Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway: A Call to Preserve the Coastal Communities of Ilaje, Ondo State, and an Alternative Proposal for the Ugbo–Oghoye Road
Your Excellency, Mr. President,
I write once again, with the utmost respect for your administration and your vision for the development and integration of Nigeria’s coastal communities, to draw your attention to the need to ensure that the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway does not bypass the coastal communities along the Ugbo axis of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The coastal communities of Ilaje, particularly those situated along the shoreline in the Ugbo axis, are an important part of Nigeria’s coastal heritage and economic landscape. These communities have for many years lived with the challenges of poor road infrastructure and limited access to major transportation corridors, despite their strategic location and enormous natural and economic potential.
Your administration’s vision of a coastal highway linking communities along Nigeria’s coastline is therefore highly significant to the people of Ilaje. It is our sincere appeal that the original objective of connecting coastal communities should not be compromised by an alignment that effectively leaves the shoreline communities of Ugbo and its environs outside the direct benefits of the project.
A RESPECTFUL APPEAL TO THE MINISTER OF WORKS
I respectfully call on Your Excellency, Mr. President, to direct the Honourable Minister of Works to urgently review the current alignment of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway as it affects Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The concern is not opposition to the coastal highway project. On the contrary, we strongly support the project and the vision behind it. Our concern is simply that the coastal communities for which the project is intended should not be left behind.
The shoreline communities in the Ugbo axis deserve to be properly connected to the highway so that they can benefit from the opportunities that the project is expected to create in transportation, commerce, tourism, security, employment and sustainable economic development.
I therefore appeal to the Federal Government to engage with the traditional rulers, local communities and relevant stakeholders in Ilaje before the final alignment is implemented in a manner that could permanently exclude these communities from the direct benefits of the project.
AN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR OF ONDO STATE
I also wish to respectfully appeal to the Executive Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to urgently attach a memorandum to Mr. President drawing his attention to the concerns of the coastal communities of Ilaje regarding the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway.
The Ondo State Government has a responsibility to ensure that the legitimate interests of its coastal communities are adequately presented before the Federal Government. A formal memorandum from the State Government to the Presidency, outlining the importance of connecting the Ugbo axis and other affected coastal communities, would greatly strengthen the case for an inclusive alignment.
A PRACTICAL ALTERNATIVE: UGBO–OGHOYE ROAD
However, if, after technical and economic considerations, it becomes difficult to restore the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway through the affected coastal communities of the Ugbo axis, I respectfully propose an alternative solution.
The Ondo State Government should consider collaborating with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to re-award and redesign the Ugbo–Oghoye Road project in such a way that it will connect Ugbo and the surrounding coastal communities to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway at the point where the highway is presently being diverted toward Delta State.
Such a solution would provide a practical and mutually beneficial means of ensuring that the coastal communities of Ilaje are not completely isolated from the Federal Government’s historic coastal road project.
The redesign of the Ugbo–Oghoye Road could provide a strategic feeder connection between the coastal communities and the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, thereby achieving the broader objective of opening up the coastal region while also addressing the longstanding infrastructure needs of the people of Ilaje.
OUR REQUEST
Your Excellency, Mr. President, our request is simple:
1. That the Federal Government should urgently review the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway alignment as it affects the coastal communities of Ilaje, particularly the Ugbo axis.
2. That the Honourable Minister of Works should be directed to engage with the Ondo State Government, traditional rulers and other relevant stakeholders on the matter.
3. That the shoreline communities in Ugbo and its environs should not be bypassed in a manner that permanently denies them the benefits of the coastal highway.
4. That the Governor of Ondo State should forward a formal memorandum to the Presidency on behalf of the affected coastal communities.
5. That, if the original coastal-road alignment cannot reasonably be restored through the affected areas, the Ondo State Government should collaborate with the NDDC to redesign and re-award the Ugbo–Oghoye Road project so that it connects the Ugbo axis to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway at an appropriate junction.
6. That a technical feasibility study be undertaken to determine the most effective and economically viable connection between Ugbo, Oghoye and the coastal highway.
A MATTER OF INCLUSION AND DEVELOPMENT
Mr. President, this appeal is not about politics. It is about inclusion, fairness and sustainable development.
The people of Ilaje have great expectations from the Federal Government’s coastal development agenda. We believe that the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway should serve as a catalyst for opening up Nigeria’s coastal communities, rather than creating another situation in which communities located directly along the coastline are left on the margins of the infrastructure corridor.
The economic potential of the coastal communities of Ilaje, including their opportunities in maritime activities, fisheries, tourism, agriculture, energy and other areas, can only be fully realised when they are properly connected to the national transportation network.
Your Excellency, we therefore respectfully urge you to intervene before the current situation becomes irreversible.
We equally appeal to our amiable Governor, His Excellency Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to take up this matter with the urgency it deserves and transmit a comprehensive memorandum to the Presidency.
If the direct route cannot be achieved, let us pursue the alternative of a properly redesigned Ugbo–Oghoye Road, in collaboration with the NDDC, to connect our communities to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway.
This will demonstrate that no coastal community in Ondo State is being deliberately left behind in Nigeria’s new coastal development agenda.
Your Excellency, Mr. President, we seek your intervention, leadership and justice for the coastal communities of Ilaje.
We remain confident that under your Renewed Hope Agenda, the people of the Nigerian coastline will receive the infrastructure and connectivity necessary to unlock their enormous potential.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Long live Ondo State.
Long live the people of Ilaje and its coastal communities.
Yours faithfully,
HRM Oba Dr. Obafemi Ogbaro, JP
Odoka of Ogbaro Kingdom, Ilaje, Ondo State
National Chairman, Association of Traditional Rulers of Coastal and Border Communities of Nigeria