Buhari has given us dividends of democracy, says Kwara traditional ruler

The traditional ruler of Bode Saa’du in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Barrister Bola Yusuf, has commended the Buhari administration for rebuilding the Ilorin-Jebba Road. He said the road has boosted social and economic activities.

Barrister Yusuf, who is the Baale, gave the commendation in Bode Saa’du, a town along the newly-constructed single carriage way, on Friday, when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, inspected the construction of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road.

“We are indeed very grateful to the government. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of this road. There is no gainsaying that it has impacted on the economy and everything. When it was not done, it affected our people. Now that it has been done, every Nigerian who passes this road has kind words to say to the government. We have tasted and are still tasting the dividends of democracy, and it is our trust in God that it will continue by the special grace of God,” he said.

The Ba’ale recalled that the deplorable state of the road, a key arterial road linking the South-West and the northern parts of the country, had forced a lot of residents to relocate.

“Our market closed down because people were not secured and they couldn’t cope. There is a big cattle market here and we have our local market here but people couldn’t just do anything. It affected everything and it could take you weeks to travel across the road. It was a terrible thing and people were moving out of this area”, he said.

The traditional ruler said the reconstruction of the road has now reduced traveling time from Ilorin to Jebba from four days to about two hours.

The Minister said until the Buhari administration came into office, the Ilorin-Jebba road was a total failure, adding: “Work commenced in 2014 and by the time this administration came it was only 15.9% completed. As of today, it’s 100% completed. I think this is very significant.”

The Minister said the present administration has chosen to invest in critical infrastructure to revamp the economy, instead of sharing money to a few individuals.

“Rather than put money in the pockets of certain individuals, government decides to put money in infrastructure that will impact positively on the lives of everyone. This government is not distracted, it’s focused on improving infrastructure in Nigeria and actually this is the essence of this kind of tour. We are not just talking, we are showcasing,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the government is convinced that when it provides the critical infrastructure, the country will be on the path to greatness.