A public library complex was built in Iwo, Osun State, in 2021. Ever since its completion, not a single book has found its way into the library. It’s a masterpiece housing bush alone, not books.

Residents of Iwo, in the Osun West Senatorial District, Osun State, braved the coronavirus waves in Nigeria in 2020 to attend the foundation-laying ceremony of a federal government building in the town on November 16.

Abass Adediran, an Obafemi Awolowo University student in Ile-Ife, told FIJ that he had expected the library to serve as a platform for students to immerse themselves in research, leisure reading or intellectual exploration. The resident of Iwo was excited about the project and its prospects for the reading community.

“I could remember when Senator Adelere Oriolowo announced that he had facilitated the project for Iwo. Everybody that mattered in the community, for want of better words, graced the laying of the first block of the library. I was particularly optimistic that it would bridge some gaps and allow me to do some academic research or any personal reading when completed,” said Adediran.

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“I am forced to think that this project is dead, and it is distressing. Something of this magnitude should never have been allowed to witness this neglect if the government was serious about it. The way government representatives raise people’s hopes about public utilities and end up dashing them is discomforting.”

The facility was built in a low-income neighbourhood three years ago, but Adediran has nearly given up hope because it is devoid of all the necessary components of a library: staff and books.

ABANDONED IN THE BUSH

Back on Friday, December 8, 2023, when this reporter visited the location in the Olomowewe area behind First Bank in Oke-Odo, there was apparently no sign of human activities in the building, reinforcing Adediran’s position that the project had been abandoned. The entire portion of land surrounding the building was weedy.

The project is located in a residential neighbourhood that is peaceful and serene. It is a two-story complex with an alluring posture, bordered by access roads on some sides and a dilapidated building at the back. The neighborhood’s general quiet is occasionally broken by the yells of neighbourhood youths who play football in a fenced-in stadium that is a few metres from the building.

“Why is it that when it comes to public infrastructure, our politicians do not take it seriously? Only God knows how much they spent on this. This is bad. I hope the government would come and put it to use,” Yinka, the okada rider who took this reporter to the building, said.

With caution, our reporter waded through the lush green weeds in order to have a closer view of the building. It was locked. The transparent glass windows provided some views into the bottom floor’s inner chamber, which was painted in cream and white, as well as other offices, even though our reporter was unable to enter the building.

Apart from the emptiness of the inner chamber of the building, it was also observed that most of the light bulbs fixed to the exterior of the building had been broken. There were also traces of leakages beneath the concrete deck at the entrance, from which water dropped on the tiled floor, evidencing poor construction.

FIJ found that many members of the community are unhappy with the continued neglect of the facility. To protect the library from vandalism, a few local volunteers tidy the project’s expansive surrounds.

At the end of August 2022, Iwoland Hub, a community-based blog, posted on Facebook that Sheikh Yahqub Abdulbaaki, the Wazeer of Yorubaland, mobilised some students of Islahudeen Arabic School to clear the bush that had covered the structure.

A group called Ta’awunu Human Rights Initiative posted on Facebook on July 22, 2023, lamenting the discomforting reality at the facility. A Facebook live video made on the said day showed a large swath of the structure lying in a thick bush. The man in the video, who did not mention his name, further decried the reluctance of the facilitators of the project to make it useful.

FUNDING COST AND CONSTRUCTION

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity had budgeted N300 million for the construction of an unstated number of libraries in some local government areas in Osun State. Of that unspecified number of libraries, one was sited in Iwo.

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National Productivity Centre, a federal government parastatal established to stimulate and promote productivity consciousness in all sectors of the Nigerian economy, oversaw the construction of the library building between 2020 and 2021, according to FIJ’s findings. The construction was managed by Volatix Products Limited, a limited liability company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2019.

FIJ found that Volatix Products Limited got the contract for almost N200 million, which was paid in batches between 2020 and 2021. According to the data extracted from govspend.ng, a public accountability platform, the contractor received N15,587,751.48, described as “payment of 15% mobilization fee of the additional 50% release for lot w10: construction of public library equipment in selected LGAs of Osun State,” on December 1, 2020.

On January 23, 2021, the contractor received another N114,310,177.54 described as an “additional payment of the 70% of the construction work done according to the valuation certificate”. The final payment information, tagged “full payment of the 30% balance of the construction work done according to the final valuation certificate,” indicates that the implementing agency paid ₦62,351,005.94 on March 22, 2021, to the contractor.

As FIJ could not obtain evidence of the entire moblisation fee, it is unclear whether the NPC paid it. This lack of complete data strongly indicates that the total contract sum was in the region of N200 million or even more.

‘IT WILL BE FUNCTIONAL SOON‘

In response to FIJ’s inquiry on December 29, 2023, Adelere Oriolowo, who served as the district’s senator from 2019 to 2023, admitted that he helped to facilitate the project during his tenure. The project was being carried out in phases, the former legislator said.

“Government is a continuum. The project was in phases. I completed the first phase before leaving office. If there is any question about why it has not been put to use, I think that should be directed at my successor,” the senator, who said he was away from Nigeria, said during a WhatsApp audio call.

Given that the construction was completed in 2021, two years prior to his departure from office, FIJ inquired as to why he failed to guarantee that the implementing agency provided the building with necessary supplies and dispatched personnel to it. The politician refrained from answering directly, citing instead the procedure of advocating for projects through government agencies.

FIJ contacted Lere Oyewumi, the new senator from the senatorial district. Responding to FIJ’s text message, the lawmaker said that he would visit the place soon to assess the situation and work on making it functional.

“I was informed about this two weeks ago when I visited Iwo. As you know, the legislature operates on a yearly budget. That cannot be captured in the 2024 budget again,” he said. “However, I promise to visit the place before June, so that I can work on it next year. It will be functional before long, Insha Allah.”

The implementing agency, however, failed to respond to FIJ’s email sent on January 3.

READ ALSO: How Ex-Lawmaker Akintayo Amere Diverted Constituency Project

Meanwhile, FIJ had exposed how some federal government-sponsored projects were either sold or diverted to personal use in the federal constituency. On May 22, 2023, FIJ reported how a skill acquisition centre facilitated by Abdulgafar Amere, a former House of Representatives member from the Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency, and constructed in Igege village was sold to a block maker by the politician.

In the same month, FIJ also reported how the same lawmaker handed over government-funded secondary school buildings situated in Amere village to his relative, who now uses them as the campus of a college of health.