“We are on our own here, no any sign of government presence, we wake up and sleep in darkness, no road, no hospital, no school no security.
This is the comment on the lips of people of Lisa Community when a cross section of Journalists visited the town.
Lisa is one of the ancient towns in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The Community became prominent on 22nd of October, 2005, after a Boeing 737-200 aircraft crashed in the village killing all 117 people on board including a child.
Following the crash, the Federal Government under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo constructed the about seven kilometer road leading to the community, while a cenotaph was constructed in honour of the victims of the plane crash.
During this time there was influx of sympathizers and famlies of the crash victims visiting Lisa Community to catch a glimpse of the scene of the plane crash and to mourn their loved ones.
To people of Lisa, that was the begining of development and economic breakthrough unknown to them that it was the other way round.
Barely a year after the president’s visit, the road constructed to the cenotaph was completely washed off by erosion due to poor work done.
It now takes a very strong vehicle and an expert driver to manoeuvre the pot hole-laden road for two hours from the Ijoko junction to Lisa, a journey which ordinarily should not be more than twenty five minutes.
This development according to the Olu of Lisa Kingdom, Oba Najeemdeen Ayinla Odugbemi has made life difficult for his people and retarded the economic development of the community.
He affirmed that the community had been totally neglected by government of Ogun State and Federal Government.
The monarch added that the Community lacked necessary social amenities such as electricity, school, hospital and other infrastructure that could promote development.
A visit to the cenotaph of the victims of the plane crash confirmed the allegation of neglect by government.
The cenotaph which is supposed to be a tourist site is currently in a sorry state as it has been taken over by weed with no sign of government intervention.
Some of the sign posts for the identification of the victims had fallen apart while some had been burnt down perhaps due to activities of some hunters who set bush on fire.
In an interview, a cross section of residents of the community alleged that the only time they see government representatives are during campaigns ahead of elections where they come and make empty promises that had never been fulfilled.
“We are on our own here, no any sign of government presence, we wake up and sleep in darkness, no road, no hospital, no school ,no security.
During rainy season, the case is usually terrible, thank God for our monarch, Oba Najeemdeen Ayinla Odugbemi who has been using his personal resources to support the Community.
If not for our monarch only God knows what would have become of this community, he uses his money to clear the bush at the cenotaph and grade the road but the fact remains that the needs of this Community is beyond an individual capacity.
Efforts to get the attention of concerned authorities to speak on this matter proved abortive.