After the rain, traders flung open the doors of their shops, and hawkers perched their wares on their heads. As they walked, they avoided the puddles. But as if the puddles were nothing, roadside traders displayed their goods on the ground on both sides of the roads, and motorists drove by, carefully avoiding splashing water on passersby and the goods on display in Oja-Odan that morning.

For years, the people have lived this way.

READ ALSO: PHOTO STORY: To Save Popular Ogun Market Road From Flooding, Residents Turn It Into a Dumpsite

Oja-Odan is one of the communities in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State. It derived its name from the Oja-Odan International Market, a large market in the state.

Segun Akinyemi has been living and working here for years. He makes a living as a commercial motorcyclist. He told FIJ that the road had been bad for as long as he could remember and was usually worse when it rained.

This road leads to other communities in Yewa-North Local Government Area, including Asa, Ibeku, Agbon and others. A source who asked not to be named told FIJ that the road was in bad condition because of the activities of smugglers.

“The road suffers wear and tear as a result of the activities of smugglers. When smugglers ply the road, they just drive without caring if anyone is on it,” the source told FIJ.

Oja-Odan is one of the communities bordering Nigeria and the Benin Republic. The road serves as a route for smugglers. In February, FIJ reported that Nigerian Customs Service officials were conniving with smugglers in Oja-Odan and Ilaro after Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s editor-in-chief, smuggled 100 bags of rice from Benin Republic during an undercover investigation.

Whenever Akinyemi’s motorcycle landed in a ditch on the road while driving, it jerked him and his passengers up. The impact could be massive, depending on the depth of the ditch.

For people like Akinyemi, who ply the road daily, it is a thorn in the flesh, but one they cannot live without.

READ ALSO: REPORTER’S DIARY: Fuel Smuggling Takes Over in Ogun Border Towns

MORE THAN BAD ROADS

Bad roads are not the only problem plaguing the community, as it also suffers from incessant power outages due to a faulty transformer.

While waiting for customers, Olanrewaju (not real name), a barber, sat in front of his shop in Papa Oloshun Street, Oja-Odan. Some blocks away was another barbershop, where two barbers attended to two customers. The sound of the salon’s I-pass-my-neighbour generator could be heard.

Since there was a power outage, Olanrewaju would turn on his generator like his competitors if he had customers that morning.

He told FIJ that the transformer supplying electricity to that side of the community was faulty and power outages were common there. He added that even if there was electricity, he would still turn on his generator to power his clipper.

“The electricity situation in this community is deplorable. We have had electricity only twice this year, and when we had it, I still had to turn on my generator because it was low voltage and could not power my clipper. Even last year, it was terrible,” said Olanrewaju.

Residents without generators, who need to charge their phones, usually pay money to have them charged at kiosks. The prices of charging phones range from N100 to N200.

Akinyemi told FIJ that this was how he had been charging his phone. “They charge N100 for small phones and N200 for big phones like Android devices and iPhones,” he said.

READ ALSO: Undercover as a Smuggler

‘WE NO LONGER RELY ON THE DISCO TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY’

Abdulazeez, the manager of M.D.K Hotel, Oja-Odan, told FIJ that the residents no longer relied on the electricity provided because of the incessant power outages in the area.

He moved to Oja-Odan from Lagos in 2022, and no day has passed without Abdulazeez complaining about the poor power supply in the community.

“We no longer rely on the disco to provide electricity because if they restore it once, we already know we will be in darkness until the next two months. We believe the electricity they provide is useless,” said Abdulazeez.

He added that the hotel spends N25,000 on fuel and gas to power generators, which are only turned on at night for their customers.

“It is not easy. We burn fuel daily and only turn on our generators between 6 pm and 7 am to save money. Some of our generators use gas, and we spend N25,000 on fuel and gas weekly,” he said.

Olanrewaju, the barber, told FIJ that the community’s residents had reported the poor power supply to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, the disco supplying electricity to Oja-Odan, which promised to fix the transformer.

“They would always say they would restore the electricity and fix the transformers, but they have not done anything about it,” said Olanrewaju.

On Thursday, FIJ emailed Ade Olayinka Akinsanya, the Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, and Yusuf Lateef Oladimeji, the Permanent Secretary of Ogun State’s Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. At press time, none of them had responded.

FIJ emailed the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the disco supplying electricity to Oja-Odan, via the email address on their website, but they had not responded at press time.

When FIJ called IBEDC via the telephone number provided on their website, the customer care representative told this reporter to visit the IBEDC office at Oja-Odan to lodge complaints.