Setting the Record Straight on Pacific Road – Igbe Laara
REJOINDER: Setting the Record Straight on Pacific Road – Igbe Laara
Dear Compatriots,
The ongoing debate over the Pacific Road–Igbe Laara project has generated more heat than light. While emotions are valid, we must not allow sentiment to cloud our judgment or misdirect our anger. Let us speak plainly and truthfully.
1. The Federal Government Is Not Your Enemy
The Pacific Road–Igbe Laara project is a federal intervention that brings a new road to our axis. It does not take anything away from the State Government's responsibilities. If we condemn the Federal Government for approving this road, we are essentially saying, "Don't build new roads here—just fix the old ones." That is short-sighted. We can have both. The Federal Government has done its part. The question is: What has the State Government done with its own resources and time?
2. The Real Culprit: The Ambode Administration's Grandiosity
Let us set the record straight. The delay in completing the Ipakodo–Igbogbo–Igbe–Ginti Road did not start yesterday. It originated entirely from the administration of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. That administration had a habit of making big things out of every project—turning simple infrastructure into monumental spectacles.
Take the bridge at Afa River in Igbe. On similar roads like the Gberigbe–Imota Road and the Ebute–Ogolonto Road, bridges were constructed without massive pillars, without excessive realignment, and without swallowing billions of naira. Yet on the Afa River crossing, the Ambode administration designed a bridge with heavy pillars and extensive structural works that have since become a financial black hole.
Why? Because grandiosity was the order of the day. Instead of a practical, cost-effective solution that would have served the people quickly, we got a white elephant in progress—one that has consumed more funds than all other road projects in the entire Ikorodu Division combined.
3. Governor Sanwo-Olu's Own Admission
Last year, in a widely reported interview, Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu admitted the truth: a massive realignment is needed on the Afa Bridge. That realignment is currently ongoing. Think about that for a moment. Over a decade after the project began, we are still talking about realignment. That is not progress—that is damage control.
Sanwo-Olu inherited a monster. He did not create it. But having inherited it, he now has a duty to complete it. The realignment work is evidence that the previous design was flawed from the start—a classic case of style over substance, of showmanship over service.
4. The State Government Has Approved Roads—But Approval Is Not Asphalt
Yes, the Lagos State Government has "in principle" approved the Igbe–Ginti and Igbodu–Ijede roads. But let us be honest: approval without execution is empty propaganda. The people of Igbe and Ijede have waited 11 years. In that time, we have seen groundbreaking ceremonies, photo ops, and promises—but very little asphalt.
If the State Government had approached these roads with the same urgency it applied to other high-profile projects in Lagos, we would not be where we are today. Instead, we got delays, redesigns, and realignments.
5. A Call to the People: Direct Your Anger Wisely
To my brothers and sisters in Igbe, Ijede, and beyond: Do not blame the Federal Government for coming to help. Blame the State Government that has kept you waiting for over a decade while collecting your taxes. Blame the administration that turned a simple bridge into a multi-billion-naira saga. Blame the system that prioritizes grandeur over functionality.
The Federal Government has given us a new road. Let us welcome it. Let us use it as leverage to demand that the State Government finally completes its own obligations. Let us ask Alausa: "If you approved these roads in principle, why have you not executed them in practice? Why did Ambode's grand design fail us? And why are we still waiting while the Afa Bridge realignment continues?"
6. The Way Forward
We deserve roads that work—not excuses. We deserve accountability—not blame games. The Pacific Road–Igbe Laara project is a step forward. The completion of the Ipakodo–Igbogbo–Igbe–Ginti Road is long overdue. Let the State Government finish what it started. Let them complete the realignment, fix the bridge, and lay the asphalt.
But let us not fool ourselves into thinking the Federal Government is the problem. The problem is a State Government that has spent 11 years and billions of naira on a road that should have been completed in 3 years.
The people of Igbe and Ijede deserve better. We deserve the truth. And the truth is this: our pain did not start with Pacific Road. It started with grand ambitions and poor execution from Alausa.
Signed,
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