Abandoned road turns daily life into a nightmare for Ikorodu residents

Oladunni Toheebat

For residents of Odongunyan and Ibeche communities in Ikorodu, Lagos State, what should ordinarily be a simple journey to work, school, market, or home has become a daily struggle.

The abandoned reconstruction of the road has left residents battling erosion, flooding, traffic congestion, damaged businesses and serious discomfort, particularly during the rainy season.

For many residents, the problem is not merely about a bad road. It is about the daily reality of navigating muddy and contaminated floodwater, protecting their homes and businesses from erosion, and worrying about the safety of children who must pass through the affected areas to get to school.

During separate interviews conducted on July 20, 2026, residents described the abandoned project as a source of hardship that has continued to disrupt their lives and livelihoods.

They said the road was neglected for a long period before the government eventually commenced reconstruction. However, according to them, the work lasted only a few weeks before it was abandoned, leaving the road in an even worse condition.

One resident said the situation had caused repeated losses for business owners, especially during heavy rainfall.

“This road has repeatedly caused shop owners in this area to lose their goods. Some people even had to construct small concrete barriers in front of their shops to prevent erosion from washing into their businesses,” the resident said.

For traders and small business owners, every rainfall now comes with anxiety. Instead of concentrating on their businesses, some residents are forced to worry about whether floodwater and erosion will enter their shops and destroy their goods.

The situation has also created difficulties for commuters and schoolchildren.
Comfort Babalola, an IT student and resident, said the condition of the road had become particularly dangerous for children during the rainy season.

“Children cannot be left alone to pass through this road to school during the rainy season because of the flooding,” she said.

According to Babalola, the abandoned reconstruction has also contributed to traffic congestion in the area, as commercial buses and other motorists are forced to avoid portions of the affected road.

“Traffic congestion from First Gate to Odongunyan has also increased because buses cannot use parts of the road affected by the abandoned reconstruction. As a result, drivers now divert through smaller roads, causing more congestion,” she added.

For residents, the hardship is not confined to transportation. The poor state of the road has also affected their quality of life and, in some cases, their health.

Wealth Fortune Etuk, a resident of Ibeche, said the community had endured the situation for a long time without adequate government intervention.

“They fixed the road from Ajose to Baba Tope Junction, but if you don’t live around that area, you’re still dealing with the bad road, and that’s our reality,” she said.

Etuk explained that the condition of the road was one of the factors residents consider when choosing where to live.
“We were intentional about looking for a new apartment with better electricity and a better road,” she said.

But despite their efforts, she said residents still face the challenge of walking through floodwater during the rainy season.

“I personally hate stepping in floodwater, and my mum feels the same way. Just thinking about it is irritating because the water is often mixed with dirt, animal waste, and sometimes human waste, yet we still have to walk through it because there’s no dry ground,” Etuk said.

The consequences, she added, can continue even after residents have reached their destinations.

“It becomes worse during the rainy season, and I often end up with scratches and rashes on my legs after walking through the water,” she said.

For residents, the experience is a reminder of how infrastructure challenges can affect more than movement. Poor roads and flooding can expose people to unhygienic conditions, increase the risk of accidents and make ordinary daily activities unnecessarily difficult.

The challenges facing the communities are further compounded by poor electricity supply.

Etuk said residents frequently have to leave their homes to charge their electronic devices, while people who work from home are forced to look for alternative locations because of the unreliable power supply.

“As for electricity, it’s not manageable on our line at all. We always have to go out to charge our devices,” she said.

She said the situation had also affected her father, who works with electricity but is sometimes unable to work from home because of the lack of power.

“Even when he is supposed to work from home, he has to go elsewhere to find electricity. We all know how expensive fuel is, so relying on a generator is not sustainable,” she added.

The residents’ experiences paint a picture of communities where poor infrastructure has become intertwined with everyday life.

For the shop owner, the fear is losing goods to erosion. For the student, it is navigating a flooded road and dealing with traffic. For parents, it is the worry of allowing their children to travel through unsafe routes. For residents like Etuk, it is the frustration of walking through dirty floodwater and returning home with scratches and rashes.

The residents are therefore appealing to the Lagos State Government and relevant authorities to urgently return to the abandoned road project and complete the reconstruction.

They also called for improved drainage and effective measures to control flooding and erosion, while urging the government to address the electricity challenges confronting residents of Oduyebo Street and Little London Estate, Ajose-Ibeche, Ikorodu.

For the residents, completing the road is more than an infrastructure project. It is about restoring dignity, protecting livelihoods, making it safer for children to go to school, and giving families the opportunity to move around their communities without fear of floodwater, erosion and avoidable hardship.

Until the road is completed, residents say, every rainfall will continue to bring back the same question: how will they get through the day without losing their goods, damaging their health, or putting their children at risk?