Residents of Afaake in the Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State have cried out over a prolonged blackout that has left the community in darkness for more than seven months.
Speaking to PUNCH Metro on Friday, the residents stated that the outage began after the community’s only transformer malfunctioned in March.
They, however, lamented that the absence of electricity had crippled small businesses in the community.
The residents added that the development had also worsened access to clean water and disrupted the education and safety of their children.
A produce buyer and resident, Semiu Abdu-Salam, told our correspondent that the situation had made life unbearable for him.
He said, “This issue of no light and transformer for over seven months has affected the community and me in so many ways. Children can’t study at night, because there’s no light.
“Even to charge our phones is a big problem; we have to trek five kilometres to the next village to access light, except for people who can afford to buy fuel for their generators, and we know the cost of fuel nowadays is high.”
According to him, the blackout has made access to water difficult, as the community’s four boreholes depend on electricity.
“We use electricity to power our boreholes, but since the transformer became faulty, we have been suffering. People now buy sachet water to survive, and buying water is not easy because of the cost. Businesses are dying. I buy and sell cocoa produce, but companies from Lagos now find it difficult to reach us because of bad roads and lack of power,” he added.
Another resident, Taofeek Ganiyu, accused their political leaders of neglecting the community since the transformer broke down.
He said, “We feel used and abandoned. Our votes don’t seem to matter anymore. The rate we buy fuel is too high, yet we need it to pump water and power our refrigerators.
“The situation has turned our community into an isolated village.
There is no light, no water, and no road.”
When contacted, the Alafaake of Afaake, Oba Olasunkanmi Taofeeq, confirmed the situation.
He also appealed to both the government and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to intervene.
“It is true that we have been without a power supply for over seven months due to a faulty transformer. We are begging for a new one because the situation has plunged our people into hardship. Businesses are suffering, students can’t read at night, and insecurity is increasing at night,” the monarch lamented.
A member of the community, Farouk Abass, whose father reportedly installed the original transformer in 1992 while serving as the then chairman of Ejigbo Local Government Area, told PUNCH Metro that several appeals had been made to authorities without result.
“We first reached out to the IBEDC, and they came for repairs. But the transformer exploded again. They later told us that it was damaged beyond repair.
“I also contacted our House of Representatives member, Bamidele Salam, and he promised to help once new transformers were available. That was four months ago. Still, nothing has been done,” he explained.
When contacted on Saturday, the spokesperson for the IBEDC, Daniel Adugbo, confirmed that the company was aware of the situation, promising that steps were being taken to address it.
He said, “We have reached out to our team in the area. Hopefully, before the end of next week, they should be able to retrieve the damaged transformer for repairs. Why we’re taking this out at this time is because the transformer failed totally. So, it’s not something that can be repaired on site. It needs to be taken for repair, then we’ll bring it back. We will secure what we call a ‘loaner transformer,’ which will serve the community temporarily while we fix their own.”
He, however, noted that the community’s cooperation was crucial, especially in offsetting electricity debts.
“Power distribution is now a private-sector business. Repairs cost money, and if a community owes huge outstanding bills, it makes recovery difficult. We need their support to ensure sustainability once power is restored.
“This will enable us to cover some of the cost of facilitating the transformer from our head office. It’s a collaboration between communities and electricity discos. But, I’m assuring you that we will attend to the electricity needs of the Afaake community,” he added.
The situation in Afaake mirrors a growing pattern across some rural communities where outdated power infrastructure and prolonged equipment failures have left thousands of residents in darkness for a long time.
PUNCH Metro reported in May that some residents of Love Estate in the Ikorodu-Elepe area of Lagos State lamented five months of power outage in the community, which grounded businesses.
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