By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
THE people of Ora in Kwara State have issued an emotional appeal to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, urging him to finally fulfil the decades-long promise of constructing the road leading into their historic community.
In a strongly worded statement titled “SOS to His Excellency, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq: Ora People Are Frustrated on the Tarring of the Road to Ora,” a respected community leader, Dr Dauda Folaranmi Salau, recounted over four decades of unrealised commitments from successive administrations.
Dr Salau noted that he first travelled the “same mud road” into Ora after leaving secondary school in 1982, and, shockingly, four decades later the situation remains unchanged.
“In 1983, politicians came to campaign in Ora. Their major promise was to tar the road leading to Oke-Onigbin and Oke-Ode. That was 42 years ago,” he lamented.
“Governors Adamu Attah, C.O. Adebayo, and even our own son, Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed, all made the same promise. None fulfilled it.”
According to him, while several surrounding roads — including Oke-Onigbin to Oke-Aba and Ajase to Oke-Ode — have since been constructed and tarred, Ora has remained neglected despite consistently supporting past and present governments.
Dr Salau expressed disappointment that neither the 12km Oke-Aba–Ora Road nor the 8km Abayan–Ora Road was included in the rural roads category of the 2025 Kwara State budget, despite assurances from Governor Abdulrazaq last year.
“What is our offence in Ora?” he asked.
“We have provided almost all our social amenities by ourselves.”
He highlighted recent community-driven projects, including the construction and full equipping of a Divisional Police Station, which was then donated to the Nigeria Police Force, as well as the purchase of a patrol van to boost security in the area.
Despite being “peaceful, law-abiding, and supportive of government positions,” the community remains trapped in infrastructural abandonment, he said.
“It is lamentations each time we come home,” Dr Salau declared.
“The essence of democracy is to bring physical development to the people. We are frustrated and need our working governor to alleviate this suffering as the 2026 budget is in progress.”
He urged Governor Abdulrazaq to break the “43-year-old jinx of unfulfilled promises” and prove once again that he is a “talk-and-do leader.”
“Your favourable consideration of our plea will confirm that Your Excellency is with us in this moment of perseverance,” he appealed.
The Ora community now awaits government intervention, hopeful that their long years of patience will finally be rewarded.
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