Ogijo: Where no governance exists

To say that Ogijo, a fast growing community in Sagamu Local Government of Ogun State is a neglected community,is definitely an understatement. The town which is situated along the once motorable Ikorodu-Sagamu Expressway, plays host to numerous multinational companies, which have unfortunately compounded the ruins of the community over the years.

Despite the comparative advantage which the community seems to possess, residents of Ogijo and its environs have continually endured the absence of active governance, grave industrial pollution, lack of basic social amenities amongst others challenges. From the emission of hazardous gases, to the improper disposal of industrial waste, the obstruction of the highway with trailers and lorries, these companies pose a huge treat on the healthy existence and successful lifestyle of residents in Ogijo and its environs.

These pathetic activities have continued up until now unchecked either by the government or the community authority. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria, plays to the tune of these companies, by denying residents power while channeling such to these companies. The situation is indeed worrisome as residents are made to pay for the services they didn't enjoy.

Ogijo, as a boundary town between Lagos and Ogun state, but under the jurisdiction of the Ogun state government, it seems that the Sagamu based local government and Abeokuta capital of the state is rather too far to remember the existence of this community, although it generates loads of taxes for the state and local governments.

We hereby appeal to the government of Ogun State to in particularly establish the presence of government in Ogijo by checking and controlling the industrial and environmental menace of multinationals in this community, providing basic social amenities, creating enabling structures for small and medium scale enterprises.

TOLA EMMANUEL, is a Lagos-based legal practitioner and social commentator.

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