“Underwater Tunnel is Good, But Tell FG to Fix Owode, Seme-Badagry Roads First,” Jide Akran Urges Adebule, Whingan

By Peter Dansu  A social commentator and activist in the Badagry corridor, Prince Babajide Akran, has called on Lagos West Senator, Idiat Ol...

By Peter Dansu 

A social commentator and activist in the Badagry corridor, Prince Babajide Akran, has called on Lagos West Senator, Idiat Oluranti Adebule, and the Member representing Badagry Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan, to press the Federal Government to prioritize fixing two major roads in Badagry before embarking on the ambitious underwater tunnel project.

Akran made the appeal in a Facebook post titled “Prioritizing Critical Road Infrastructure in Badagry.” He stressed that although the proposed 2.9-kilometer underwater tunnel linking Victoria Island through the Lagos Lagoon to the Sokoto–Badagry Expressway and eventually to the Lagos–Calabar Highway is a bold and visionary project, it does not immediately address the pressing needs of Badagry people.

According to him, the Gbaji–Owode–Apa Road and the Badagry Roundabout–Seme Border Road are of far greater importance to the daily lives and economic survival of residents.

“While the underwater tunnel project holds enormous potential for future development, our immediate reality is that Badagry residents struggle daily on deplorable roads. The Owode-Apa stretch and the Badagry Roundabout–Seme Border road are lifelines for local commerce, cross-border trade, and access to essential services. Fixing them will bring faster and more tangible benefits to the community, at a fraction of the tunnel’s cost,” Akran said.

He commended both the Federal and Lagos State governments for the ongoing reconstruction of the Lagos–Badagry Expressway, describing it as a source of hope and progress. However, he urged Senator Adebule and Hon. Whingan to amplify the voices of their constituents by telling the Federal Government that the neglected roads should come first.

“Please help us tell the government to focus on these roads before embarking on the ambitious underwater tunnel project. Badagry needs working roads more urgently than tunnels under the sea,” he appealed.

Residents of the border community have long decried the poor state of the Seme and Owode roads, which remain critical for trade and cross-border movement between Nigeria and Benin Republic. Akran’s call reflects growing public frustration over infrastructure priorities in the area.