as alternative routes from the ever busy State and Federal highways. 

Communities and towns along the Lagos – Abeokuta expressway offer a unique opportunity to diversify and reduce the constant heavy traffic found on the expressway. 

It is not only enough to design the road network in such a way as to make them alternative routes to the highway, but the roads should be in a perfect state at all times. 

Mr. Lawrence Ayiloge, who runs a hospitality business on Ekoro road said, many communities in Lagos state are still waiting and hoping that the Local Government of Alimosho will look their way and remember the electoral promises made to them and be magnanimous enough to fix roads in their localities. 

Communities we visited and found to be most affected with poor road networks are those at the fringes of the State; Mushin, Ijesha, Ikotun, Ijegun, Ikorodu, Igbogbo to Ijede, Adamo and Mojoda. Kemberi road, Aka road and Jakande road in Ojo Local Governments are also impassable. 

Some communities more than others suffer untold hardships after every downpour as the roads are heavily flooded affecting homes, businesses and properties. 

It is no wonder that the major means of transporting people at this level are motorcycles popularly known as Okada. 

A recurrent feature with riding okada is the high level of accidents associated with them due to poor state of roads, flooding, and the undulating topography of the areas. 

Self-help projects undertaken by some of the Community Development Associations (CDA) had been the only means through which some semblance of development was brought to them. 

A situation where most of the communities adjoining Lagos in Ogun State are not given adequate attention in the development of its road network is a drawback to the quest to comparatively compete with Lagos in developmental strides. 

A visit to some of these border communities to Lagos in Ogun state leaves much to be desired by the residents spoken to; Mr. Alake Adigun a carpenter while speaking about the Denro-Ishashi road located in Isheri – Akute – Ajuwon Local Council Development Area in Ogun State, said: “This road, which used to be an access route from the satellite towns in Ogun State to Ojodu-Berger in Lagos State, was constructed during the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel. However, it has suffered steady deterioration in the last decade or so owing, to the swampy topography, menace of heavy duty vehicles and total lack of maintenance.” 

Speaking further, he said: “This has resulted in loss of revenue for many business owners including schools, churches and even home owners as many have had to abandon their homes for more accessible locations.” 

Residents of Agbado Crossing/ Oke-Aro located in Ifo local government area and shares a border with Lagos state, are bewildered at the state of their roads, wondering if there is a government in Ogun, owing to the bizarre condition of roads in those areas. 

A great number of its residents work in Lagos state. The road interlinking the area with Lagos where most of them work is in such a terrible state, making vehicular movement quite frustrating, as motorists are made to move at snail speed and many arrive late to their designated places of assignments. 

Adebayo who resides there said: “The Ogun State government, some few years ago embarked on the construction of the road from Sango end of Ogun through Ijoko, Ogbayo, to Agbado Crossing which is expected to terminate at the Berger end of the State. A lot of houses and other structures were pulled down. This was in a bid to build a model road that will bring development which was lacking in the affected areas, but the hardship brought about the construction is overwhelming.” 

Magboro is another border town to Lagos and is located off the Lagos – Ibadan express road, but the daily experience of dwellers on the road networks traversing the community is gruesome to say the least. 

Alagba Gbenro who spoke with me said, “When I moved in seven years ago, the road was bad, and we were crying to the Ogun State Government to do something about it. We thought our prayers were answered when Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abioudun, came here for a campaign and promised to construct it. The entire road is about 7.5 kilometres, and all they could do was drainage that was not up to two kilometres.” 

“What we did initially as residents was to grade it to make it passable for our people. Then, Ogun State Government came and made a mess of the whole place. The project kicked off in 2011 with a completion date of two years; as I am talking, this is 2024, it has not been completed. The contractor abandoned it to further worsen our condition.” 

“Apart from the fact that we could not grade it again, it is now very narrow. When you are constructing a road, you should think of future expansion. Government did not consider this and we are really suffering. This hardship is not what Amosun promised us when he came to campaign ten years ago. 

The same poor state of roads was experienced in every border community visited; Itele, Aiyetoro, Ijoko, Adiyan, Ijoko, Ilo Awela, Atan, Agbara, Igbesa, Arepo and others.