The former Commissioner for Public Works and Transport in Oyo State, Professor Dahud Shangodoyin who now supervises the state’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources was recently a guest on our Radio Show on Splash 105.5fm, Ibadan. During the live radio interaction, the erudite scholar spoke about the epochal ‘Circular Road’ being presently constructed by the administration of Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde…Excerpts:
We appreciate your being on this Radio Show with us today sir. It is a special day because we are celebrating our fifth anniversary on terrestrial radio. It is more symbolic that you were our very first guest when we started ParrotXtra Hour on Radio exactly five years ago. Thank you for proudly associating with us sir…
Yes. I thank you too. I am happy to always associate with you. I remember that day five years ago when I was your guest on your Radio Show. That time, I was the Commissioner for Education in Oyo State.
Do you consider yourself a politician?
During Omituntun 1.0, I was in the Seyi Makinde School of politics and I graduated because it was for four years, so we are currently in Omituntun 2.0. I will count myself now as a politician under the tutelage of His Excellency.
A lot of road rehabilitation works are going on in Oyo State. What assurance can you give that the rehabilitated roads will stand the test of time?
Let me first clarify that it is not about the good road but about the structure we are putting in place for the sustainability of these roads. The Governor has made mention of it several times and I also stated that it is not about the 100 roads being constructed but about the structures that will be in the next 20 to 30 years. For the roads that we have constructed using the state funds, I guarantee our people that there won’t be any problem. In the construction of roads, it involves proactive supervision, you do not leave both the contractors and consultants alone because the Governor also goes there at night to supervise what we have done. I also monitor how the works are going too. As for me, I know we have done the best and we have in place all that can sustain these roads in the next 20-30 years.
What of the drainage system on these roads?
Looking at the quality of the road network, I want to address the issue of our drainage system and what we have done to improve the drain. Some of the drains that we met on board could not accommodate the volume of the water coming, so you will realize that the roads we are constructing now are using like 1.0 by 1.0 in the measurement, while some measure 0.61 but what is important is that it is very solid. We have constructed a good drainage system and our people should not dispose of their dirt in it because it can block the drainage system. Anyone caught throwing dirt in the drainage will be charged to court because there is no way we can provide structures while we look at people destroying it without taking action.
How does the government plan to alleviate the suffering of farmers by ensuring that rural roads are motorable?
The thing about the roads we construct is that we plan it based on our statistics, based on the needs and impact of the roads. Before we construct a road connecting Moniya to Iseyin to Ogbomosho we will assess what impact will the roads have on the economy and remember between Iseyin and Ogbomoso is an agrarian zone (where people do their farming). The Governor said that if we are able to open the place, it will be easier for the farmers to bring in their farm products to the farm. Now we have moved from the linkage of the roads to facing the roads within the urban Area which will make life easier for our people. If you look at the the roads that pass through the Farms, the Governor has declared 30KM round so that there will not be any problem in whatever our people want to take from the farm. Even the local governments are working on it already because the graders have started going to some farmlands to work on their roads.
Being a statistician, what is your perspective on conducting a successful population census in Nigeria?
I am going to answer this politically because it depends on the good will and political will of the President – if the President feels strongly that our census population is needed for our future and development, I can boldly tell you that we will conduct the population census in less than six months. As for me, without accurate and reliable data we cannot develop because we need data so that we can make what we call ‘informed decisions’.
How will the state recover funds spent on federal roads?
I am not sure if anyone put on a tag that said he / she is a federal government, whosoever that is walking on the Oyo state roads is either an Oyo state Indigene, or resident of Oyo State or came to transact business in Oyo State. I think in November 30, 2017, there was a circular that came out from Abuja, saying that henceforth the Federal Government will not be responsible for the funding of the federal roads if it is facilitated by the states. The Governor has sent a letter to the Federal Government for us to claim what we have done and up till now, they have not replied. Therefore, we will still continue what we are supposed to do and make sure that the ease of doing business is improving in Oyo State and also ensure the security of lives and property.
What is the status of the Circular Road project?
I want to thank God for the work we have done so far, because the work on our 32.2KM road is progressing and by the grace of God the road will be completed this year. I will be speaking on the circular road from two sides because the work has gone so far. Firstly, I want to appreciate our people that have property around the circular road because they have really supported us but I want to appeal to them to allow us to finish the work there before they start their buildings. God has been helping us on the circular road, we have what we call the bridges interchange which we have completed and we are also working on the pigments. If you are coming from Lagos, you can now pass the place down to Badeku straight. The Governor and some other people passed through the place on the 2nd of January for inspection.
Sir, some people said most of your contractors are from Lagos…?
No, our contractors are not from Lagos – though some people have also asked me the question before but what we are doing now is that Oyo state money now stays in Oyo State. Our work is not partial work. The Governor does not interfere in anything; the rule is that you must follow due process. I am assuring our people that there is a lot of local content in what we are doing, and what I mean by local content is that if you go to the sites we are doing now, you will see that it is our people from here that are doing the drainage. I have the data and their names here with me.
