Ajimobi: The bridge builder

The Mokola, Ibadan, flyover under construction

In the realm of metaphor, Abiola Ajimobi, the current governor of Oyo State, is building political bridges that are strange to the politics and governance of the state. Before now, Oyo State was a hotbed of political intolerance. Totalitarianism, the one that was prominent in Stalin’s Russia, was the order of the day. Political office and perquisites were localised among loyalists and party faithful. Offices were held in totality and there was no space for the opposition. Perhaps, because of his helicopter view of life and his exposure at the highest echelon of the corporate world, Ajimobi detests totalitarianism. Immediately he came into office, his first port of call was the homes of rival political parties. At the end of his consultations, he had harvested quality brains from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord Party (AP) and Action Alliance (AA) into his cabinet. For an Oyo State, which used to be governed by totalitarians, this bridge-building was a fresh and comely air.
Ajimobi’s metaphorical bridge-building is, however, a child’s play when compared to his literal role as a bridge builder. An unlucky fellow that he is, the ceaseless downpour of last year, especially that of August, 2011, was to expose the underbelly of his predecessors, depositing the pains of their inactions on his laps. Bridges that had been built for decades which were sparsely maintained, streams and canals to whom dredging was alien, began to give way and overfill their brims. As the ceaseless downpour pounded the ageing bridges, in ones and twos, the poor bridges began to give way aftermath the August 2011 flooding.
And the masses, who would not take ‘No’ for an answer, wept like the biblical Israelites in the wilderness. Not even the fact that rebuilding the bridges was not budgeted for in the year’s fiscal plan, nor that money available to government is not limitless. And to worsen it all, no help was coming into the coffers of Oyo State from anywhere in the firmament.
So, after mourning the losses, Ajimobi embraced the eternal Yoruba wise saying which counsels that a man’s palm is his closest ally that will not play him Judas. He, amid cascading sweats, began the process of reconstruction and picking the ruins of the dilapidation, one after the other.
The Secretariat/Bodija bridge in Ibadan is his first port of call. It had become notorious for over-spilling its contents at every little flood provocation, inconveniencing passers-by and at one time or the other, washing some victims into its bosom. Ajimobi immediately awarded the rebuilding of this massive bridge, which, but for the perennial flood that hampers its timely completion, would have been completed by now.
Many other bridges have received the Midas touch of a governor who has been nicknamed the bridge builder in Oyo State. The Ogbere Babanla bridge, for instance, during the August 2011 flooding, was reported to have guzzled a few victims like a notorious python. It gave way aftermath the fury of the flood. Ajimobi awarded the reconstruction of that bridge and right now, the people of the area have overcome the machination of the bridge or the water that flows underneath it which some spiritualists attributed to some infuriated gods at work.
So also for the Olomi, Ayeye and the Osoro River bridges. These bridges wreaked untold havocs on the people of their areas whenever it rained. Indeed, they had become sources of fear to the inhabitants. At present, the bridges have been reconstructed and have assuaged the fears of the inhabitants that the goddesses of the rivers were the ones whose non-pacification resulted in the periodic flooding.
The Alaadorin, Sakutu bridge in Oyo town, the Omowunmi-Olorunsogo bridge in Ibadan, the Simeon Adebo-Adeyi-Awolowo Road bridge and the Mokola-Cele-Baracks Junction bridge, among others, also got over-filled and were subsequently damaged by the flood, making life difficult for the people. These were bridges that had spanned decades and which gradual decay was not arrested over the years until their final collapse.
Perhaps, the greatest of Ajimobi’s bridge-building penchant is the Mokola flyover bridge. The stretch of road that leads from Challenge, through Ring Road, to Dugbe and through University of Ibadan to Ojoo road, is very strategic to commerce Ibadan.
It is the road that leads in and out of the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. Indeed, the road, at a conservative estimate, must be one of the most plied roads for traffic of merchandise and people. Because of the implosion in population, the Mokola axis, where four footpaths meet (apology to Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not to blame), witnessed heavy human and vehicular traffic. Governments came and went and no one had the sense of direction to halt the drift, until Ajimobi. The last time such a bridge was constructed in Oyo State was under General David Medayese Jemibewon, over 30 years ago.
Awarded to an international contractor of reputation for excellence, CCECC, that bridge is on the verge of completion, with workers working day and night. At completion, it will provide a Lagos-like feel-good feeling to the people of Oyo State, aside its ancillary role of easing traffic.
Adedayo is Special Adviser (Media) to the Oyo State governor.