Antakiti community residents are enduring considerable hardship following the collapse of a vital bridge that connects them to neighboring communities in Osogbo, the state capital.
The bridge, situated at Ifesowapo Zone 1b in Antakiti, serves as a crucial link to various zones within the community and connects several areas such as Mallam Tope, Aiyekale, Ota-Efun, Oke-Odo, Jesu Wa Laaye, Ori Oke Goshen, Ayeegbami, and Ore Ofe.
The isolation resulting from the bridge’s collapse has significantly impacted both the community’s connectivity and economic activities. Notably, the closure has disrupted transportation, leading to the shutdown of a local nylon company unable to transport its materials efficiently.
Hammed Raheem, Treasurer of the Community Development Association (CDA), emphasized how the bridge collapse has paralyzed economic endeavors in the area, illustrating the broader repercussions faced by the community due to this infrastructure failure.
“The community has written a series of letters to both the local and state governments on our plight but we are yet to see any positive response.
“The community tried to salvage the bridge by contributing money to fix it, but it is beyond what we can do. The available fund could not do something tangible on it.
“The bridge has totally collapsed. We only tried to control the erosion.
“The situation has affected our economy in the area because we can no longer move our goods freely to other communities and people don’t come to our community to trade because of the collapsed bridge.”
The Atayese of Antakiti, Olalekan Muibi, revealed that the Baale of the community, Mojeed Olayiwola had made efforts to call the attention of the government to the collapsed bridge.
“Our Baale has been making efforts to see that the bridge is fixed but you know that things are not so easy to get in this country.
“The road has cut us off from the other communities and the erosion from the collapsed bridge has also affected our road. We need urgent attention from the government,” he said.
