Posted by By FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
In the sleepy Imiringi community, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, there is a time bomb which can claim lives when it goes off, unless something is done by the government to avoid the impending calamity.
•Imiringi Bridge is falling
In the sleepy Imiringi community, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, there is a time bomb which can claim lives when it goes off, unless something is done by the government to avoid the impending calamity.
The time bomb is the Imiringi Bridge built 20 years ago by the then Brass Local government council in 1987 but which is about to collapse.
The state of the bridge is causing anxiety in the community as the people are afraid that the bridge could collapse any time.
Barr Jude Rex- Ogbuku, a former chairman of the state chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association, and a native of the community, spoke to Daily Sun on the state of the bridge.
'The bad state of the bridge is getting close to six months. The community has made several attempts, including going on air to inform the local, state and federal governments and interventionist agencies to see what they can do about the bridge.
'Imiringi is fast becoming a cosmopolitan community with the influx of people and presence of companies, like DAEWOO and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC.
'You can therefore, imagine what will happen to the commercial activities in the community".
Rex- Ogbuku, who painted a gloomy picture if government failed to do something urgent about the bridge, said that the bridge could collapse any moment from now as the pillars have already gone off.
'The bridge is a time bomb and I am quite sure it will collapse anytime from now. The prayer is that when it wants to collapse, people should not be on it as government has virtually closed down in Bayelsa.
'We believe government should be alive to its responsibilities because lives and property are very important," he added
Also speaking, the deputy paramount ruler of the community, Chief Basuo Michael, explained that the people have virtually lost confidence in government since it has refused to hear the cries of the people about the dilapidated state of the bridge.
'That bridge is no longer Imiringi Bridge . It is for the whole state given the rate of growth of Imiringi. We have informed the Goodluck Jonathan's administration but government seems not to be interested in the affairs of the community and up till now nothing has been done.
'The general feeling of the people is that government does not recognize Imiringi as part of the state", he said.