Bad roads drive customers away from Ogun businesses

The deplorable condition of Pipeline Road in Arepo, Ogun State, is taking a toll on small businesses in the area, with traders and artisans lamenting declining patronage, excessive dust, flooding and difficulty accessing their shops.

The business owners, who spoke with our correspondent, said the road becomes particularly difficult to navigate after rainfall, forcing motorists and residents to drive through muddy sections and over rocks placed in the mud to make passage possible.

They said the poor state of the road had discouraged customers from visiting the area, while some motorists had resorted to parking away from their shops or using alternative routes.

A foodstuff seller, who has operated in the area for more than 11 years but requested anonymity, said the condition of the road had affected her sales as motorists often preferred using alternative routes.

She said, “It affects a lot because people and cars are not passing through this place to buy things. They use other roads, like Journalists Estate Road, to go and buy things.

“You know that road is much better than this place. That’s why we don’t have good sales here.”

The trader also said flooding during rainfall affected her ability to display her goods and operate normally.

“At times, water will flood here, and I won’t be able to put my coal pot down to sell,” she added.

Similarly, a Point of Sale operator and shoe seller, Ruth Iwegbu, said the road had remained in poor condition throughout the 13 years she had lived in Arepo, including the four years she had operated her business there.

According to Iwegbu, the condition of the road had become a deterrent to potential customers, particularly people she met at churches and social gatherings and invited to patronise her business.

She said, “The bad road is really very bad for business because many people don’t want to come to this place.

“People don’t want to come this way because of the bad road. It’s really affecting our business.”

Iwegbu said residents and business owners previously came together every December to grade the road, but that practice had stopped about two years ago.

“Usually, we come together in December to grade the road and do something to the road every December. But for like two years now, they have not done that because the government has done the main road, but for this one, they have not,” she said.

She appealed to the government to extend its road rehabilitation efforts to the area.

“If they can consider this place too, we’ll be very grateful,” Iwegbu added.

A cobbler, Ola, who has been in business since 2008, said the effect of the bad road was particularly noticeable during rainfall, when some customers complained about driving into the area.

Ola said the situation had inconvenienced his business, noting that some customers had asked him to come to their locations instead.

He also said an attempt by the estate to rehabilitate the road was reportedly abandoned after concerns were raised about a pipeline.

“There was a time the estate really wanted to do it, but I think they said due to the pipeline, they were not able to do it. They demolished what they had done. So, I think that’s why they abandoned the road,” he said.

Ola suggested that interlocking stones could provide an alternative if tarring the road was not possible.

“If they can tar it or put interlocking stones, it’s fine,” he said.

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Meanwhile, a tailor, Olamide, said excessive dust from the road had become another challenge for businesses in the area.

Olamide, who has operated her business there for four years, said the poor condition of the road had made it difficult for customers to reach her shop.

“Dust, too. So much dust gets on my goods, and customers are not able to come to my place because of the bad road,” she said.

She said she had raised the matter with her landlord but was unaware of any formal action taken by the government or community leaders.

She appealed to the authorities to intervene and fix the road.

“They should help us fix this road. If they fix it for us, we’re going to be happy,” Olamide said.

Also speaking, a barber, Iyanu, whose business has operated in the area for about a year, said the condition of the road had affected how customers accessed businesses along the route.

Iyanu said some customers had to park their vehicles elsewhere before coming to patronise businesses in the area.

He said the road had been in poor condition for about four to five years or longer.

“Some customers have to park their cars somewhere else before they can come here,” he said.

Iyanu also called on the government to rehabilitate the road.

“They should help us and try to fix the road,” he added.

However, the chairman of the community said efforts had been made to address the condition of the road, which he identified as Pipeline Road.

According to him, the road passes through several Community Development Associations, including Balogun, Church, parts of Abule and Beachland Estate.

He said the CDAs had spent considerable sums on palliative repairs, but the interventions were often washed away by rainfall.

“The CDAs have spent a lot of money to do palliative work on that road, but there is a limit to what they can do. Whenever there is rain, it washes it off,” he said.

The chairman said the Federal Ministry of Works, with the support of some stakeholders, had commenced work on the road by installing interlocking stones.

He, however, said the work stopped after about 300 metres due to challenges involving the NNPC and military officers responsible for the area.

He explained that approval from the NNPC was required before heavy-duty construction equipment could be deployed because of pipelines in the area.

“One is to get approval from the NNPC because no one will just put heavy-duty machines to excavate because of the pipes,” he said.

The chairman’s explanation provided another dimension to the concerns raised by the business owners, who called for the road to be fixed to improve access to their businesses.

The traders said rehabilitating the road would ease movement for motorists and customers and boost commercial activities in the area.