Residents of Beachland Estate, Obafemi Owode local council of Ogun State, have faulted the construction of an arch on Arepo Road and allege prevention of motorists from plying the road that link Beachland Estate and other estates in the town.
They claimed that the arch, which was constructed by the Journalist Estate Residents Development Association (JERDA), was hindering them from gaining access to their homes.
According to the residents, aside preventing motorists, JERDA had also denied access to commercial motorcycle operators, who provide transport services to the residents, from accessing the area.
The residents said that they do not expect a community occupied by elites and intellectuals to act with disregard to the interest of other residents of the town.
In a statement signed by Chairman, Beachland Estate Residents Association (BERA), Teyilase Atalabi, said: “The ancestral community road was tarred by the government of Colonel Daniel Akintonde in 1993.”
We passed through that road to purchase our properties. JERDA residents met the road there, and bought parcels of land.
“Before the area was developed, the road was already on the gazetted map of OPIC excision and labelled as Beachland Ebute Road. Trouble started when JERDA constructed a barricade along the road and assumed illegal jurisdiction over public property.”
“JERDA officials would always say that it is just an arch, it is not disturbing anybody. But that is far from the reality. We have had to struggle intermittently with JERDA as they assume illegal jurisdiction as to who can pass and when they can pass through that section of the road.
“Thoroughfare to Ebute is at the whims and caprices of the agents of JERDA. Visitors are sometimes turned back.
“It was bad enough that fire-fighting equipment from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the fire department coming to Ebute Area to control fire-outbreak at the pipeline could not pass during an emergency due to the height of the arch.”
Atalabi said that allegations leveled against the Olu of Arepo, Solomon Atanda by JERDA amount to blackmail and do not represent his contribution to restoring peace and harmony to communities.
According to him, the traditional ruler had often mediated between both parties and had adopted several strategies including appealing for government’s intervention to achieve a lasting resolution on the face-off over the access road.
“Equally, it is on record that the Ogun State government had sent representatives to mediate on the matter; the board of trustees and the police have all played roles to make peace, but JERDA executives are hell-bent on installing an arch, which will ultimately lead to the erection of bars and gates. This is what we stridently opposed.”
Meanwhile, JERDA had earlier petitioned the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, through its chairperson, Olufunke Fadugba and General Secretary, Toye Olori, accusing Olu of Arepo, of illegal demolition of the entrance arch of the estate by agents of the monarch despite the fact that permission was sought and obtained for its installation.
