The Wole Soyinka Train Station is one of the 10 stations that make up the 156km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail commissioned in 2021 by the immediate past administration.
Although the station was sophisticatedly constructed and completed by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the government was not insightful enough to fix the access road that goes to the station.
Today, the road has become a nightmare to train users, who are now considering returning to the roads instead of travelling to Lagos and Ibadan through the railway.
According to reports, various portions of the road have collapsed and become deplorable with several parts washed away by erosion.
The deplorable state of the road has sparked concerns and outcry from residents as the road has become a death trap.
One of the community leaders, Chief Ezekiel Olushola, said a student and one pregnant woman lost their lives due to the poor condition of the road.
“For instance, there was a student coming from a school at Kemta, and there was a truck coming, because of the bad road, the driver wanted to manoeuvre from a bad spot and unfortunately, he hit the student and he died,” Olushola said.
Olabisi Ogundipe, who is the Secretary of Cab Operators at the train station, added, “On a daily basis, we visit our mechanics, just for minor and major repairs on our vehicles. At the end of the day, when you calculate what you have gained in your pocket, you would have spent over 70% of the income on the maintenance of the vehicle.”
The chairman of the communities in the area, Babatunde Folarin, said about N20 million had been spent by residents in order to fix the road, which he described as a disaster.
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Folarin said, “It’s glaring, this is an ecological disaster affecting over 52 communities in this area. This road is totally cut off. What else can we do?
“The economic viability of this area has been destroyed. This is a disaster. It’s a failed road. This road is less than three kilometres. We have tried our best. We have done palliatives. We have called people for donations, but right now the residents are tired, we are broke.
“This the road that leads to a federal complex, the Wole Soyinka Train Station. We know it’s a state road, but if people cannot enjoy the facility of that train station if people cannot get there, what is the purpose? This is an embarrassment to the government. We’ve been on this for over five years and this is a new tenure. What more? How many years do we need to wait? People are dying every day.”
Folarin called on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun to urgently fix the road in order to alleviate the sufferings of commuters, especially those accessing the train station.
Olaniyi, a resident of the community acknowledged that the Abiodun administration had fixed many roads in the state, and urged them to set the Olokuta train station road as a priority.
