Why Ogun must tackle poor road infrastructure

OVER the last few decades, the real estate market in Lagos, like several other aspects of its economy, has witnessed tremendous growth and unrelenting levels of demand that have triggered the rapid urbanisation of the state and a somewhat uneven ‘across-the-board’ development in all parts of the state.

Due to the commercial muscle of Lagos State and the attendant influx of investors into West Africa’s commercial hub, there has been a gaping gulf in the area of real estate development in the state vis-a-vis the architectural flamboyance that is the signature of mega-cities all over the world.

However, one major challenge that has perennially confronted the robust real estate industry in the state has been its geographical delineation. For all of its commercial supremacy and clout, Lagos remains one of the smallest states in the country with regard to landmass. It is about 21 times smaller than Niger State, the largest state by landmass in Nigeria.

This geographical conundrum is further compounded by the fact that 21 per cent of Lagos is wetlands consisting of creeks, lagoons, and rivers, the implication being that human activity has to make do with the 79 per cent of what is left of a beehive of activities.

By 2018, Lagos State was ranked the 18th largest city in the world, with a population of more than 20 million people and an urbanisation rate of 5.8 per cent per annum.

With the continuous exploits of Lagos State in commerce and industry, there has been little surprise that millions of Nigerians and even foreigners have continued to migrate to the state for greener pastures and better opportunities, further piling pressure on an already densely packed geographical entity.

In the last few years, the reality of this congestion has consequently forced real estate developers to branch out and seek promising options in the potential of the outlying settlements which flank several parts of the state.

One state with many of these outlying settlements already enjoying this spillover of the Lagos real estate market is Ogun, as communities such as Magboro, Arepo, and a vast chunk of the inhabitants of the different settlements in the Ifo Local Government area now have 90 per cent of its residents from the Lagos real estate market extraction.

In fact, this spillover effect has gained so much currency in the last few years that the price of real estate and rental rates in some of these strategic locations have skyrocketed beyond rental rates in certain parts of Lagos State.

Lamidi, a realtor based in Arepo, Ogun State believes the strategic location of these outlying settlements will continue to unsettle the forces of demand and supply and force the price of real estate up.

“Arepo in particular is now hot cake. We have people staying here who work on the island (Lagos). A few years ago, nobody wanted to come here, but with the development that has come in the past few years, people have now realised that it is even better to stay here than many parts of Lagos.”

“Look at someone who works in Ikeja, for instance. From Arepo to Ikeja is not up to 15 minutes, but there are parts of Lagos where you stay and it will take you two hours to get to Ikeja.”

“In Arepo we now have two bed-room flats that go as high as N800,000. Before now, nobody would rent such apartments for half that price.”

Dayo Ayeyemi, a homeowner who resides in Magboro and works in Lagos, also corroborates this sentiment. According to him, the price of real estate in Magboro has skyrocketed in recent years due to the expansion of the Lagos real estate market towards Arepo, Magboro, Ibafo, and their adjuncts.

“When I bought mine (land), the price then was N250,000, but now it’s about N10m for a plot of land in Magboro.”

“It’s because of the closeness to Lagos because the majority of the people living in Magboro, Ibafo, and all those other places work in Lagos, so they want somewhere that will be closer to their workplace. Also, good infrastructure, when you look at the state of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway today, once you get on the road in about 15 minutes you’re already in Lagos.”

In Ifo, a local government in proximity to the Berger axis of Lagos State, communities like Ojodu Abiodun, Alagbole, Akute, Lambe, and a host of others have not merely become an annexation of Lagos, these settlements have insidiously become Lagos itself.

As a matter of fact, the vast majority of what is considered Ojodu Berger of Lagos State technically falls under Ogun State by geographical delineation, even though more than 90 per cent of the residents work or do business in Lagos and therefore view themselves as Lagosians in their own right.

However, despite what has been a fairly successful diversion of traffic by real estate developers, one key issue that has inhibited the potential of these outlying communities has been the poor road infrastructure in Ogun. In fact, so deplorable is the situation in some of these settlements that certain quarters of the residents consider the term “poor road infrastructure” to be a euphemism.

Olamide, a realtor who operates within the Alagbole-Akute axis of Ogun State, who spoke with our correspondent, said that even though the rental rates in these adjourning settlements had spiked to reflect their strategic relevance, the real estate potential of the communities had been mired by the sorry state of the road infrastructure.

He said, “The market here has improved a lot recently, but there are still a lot of people who want to come here to invest in real estate. Some want to come and rent houses, but by the time they drive in and see the condition of the road they turn back immediately. When that happens, there is nothing you can say to them to change their mind. The bad road is what is sending them away.”

“The roads in Ogun are generally bad, but this side is even worse because the government doesn’t really consider them as Ogun people. The government sees them as Lagos people. They work in Lagos and pay their taxes to Lagos State, which is why it is this bad. I was talking to one ‘Honourable’ the other day and he said the government is planning to do something about the roads, especially around Akute, but this is exactly what they always say when an election is by the corner.”

It would be recalled that last September, residents of Alagbole, Akute, Lambe, Oke-Aro, Ajuwon, and some of the communities badly affected by the dreadful condition of the roads in Ifo Local Government had vociferously protested the worsening conditions of the road network and how the situation had affected all fractions of road users as well as commercial activities in the area.

Reacting, the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, had appealed to frayed nerves and given assurances that his government would swing into action and address the situation. According to Abiodun, a team of engineers had already been mobilised to the area to assess the road.

However, almost eight months later, roads along the aforementioned axis have become even worse. Only a few months ago, a commercial motorcycle driver had been crushed to death by a truck driver who was trying to maneuver through potholes and steep gradients along the road.

For the people of Ifo, this would not be their first time on this railroad, as it would be recalled that a former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, had made similar promises and even commenced work on the 42-kilometer Sango-Ojodu-Akute-Alagbole highway. However, the project was abandoned halfway through, a development that turned an already bad road into something close to a death trap.

According to findings by our correspondent, about eight years ago, two-bedroom apartments in most parts of Ifo hovered between N200,000 to N250,000. Today, two-bedroom flats in those areas are as high as N650,000 to N700,000. This represents more than a 100 per cent increase in rental rates in less than a decade and rates are even higher than in certain parts of Lagos State.

This creates a window of opportunity yet to be fully tapped due to the impediment occasioned by the horrific condition of the road network in the state.

Rabiu, a businessman who has been resident in Akute for 12 years, believes the real estate potential of the community has been largely handicapped by the poor condition of the roads. According to him, most emigrants in search of cheaper accommodation hardly stay beyond a year or two due to the toll the bad condition of the roads takes on residents over time.

“Many of them don’t stay for long. Those with cars complain about the damage the roads do to their cars. Those with no cars complain about the rough rides by commercial motorcyclists. That’s why they don’t stay for long.”

With the dry season almost making way for a much harsher season, there is little hope of ameliorating the harrowing experiences the residents have to contend with every day. However, what will not make way any time soon is the promise and potential these communities have with regard to shoring up the real estate shortfall that has pushed property development outside of central Lagos. The onus lies on the government of Ogun State to not only perform its fundamental responsibility to the citizens but to also capitalise on this great window of opportunity.