by Ajadi Daniel
Houses and shops were demolished in Igbogbo as a preliminary to extending the road down to Ijede, Ijebu-Ode. The demolition exercise which started last year left some citizens homeless while others with part of their building demolished hang on a tiny hope of a compensation.
The Irony is that most of the residents of the community are looking forward to the advantage of such project rather than dwelling in the pains of their immediate loss.
One of the residents who spoke with YMonitor said “The houses destroyed are old buildings belonging to indigenes, the area itself is the ancient epicenter of Igbogbo community.
However there were controversies regarding the community shrine located in the middle of the road, the shrine still remain standing even after a church close to it has been demolished. Many wonder why the Orthodox church which is as old as any other building on the road will be destroyed and the shrine which is directly on the road is left untouched. YMonitor gathered that there were resistance from some quarters regarding the demolition of the shrine, this perhaps explains why the shrine is still standing.
Yet it is not only the shrine that defies development, even the Palace of the Igbogbo King which is conspicuously in the way of the project still remain standing with no sign that it would be removed to give way for the impending project. Some of the citizens YMonitor spoke with claimed that the Palace will be allowed to remain. They suspect foul play in the demolition exercise. One of the resident said “the palace should also be demolished but there is no indication that the Oba has been warned and his palace might likely be spared” he said.
These are however conflicting reports, especially given the fact that YMonitor was also informed by another source that the palace and the shrine will be demolished, and that the Oba has been told to move, having been given another property elsewhere. We also gathered that those whose property were demolished will be adequately compensated.