Okolowo Community urges FG to construct speed bumps, pedestrian bridges to save lives

Oluwatoyin Hawal Momolosho –

The people of Okolowo in Ilorin, Kwara State, have renewed desperate calls for life-saving interventions on their motorway after years of recurring road accidents that have claimed countless lives.

At a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Works office in Ilorin, community leaders, transport unions, civil society groups, and government officials united to demand urgent approval from the Minister of Works, Engr Dave Umahi, for the construction of speed breakers or a pedestrian bridge on the Okolowo Expressway.

Tearful testimonies from residents painted a grim picture of the human cost of inaction. Representatives of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) said too many families have been shattered by the accidents, while ENetSuD, an anti-corruption civil society group, emphasised that bureaucratic delays should not come at the expense of human lives.

Stakeholders recalled that speed breakers erected earlier by the Kwara State Ministry of Works had drastically reduced crashes but were later removed by the Federal Ministry because they lacked ministerial approval.

“The community cannot wait any longer. Every week we record deaths. We need the intervention of the Minister of Works now,” one community leader said during the meeting.

The Kwara State Ministry of Works, represented by Engr M.A. Akanbi, reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Federal Government but noted that only the minister has the power to authorise such projects. The Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Gana Zhitsu, also made it clear that contractors would be held liable if unauthorised structures are built.

The meeting, facilitated by ENetSuD’s Deputy Coordinator, Comrade Mashood Lanre Osho, ended with a collective resolution: Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Senator Sadiq Umar, and Hon. Yinka Aluko must immediately lobby the minister to save lives.

“The Minister’s approval is our only hope,” Osho stressed, calling for the pedestrian bridge to be included in lawmakers’ constituency projects.

For the Okolowo community, the demand is simple but urgent: build the pedestrian bridge or speed breakers now—before more lives are lost.