Farmer Constructs N12.8m Bridge In Ogun Community

Located behind the Olusegun Obasanjo Hilltop, the community serves as a link to the Olokuta end of Idi-Aba, Laderin extension, Ewang Extension, Abule-Ake, all in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State. It serves as a ‘short cut’ for students, residents and commuters to reach their destination.

A 40-year-old cocoa farmer, Dosumu Kazeem, has donated a link bridge worth N12.8 million to Itesiwaju Community in Idi-Aba, Oke-Odo, Olokuta area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Kazeem was said to have stopped his personal housing project and postponed his first Lesser Hajj (Umrah) to Saudi Arabia to enable him complete the bridge, which he said was done to ameliorate the suffering of school children and other members of the community.

The bridge links four communities, including Olokuta, Idi-Aba, Laderin extension, Ewang Extension, Obasanjo Hilltop and Abule-Ake, all within Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the state.

The donor, who is a student of Madrasatul Da’Watul Haqq, Leme, Abeokuta, while speaking with journalists said the project took him three years to complete, adding that he took a loan from his parents before the project could be delivered.

The middle- aged man, who described himself as someone not wealthy, further revealed that he has no car of his own nor any means of transportation. Kazeem revealed that the bridge is the only link road for students of Victoroti Secondary School, Baptist Girls College, Abeokuta Grammar School and others.

According to him, many of the students used to pass through large volume of water before crossing to the other side of the community, saying “we don’t have to wait until the situation causes a major havoc before someone comes to the rescue.”

He stated that the community was a remote one, so it did not get the attention of government. “It is not that I am wealthy, but I want people to benefit especially when the community doesn’t have the wherewithal to construct the project.

We do not have to wait until major calamity is recorded. “I thought about it and I concluded I could do it and not wait until there’s a havoc. I do not have a car of my own or Okada. N12.8m can do a lot of things for me personally, including a befit- ting car; but I wanted people to benefit from me through the project.

“Hundreds of other pupils, teachers and commuters, lack of access road and bridge in Itesiwaju community, an alternative route to connect their schools and workplaces, was a battle and it lingered for many years”, according to Samuel Ayomide, an SS2 student of Reverend Kuti Memorial Grammar School, Abeokuta.

Also, the Vice Chairman of the Itesiwaju Community Association, Oderinde Akintunde, said “We are blessed to have someone like him in the community because there are people who are richer than him but less concerned about the plight of the community.”

“He knows the capacity of the community association and that’s why he did not bother us.”

Akintunde described Kazeem as a religious and prayerful person, saying “I am very sure that God is involved in the project and that is why he was able to complete it.”

“He did not give up. Even till now, he is still working on some roads linking the bridge so that they will be passable,” he said.

Akintunde called on the state government to give Kazeem well deserved recognition and to show interest in the project and also provide needed amenities in the community.

May 13, 2023