Hearty Greetings Your Excellency!
I opted this Monday, 13th December 2021, to send this as an open letter to you sir, having earlier sent same privately last week, as WhatsApp messages to your esteemed self and two of your aides I consider relevant to the issues raised.
I appreciate that you all may be too busy to acknowledge receipt of my humble advice, yet my observation this morning that the works are proceeding as a 7.3 wide road flanked directly by open drainage channels without shoulders, made me to restate this same appeal through anyone close enough to catch your kind attention, after reading this Open Letter.
I am quick to praise your government, specifically for embarking now on tarring the road into Oroki Estate, Osogbo, starting from the Osogbo-Iwo Road almost opposite Osogbo Grammar School. Kudos sir!
For your administration to embark on the rehabilitation after perhaps 45 odd years of its original tarring is an appreciated feat!!
Works observed thus far suggest that rehabilitation will cover a part of Oba Oyewale Matanmi Way, turning into Dapo Adegoke Street, leaving the upper part of Oba Matanmi Way and turning into Olagunju Street untouched.
Our observation also is that the present works are doing away with the original width of the roads, being about 15m as well as it’s existing drainage channels.
The new works also seem to be narrowing the roads’ width to just about 7.3m straight into newly dug drainage without shoulders.
Such a great work as your government is embarking on there may be even more appreciated if two suggestions may be kindly taken and incorporated into the execution of the works viz:
1. The existing lines of drainage channels may be maintained, just making them deeper and wider as may be required. This will definitely save costs of fresh digging ongoing now, and help maintain the original width of road for future purposes of increased traffic envisaged by original design of the roads.
As Former Chairman of the Osun State Property Development Corporation, OSPDC, from years 2000 to 2003 under the Bisi Akande administration, our plan then was to either start with tarring one lane (about the same 7.3 metres width) draining it properly to one side, with the other lane untarred but also well drained and separated with mid-road kerbs (for future tarring too someday); or tarring the 7.3 metres width in the centre of the roads, having shoulders between 2.75 to 3.0 metres wide on either sides for future tarring too.
Making the roads narrower now than originally designed would make residents “privatise” additional land in their frontages, that may forever be difficult to take back for the roads!
Having a 7.3 metre wide road flanked by open drainage channels without shoulders would also create unnecessary traffic jams, once a visitor’s/resident’s car is parked along it.
It is not yet too late to adjust the design now, sir, and attract even more accolades and sincere appreciation from the people plying the roads.
2. The upper part of Matanmi Way turning into Olagunju Ola Way may also be kindly incorporated into this great gesture of rehabilitation (it’s perhaps less than one kilometre long), and the overall effect would be simply amazing.
As a believer in good governance delivery by every administration that God establishes in Osun State, I pray that you kindly consider my humble suggestions above, that I earlier discussed a couple of days ago with Engineer Remi Omowaye, Osun State Honorable Commissioner for Works.
Please accept the assurances of my best regards always.
Rev. Goke Omigbodun is the Deputy Chairman, Social Democratic Party, SDP in Osun State, Nigeria.
