The people of Takete Ide, an agrarian community in MopAmuro Local Government, Kogi State, have embarked on the construction of a civic centre and other self-help initiatives with an appeal to the state government to come to their aid for rapid infrastructure development of the area.
Prince Richard Fiki, President, Takete Ide Progressive Union, TIPU, aggregated the requests at the annual socio-cultural festival of the community, tagged, Takete Ide Day ’24 at the weekend. The program, which also included fundraising, attracted dignitaries from far and near.
Fiki, who described the festival as the power of what love can do, charged the people not to extinguish the light of unity and brotherhood that bind them, urging them to be security conscious at all times.
“We do not seek to take your interest in our affairs for granted. However, like Oliver Twist, who always wanted more and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we want to appeal to you to help find permanent solutions to our infrastructure needs.
“The Effo-Takete Ide-Aghara and Takete Ide- Aiyedayo-Iya Roads are in need of total reconstruction. The first road was awarded by the Ibrahim Idris administration in 2008. Unfortunately, it was still ongoing when that government expired in January 2012.
“That is more than a decade ago, and the road has gone from bad to worse.
Our burdens also include the collapse of power supply to our community. Yes, we are connected to the national grid on paper, but our community has been in darkness for the better part of the last decade.
“We are not unaware that government resources are not unlimited. Thus, our
people have always demonstrated commendable zeal for community service. Proceeds of the fund raise included in this program will be ploughed into the completion of our civic centre, a project that we started many years ago, under the leadership of my predecessor, Elder Sam Orunmbe.
“As you can all see, our fatherland is in dire need of development. Kindly contribute your own quarter. We assure you of the integrity of our financial process. Your money will not be misappropriated.” Fiki told the governor.
The Olude of Ide, Oba Philip Ebilakun, thanked the government for renovating some classroom blocks at the secondary school in the community, approving a palliative on the road and called for more government presence in the area.
Kibgsley Fanwo, Commissioner for Information and Communication, who hails from the area, reeled out interventions of the government and reiterated Governor Ododo’s commitment to rural development. He assured that the requests would gain the government’s attention.
“This community is known for honesty, industry, and transparency. We must promote these wherever we are. People who come from this place are not likely to have problems wherever they are because this community has groomed us to be able to survive wherever we find ourselves.
“We express our strong belief in Gov Ododo’s administration to fix our community access roads. We are also confident in the government for more development infrastructure in our community. One of the things we are proud of is that the government is already fixing our secondary school.
“We are already doing a lot of work there to make it a beautiful one. The project would be completed in no distance. But we want more of government presence. I am part of the government, but I will continue to campaign for that,” Fanwo said, affirming Takete-Ide as the centre of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Yagba Federal Constituency.
The ceremony, which featured cultural dances, traditional wedding display, presentation of awards, recitation, and quiz, among others, was accompanied by a great banquet.
