Ibaji local government of Kogi state is one of the neglected, if not abandoned, local government area in the state with little or no government presence been felt by the people.
This awkward narrative had been with us for a very long time. Even though we have government and people that represent us both locally, at the state and federal levels.
Ibaji people have cried out, they have shouted, they have complained, and it seems the narrative has refused to change as our representatives seems adamant and turn a blind eye to the plight of our people.
No motorable roads, no water, no electricity, no basic social amenities, no functional hospitals nor even functional equipped primary health care for our people in the grassroot.
Still yet, we only have politicians and representatives who know the road to ibaji only when it is time for election to solicit for our votes. And they will soon come around in no distance time to tell the ibajians the old song they have been singing in our ears over the years.
Due to the topography of our land, the ibaji people have suffered from flood menace year after year with a lot of farm lands with crops washed away and wasted which leaves many homeless and hopeless with nothing after huge investment. No considerable intervention to help to cushion the effect of such yearly lost to our people.
The state and local governments have to look at this consistent occurrence to create a synergy to see how they can come to the aid of Ibaji people with collaboration with the federal government to compensate farmers in time of such natural disaster such as flood which has bedevilled the local government during almost every raining and planting seasons.
Over the years, the situation of Ibaji has remained static and deteriorating because the narrative has not changed.
It is appalling that because of lack of motorable roads in Ibaji, our farmers can not conveniently convey their farm produce to the market to sell. Most of our crops and farm produce are bought and taken to Onisha and other neighbouring states where those produce are sold in a give away prices.
It is also on record Ihat Ibaji yam that are bought and carried away to other places are named and called ‘Dan Onitsha’, meaning ‘yam from Onitsha’. Whereas Ibaji are the producers.
I recalled some years back, where I engaged one of my lecturers in school while lecturing us on root crops, when he said that Kogi state don’t produce yam. I tried to make a case for Ibaji, that Ibaji local government in Kogi state are producers of yam. Our yam is one of the best when it comes to size. But Alas, I was shut down.
Will I blame him? Not really. Why? Because Ibaji people don’t have motorable road to convey their farm produce. So all the yam that are taken from Ibaji are assume to come from Onitsha.
This is where the local government needs to weigh in and intervene. They should create a central market where Ibaji farmers can bring their farm produce while other people from the neighbouring states can come and buy. The local government should should liaise with the farmers to form a farmers cooperative. This will help farmers to regulate the price of their produce in order to gain value for their agricultural produce.
This will not only boost the local government revenue, but also boost the state economy.
This can not happen if there is no motorable and access to good road network within the villages.
The local government must have the political will to do that because this can not also happen if the local government don’t have the political will.
Our representatives at Ibaji local government have a duty and responsibility to see that our people are provided with the necessary social amenities so that government presence can be felt by the people.
Ibaji people have endured enough. They have endured enough of many years of neglect and lack of government presence. Ibaji people have endured enough from lack of social amenities which is the sole aim of government as it is their responsibility to provide those special amenities for the people.
Ibaji people have endured enough from years of governance that have not translated into the yearning and aspirations of her local populace.
Ibaji people have endured enough. They are not feeling the impulse of their representatives at the local, state and federal levels.
Our hospitals have becomes home for reptiles, our schools have become like a forsaken forest.
Our local government secretariat which ought to be our pride and engine room has since become a fadama and garden for plantation.
If the state government has failed us in providing us with social amenities in Ibaji, should our own representatives at the local government fail us too?
Ibaji people can not continue like this, our leaders and those who are saddled with the responsibility to ensure they give our people a sense of belonging must wake up to do the needful.
How can we have a government in place and our pregnant mothers are dying because of lack of good primary health care?
How can we have a government in place and our schools in ibaji is in shambles? Our children can no longer go to school in our land because the our schools are in disarray.
How can we have representatives in ibaji and we become like orphans in our own land?
How can our local government secretariat be operating from another man’s land? And we think any body will take us as serious people?
Who will change this narrative?
It is no longer news that ibaji local government of has contributed and is still contributing to the food chain in Kogi state.
Ibaji is a major contributor of producing agricultural commodities and produce in Kogi state and has contributed immensely is revenue to the state.
Ibaji have been neglected for so long. We deserve better health care facilities, we deserve motorable roads, we deserve electricity, we deserve to feel the pulse of our government in our land.
The plight of Ibaji people of Kogi state has gotten to an unacceptable dimension. The state government and the local government must as a matter of their social responsibility to the people make the case of Ibaji as an emergency.
– Matthew Attah
A concerned indigene of Ibaji
