By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The recent blocking of the Eleme axis of the East-West Road by Ogoni youths protesting the horrible state of that portion of the road will soon be replayed in Igbo Etche, a fast-growing town in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Angry youths of Igbo Etche have vowed to block the road linking them with Eleme Junction over the deplorable condition of the road which they claim criminals are now taking advantage of to perpetrate all sorts of evil against motorists and passengers on daily basis.
Speaking to journalists yesterday in the area, some of the youths decried the continued neglect of the deplorable road by the federal and state governments irrespective of the various crimes being committed there by criminals.
“This road has been bad for a long time and we have been crying because of it. Now criminals are committing all sorts of atrocities here. They kidnap people. They kill people. They rob people. They rape our women. Everybody is hearing what is happening on this road every day but still, nothing is happening. We’re going to block this road so that the state and federal government will know that we’re serious about it. Maybe if Eleme people didn’t protest, the government wouldn’t have come. We will do our own protest and block this road so that they will hear us too,” one of the youths said.
Another Igbo Etche youth wondered why the state government has not deemed it fit to intervene by temporarily perching the bad road given its economic importance and also to save their lives from the criminals taking advantage of it to unleash terror on their people.
“They know how important this road is in this State. Our people are mainly farmers and they usually carry their farm products through this road to the city. But these criminals will wait for them on this bad road and collect all their money. They will kidnap them and rape the women. Because they know that cars will slow down on the had spots, they will wait for them there with their guns. Do you know how many people they have kidnapped and killed and raped? The state government can perch this road for us even if the federal is not ready now because it’s we that the thing is affecting and our lives are at stake. Once it is 4 or 5 p.m., nobody passes this road again. For how long shall we continue to tolerate this? We’re going to block this road and when we block it during our protest, we will not leave until something is done,” he said.
On what the Etche Local Government Area and key stakeholders in Etche are doing about the situation, one of the youths said: “For long what we have been hearing is that they’re doing something about it but up till now, we have not seen anything. So, we’re tired of waiting for them because it’s affecting us more. We’re going to do what the Ogoni youths did, simple.”
The Edegelem Big Brothers Association had earlier called the attention of the state and federal governments to the horrible condition of the road, appealing for urgent repair measures to save motorists from the hazards caused by the road.
President of the association, Dr Onyeche Chinwendu Frank, had lamented: “This bad spot has caused I good people of Igbo Etche a lot. It’s now a death trap as miscreants turned the place into a kidnapping den and other criminal activities. Countless times, many have been mailed, robbed and killed at this very spot.”
