Residents joyful as cars arrive Bayelsa community for first time

THE quiet riverside town of Angiama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State came alive last week, when for the first time in its existence, a convoy of Sport Utility Vehicles (Jeeps) drove into the community th rough a land route.

Construction of the ongoing Yenagoa-Oporoma Road by the Bayelsa State Government, which has reached the riverside settlement tucked away in the deep swamp of the council, blessed with vast clusters of crude oil and gas resources, made the entrance possible.

The joy of the locals was indescribable since the only means of transportation in the area over the years, has been boats and other water crafts.

Natives croon

Jubilant natives came out in their numbers to welcome Governor Douye Diri and his team that arrived in their community in the SUVs on inspection.

Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is expected to flag-off a bridge project across River Nun at Angiama linking Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, before long.

The people could not hold back their joy on seeing the governor and his convoy and showered praises on him for the Yenagoa-Oporoma Road project, which was inherited from the immediate past administration in the state.

Elated natives of Angiama, among them women and children, sang Aro wo ama lade, meaning cars have reached our community.

Designed to link 100 agricultural, fishing communities

The project, which is in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, is one of the federal projects in the state that had been on the drawing board for over 50 years before the state government took over its construction. The other federal projects are the Nembe-Brass and Sagbama-Ekeremor roads.

It is designed to link over 100 agrarian and fishing settlements in the predominantly riverine council area, which is one of the biggest local government areas in the federation and projected to unlock the untapped potentials of the area and boost the local economy of the people.

Dream come true— Madam Rose

An aged woman simply identified as Madam Rose, expressed gratitude to Governor Diri for his commitment to the road project, saying: “This is a dream come true for us here, you can imagine the joy in the atmosphere when those cars drove into our community for the first time. Some of us have not seen a car until last week.”

“Many of our people are farmers and it will be easy to convey their farm produce to the big cities and make more profit as against the practice whereby some middlemen comes around to buy them cheap.

“My prayer is that all the communities in Southern Ijaw local government area will be linked by road and save us the anguish of transporting our loved ones with emergency cases to hospitals in Yenagoa, the state capital on the turbulent waters,” she said.“

We‘ve waited for years for this moment —Amos, resident

Another resident, Clinton Amos, said now that vehicles can access the community, they were more than confident that the road would be completed, especially with anticipated flagging off of the bridge to connect Oporoma, the council headquarters by Vice-President Osinbajo next week, as part of activities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Diri-led administration.

“For years, we have waited for the day we can drive to our community. We thank God for our governor, who has made this possible for us. We are a predominantly fishing and farming settlement and for long, we have relied on middle men from the city, who come here to buy our harvest at cheap price because of their perishable nature.

“Most of our people cannot afford the high cost of river transportation. My own parents never saw a car in their lifetime because they never had the opportunity to travel to the city,” he added, beaming with smile.

Diri impressed

Governor Diri, who commended his Works Commissioner for his efforts, asserted: “What I have seen is quite commendable. You know I have a very capable hand in the Ministry of Works and very competent monitors. I have been receiving reports. I came myself to confirm the reports that I have received so far. What we have seen is very commendable and we are sure that the targets will be met.”

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