by Eromose Ileso
 |
| A portion of Ekosodin road in it current state |
When the names of certain places are mentioned, they invoke
a feeling of nostalgia either in the picturesque, personal or prosaic sense. There are many places in such sphere that bring
about a reminisce when their names are mentioned. They immediately bring
back memories flooding back that are either savoury or labyrinthine.
Ekosodin is one of such places, where anytime it is
mentioned, it connotes a sense of negativity in the sub conscious of those who once
lived there. Either through the cult related killings or the unrest between indigenes
and students. But, others have a positive view of the place as not
all things have negative a trail there.
Ekosodin is a community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State that shares a boundary with the University of Benin. As a result it commands a large student population, apart from the local inhabitants. Practically it is an extension of the university, as it is separated by just a fence, and there is a gate that connects both places.
However, that is not the remit of this piece. Rather it is
centred on the fact that in spite of the 'status' of Ekosodin, by being close to
one of Nigeria’s foremost ivory towers, the University of Benin, the place has
gone backward in recent years. It as if time has stood still as far as the
place is concerned, while it moved on in other places.
In June 2017, a friend that graduated from the University of
Benin in the early eighties had cause to ask me what Ekosodin was like
presently. I was able to give an accurate assessment, prior to being asked that
question. I had visited for the first time in over five years a few weeks
earlier. Instead of changes for the better, it was a case of a community that
has effectively receded to the extent that nature is firmly against the place.
Starting from the road that leads to the town, which has
been the subject of terrible underhand dealings between indigenes and government officials’ alike with both taking turns to feast on what they consider as spoils.
In 2002, the road was first awarded to a contractor by the
Ovia North East Local Government with a remit that it should be completed within
two months. The contractor set out to work, with earth sand used to fill the
road from the beginning at the Benin-Lagos road towards the community itself,
after that the contractor asphalted just about 200 metres of the road which
ended by the first street on the road. (Ehigiegba Street) That was as good as it got. As there
were reports at the time that monies meant for the construction of the
road was shared by some indigenes of the community which is why the contractor
couldn't complete it.
In 2014, the road was again awarded by the NDDC, the Niger
Delta Development Commission. Again, it was a terrible job. A contractor that
was clearly confused and one clearly devoid of what he was doing, initially did
some work at the heart of Ekosodin at the gate, by constructing a gutter that
was more like a funnel for fetching water than a drainage. While some part of
the road towards the express were dug, and later covered. When they pretended
to be working on the road months later, they asphalted it half way once again,
this time by going beyond the first street, by ending at the third. (Igbineweka street)
At present, the road is a complete right off beyond the
third street, after the boundary it shares with the Evbomore community, the
portion of the road after that is so terrible that, it could easily be mistaken
for a gully erosion site.
And talking of gully erosion, Ekosodin has also been hit by
gully erosion with several houses swallowed up by the gully; it is so bad that
it has affected some portion of the University of Benin premises. And the gully is getting wide at a fast pace and it has put the lives of people who live near it at risk.
When it rains or during rainy season, Ekosodin becomes a
deluge. The popular Edo Street is usually overtaken by flood water, and virtually the
entire community. You would only know how bad the situation is when you go deep
into the community to see how terrible it is during the rains. And the access road
to the community is receding so fast with flood water making it worse, with the
road to the left of Ekosodin road when coming from inside the University of
Benin, now completely bad as the entrance is now several feet above the
main road because of flood water.
Many residents of the community now use the University of
Benin as car park during the rainy season, as it is suicidal to the state of any vehicle
to venture deep there during the rains. You only have to look at the state of
the taxis that ply the road on a daily basis to see what the road could do to a
vehicle.
Yet when the Ivory Tower that looms large over Ekosodin is
considered against the back drop of the degenerating state of the community,
you begin to wonder why the presence of the University of Benin has not fostered any development let alone any sustained development. Still the school remains
the live-wire of the community’s economy.
Prior to 2002, when the main entrance to the
community was through the Ekosodin gate via the school’s ground, when vehicles could access it through the gate, not much
thought was given to working on the
main access road leading to the community for years. Until the gate was shut permanently by Professor Aburime Anao, the vice chancellor at the time, following
a student crisis cum riot, with only the pedestrian gate left open for students
to use. The previous gate was a see through one that was always opened, but
after the crisis, an elevated gate that fits more in a maximum security prison
has been in place to this day.
At different times, the school has taken turns to carry out
palliative measures on the road. However, that measure has receded in recent
years, which has left the road in a terrible state.
The domino effects of the current state of Ekosodin is that
some property owners there, are now putting it up for sale due to the fact that
some have not been able to derive maximum returns from those properties as
majority of them are hostels.
The environment and terrain at Ekosodin isn’t conducive in
many ways especially when it rains.
When Ekosodin became a name synonymous with the University
of Benin more than four decades ago, little was known about Bwari in the
Federal Capital, Abuja. Both have similar location in terms of how further away
from the main road they are with Bwari some distance from the Abuja-Zuba expressway than Ekosodin is from Benin-Lagos expressway. But in terms
of development, Ekosodin cannot boast of the most modicum of development.
Ekosodin doesn’t even have a tarred road that runs through it.
For starters, Ekosodin is a paradox when everything about it
is put side by side with how it has fared in all indices of capital development when
compared to how the University of Benin has grown in leaps and bounds over the
years.
The blame for the current state of Ekosodin lies squarely in
the hands of the indigenes, their pursuit of self-interest has set the
community backward in terms of development. When people who are not
progressives approach a situation, the first thing they consider is to line
their pockets.
With
portions of the community rapidly giving way as environmental degradation
hits it, it would take more than the reconstruction of the access road to the community
for it to gain a semblance of light. The environmental state of Ekosodin has to
be addressed, not just the gully erosion site, but several roads within the
community that have become mini gully sites.
For what it is worth, Ekosodin would always retain a special
place in the hearts of students who went through it either for good or bad. But
whether, it one day becomes a place that would measure up in terms of
developmental strides remains to be seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment