Ureje Bridge collapse: Nigeria has failed Ekiti State ― Activist

A rights activist, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, at the weekend declared that the Federal Republic of Nigeria has failed the people of Ekiti State and neglected the state for too long and has urged the people of the state to take their destiny in their own hands.

Atoye, who is also the convener of a state-based movement, Ajoro Ekiti (Ekiti Collective reasoning), made this assertion in reaction to the collapse of Ureje Bridge, adding that, “this is certainly not the best of times for the burdened and neglected people of Ekiti State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The collapse of Ureje bridge linking Ado-Ekiti to Ijan-Ekiti on a federal road used by many motorists and commuters passing through Ekiti State or coming into the State capital from other parts of the state and the Northern part of the country is a big setback to the people of Ekiti.

“Aside the painful disruption in vehicular movements, this avoidable collapse is bound to have ripple effects and adversely the socio-economic wellbeing of the people the state. Aare Afe Babalola was right when he said that Ekiti is the most neglected state in Nigeria. And arguably so, Ekiti State has not benefitted anything significant from the republic, and despite being governed by the same party at the centre and in the state at different times.

“A significant part of APC’s campaign thrust in Ekiti in 2018 was centred around having the same party in the state and the federal level for the people of Ekiti to reap the dividends of democracy and get federal attention. Same message was used in 2014 before then ruling PDP came on board.

“It is unfortunate that successive governors in the state having jettisoned their interest in the restructuring of Nigeria, cannot get the Minister of Works in Abuja and a sitting President in Abuja, to come to the rescue of Ekiti people.

“The state government must accept that it has critical and emergency responsibility to the people of Ekiti, and must quickly seek out an enduring measure to go at it alone, repair the road and seek repayment later.

“Nigeria’s dysfunctional arrangement is daily burdening the people living in the sub-nationals, and if the centre will not agree to the restructuring of the country, it should be prepared for an imminent collapse like the Ureje bridge in Ekiti State.

“Ekiti people must be prepared at any time to take their destiny in their hands and there is no doubt that the people have abundance of knowledge and resilience to survive and attain greatness,” Atoye stated.