By Amos Ogunrinde
Electricity is one of the social amenities that facilitate the growth of any community.
The reverse is the case as some communities in Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State have been in darkness for many years.
Some of the Communities are Aserawo, Ilajue and Baale Oba, all in Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo state and shared boundaries with Ifon in Osun State.
The Communities have poles with service wires and Transformers but they did not enjoy electricity for a day because of the failure of the initiator to complete the project.
Radio Nigeria gathered that a former member of the House of Representatives in Osun state, Mr Paul Larinde embarked on the rural electrification project some years back, but he could not complete it before the expiration of his tenure, and since then nobody had taken over the project.
Some of the residents of the three communities now use the service wires to dry their clothes when the cables were not useful for electricity, while the uninstalled transformers procured for them lied fallowed inside the bush.
Aside from electricity, all the communities lacked other basic amenities like potable water, good road and health care facilities that could make the area habitable for the dwellers.
One of those who spoke with Radio Nigeria on the challenges facing them, the Baale -Oba in council led by Baba-kekere, Mr. Sulaimon Olaniyan expressed disappointment over unfulfilled promises made by politicians during their electioneering.
Mr. Olaniyan noted that over two decades, the electricity project commenced and the electric transformer, poles and wires were installed but later abandoned with the transformers currently in a worst state.
Other residents including Chief Asifat Oyediran Mayegun of Baale -Oba, Raji Tajudeen and one of the Youths, Kazeem Abolade described the unavailability of electricity and poor health facility as worrisome, stressing that many youths have left the communities for cities because of lack of social amenities.
A traditional ruler who spoke under the condition of anonymity said, he had made a frantic effort to speak with the relevant authorities over the challenges and promise had been made, that soon, all their requests would be met.
A trader who is also the Iyalaje of Ilajue land, Chief Taiwo Adunola who viewed the situation from another angle blamed their predicament on the issue of boundary adjustments between Osun and Oyo states
Chief Adunola therefore appealed to those in positions of authority to value life rather than the boundary..
The communities whose major occupation are farming, with inhabitants from various ethnic groups including Yoruba, Igede and other settlers from Togo and Benin Republic, helped to supply foods to the cities, hence the need to provide succour for them.
Efforts to get the reaction of a member of the house of Representatives from Ogo Oluwa Surulere federal Constituency, Mr Sunday Makanjuola was unsuccessful as his phone number was not reachable.
