Post by Ogbeni Ogunnaike on Mar 22, 2016 3:24:15 GMT
Have you ever wondered what that huge expanse of water located in the Middle of Oyo state on a map was?
Well that is the Ikere Gorge Lake / Reservoir, located on the mighty Ogun River, just south of the old Oyo National park.
The Ikere Gorge Dam is a major dam in Iseyin local government area of Oyo State in the south west of Nigeria on the Ogun River. Reservoir capacity is 690 million m3. The dam was initiated by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo and started in 1983 by the administration of Shehu Shagari. The dam was planned to generate 3,750 MW of electricity, to supply water to local communities and to Lagos and to irrigate 12,000 hectares of land. Built in 1982/1983, work on the dam was abandoned by subsequent military governments. A report for the UN in 2004 said that no irrigation had taken place so far, but efforts were being made to implement one of the five planned irrigation projects. The project was based on the sprinkler system which is difficult to manage and requires that the farmers be trained.
Well that is the Ikere Gorge Lake / Reservoir, located on the mighty Ogun River, just south of the old Oyo National park.
The Ikere Gorge Dam is a major dam in Iseyin local government area of Oyo State in the south west of Nigeria on the Ogun River. Reservoir capacity is 690 million m3. The dam was initiated by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo and started in 1983 by the administration of Shehu Shagari. The dam was planned to generate 3,750 MW of electricity, to supply water to local communities and to Lagos and to irrigate 12,000 hectares of land. Built in 1982/1983, work on the dam was abandoned by subsequent military governments. A report for the UN in 2004 said that no irrigation had taken place so far, but efforts were being made to implement one of the five planned irrigation projects. The project was based on the sprinkler system which is difficult to manage and requires that the farmers be trained.
Thirty-one years after the Federal Government imported a complete set of dam turbines for Ikere Gorge Dam, through the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, to generate electricity, the plant is yet to be utilised for that purpose. TUNDE OGUNESAN after a visit to the dam, provides this report.
Although, the road leading to the dam is in a deplorable state, the roads within the complex are tarred and well paved. The complex has the look of a small town tucked within the belly of a jungle. It is a marriage of rustic and urban life. A well-planned place, there are staff quarters as well as blocks of offices interspersed with farmlands. The complex accommodates the kolanut-chewing rural farmer, hunter and fisherman as well as an administrative officer and an agriculture officer.
The plan was that the dam would generate electricity through turbines,supply drinking water to Iseyin, Okeho, Saki and environs; irrigate over 12,000 hectares of land during dry season, provide water for fishing,supply over 82 million cubic metres of water to Iju Water Works in Lagos during the dry season and provide transportation services for People living around the dam.Today, the dam provides some water to Iju Water Works and to some farms on the Oyo-Iseyin road. However, generating electricity from the dam has remained a dream since 1983.
The equipment brought in by the Shagari-led government to the dam were never installed. According to knowledgeable sources, they had become obsolete.The facilities include two turbines which were to generate electricity;two coils which were expected to power the turbines, and a purpose-built control room. The turbines, rather than generating electricity for the country, are now being used for keeping grains. But the story of the turbines is not different from that of Ikere Gorge Dam itself; it is the story of what could have been. Had it been
completed, the story of electricity supply in the country could probably have been different.A tourist who recently visited the place, while speaking on the condition of anonymity,
informed Nigerian Tribune that âI had to repair my Toyota Sienna to the tune of almost N150,000 when I returned from my visit to the place. When I got to the middle of road, I made up my mind to halt the journey, but I realised that I was at the middle of the journey and I said to myself, I will see whatever that is there.â
On entering the premises, not many would not appreciate the efforts of some visionary people that had a dream for this country. However, a look round at the edifices around might be surprising.
Two tall, well-built bridges lead to the dam arena. The duo gives an insight into the worth of the project ahead. The dam area is said to cover about 47 kilometres when measured as at 1980, but this figure according to investigation could be higher now because of neglect and the possibility of natural flooding around the river region since then.
Though, upon completion, the dam is expected to generate electricity through turbines, the electricity vision had died since 1983. Successive administrations including the original initiator of the project,Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on his second coming, were not moved to complete this 35 year old vision for the country. The state of the dam site, people say, does not portray Nigeria as a country which is serious about meeting the vision of electricity generation. The equipment at the site include two electricity turbines, two power coils and non-functional control rooms. The equipment, resting on objects where they were deposited since 1980 testifies to the culture of abandoned projects in the country.
Today, the store which still houses the equipment that was never even tested currently serves as dry house for maize and yam flour conveniently.Twenty staff on the pay roll of the Federal Government seems underutilised. In order to survive, they have turned to farming using the large expanse of land available to them.
Though the staff declined to make comments, they themselves, like the dam, looked abandoned. Job satisfaction or financial reward seems not for them. They seem to have accepted their fate.
Living on roasted maize, yam and other readily available farm produce comforts them on daily basis. When asked of their hope of real work resuming at the place, they said that âsince weâre getting paid, weâre bound to work here and protect the place.â
In defence of the Federal Government, they claimed that only the power project that has not been completed. But, it was quite evident that the irrigation scheme and the fish project were not operating at optimum level. A 2004 report by the United Nations (UN) stated that no irrigation had taken place at the dam, but that efforts were being made to implement one of the five planned irrigation projects. The project was to be based on the sprinkler system which is difficult to manage and requires that the farmers be trained. To corroborate UN report, some iron pipes buried over the years and suspected to have been connected from the dam were seen to have found their way to the surface.There have been claims
that successive governments had tried to revive the dam as other such projects established around the same time were functional, yet the Ikere gorge dam remains non-functional.
The Federal Government said to have sunk so much money said to be in the region of over N5billion at current value must have had a plan for the people of Oke-Ogun region of Oyo State and even the country at large. Yet the question is what effort has been made to revive the over three-decade old dream? Last year, the then Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe,during a courtesy visit to the host communityâs traditional ruler, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Adekunle Salau Ologunebi Ajinese 1, had promised governmentâs intervention. Her promise of contacting the management board of Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for urgent assistance on the link road to the dam site has remained a mirage 15 months after.
While speaking with Nigerian Tribune on efforts being made to resuscitate the dam, the Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial
District, Hosea Agboola, stated that he had contacted the Vice- President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, on the state of the dam, and that he had received assurances that the Federal Government would give it attention in the 2015 budget. He, however, said that as part of his constituency projects for 2014,
N170 million had been set aside for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roads leading to the dam, adding that the rehabilitation would in the mean time aid fishing activities and tourism at the Ikere Gorge Dam on a commercial scale. âThe power generation scheme in the dam will receive attention in the 2015 budget. But as part of my commitment to improving infrastructure and the lives of my constituents, given the importance of Ikere Gorge Dam as one of the major tourist sites in my constituency, as well the need to encourage fishermen and farmers around the area, N170 million has been earmarked for the roads,â Senator Agboola said.
Although, the road leading to the dam is in a deplorable state, the roads within the complex are tarred and well paved. The complex has the look of a small town tucked within the belly of a jungle. It is a marriage of rustic and urban life. A well-planned place, there are staff quarters as well as blocks of offices interspersed with farmlands. The complex accommodates the kolanut-chewing rural farmer, hunter and fisherman as well as an administrative officer and an agriculture officer.
The plan was that the dam would generate electricity through turbines,supply drinking water to Iseyin, Okeho, Saki and environs; irrigate over 12,000 hectares of land during dry season, provide water for fishing,supply over 82 million cubic metres of water to Iju Water Works in Lagos during the dry season and provide transportation services for People living around the dam.Today, the dam provides some water to Iju Water Works and to some farms on the Oyo-Iseyin road. However, generating electricity from the dam has remained a dream since 1983.
The equipment brought in by the Shagari-led government to the dam were never installed. According to knowledgeable sources, they had become obsolete.The facilities include two turbines which were to generate electricity;two coils which were expected to power the turbines, and a purpose-built control room. The turbines, rather than generating electricity for the country, are now being used for keeping grains. But the story of the turbines is not different from that of Ikere Gorge Dam itself; it is the story of what could have been. Had it been
completed, the story of electricity supply in the country could probably have been different.A tourist who recently visited the place, while speaking on the condition of anonymity,
informed Nigerian Tribune that âI had to repair my Toyota Sienna to the tune of almost N150,000 when I returned from my visit to the place. When I got to the middle of road, I made up my mind to halt the journey, but I realised that I was at the middle of the journey and I said to myself, I will see whatever that is there.â
On entering the premises, not many would not appreciate the efforts of some visionary people that had a dream for this country. However, a look round at the edifices around might be surprising.
Two tall, well-built bridges lead to the dam arena. The duo gives an insight into the worth of the project ahead. The dam area is said to cover about 47 kilometres when measured as at 1980, but this figure according to investigation could be higher now because of neglect and the possibility of natural flooding around the river region since then.
Though, upon completion, the dam is expected to generate electricity through turbines, the electricity vision had died since 1983. Successive administrations including the original initiator of the project,Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on his second coming, were not moved to complete this 35 year old vision for the country. The state of the dam site, people say, does not portray Nigeria as a country which is serious about meeting the vision of electricity generation. The equipment at the site include two electricity turbines, two power coils and non-functional control rooms. The equipment, resting on objects where they were deposited since 1980 testifies to the culture of abandoned projects in the country.
Today, the store which still houses the equipment that was never even tested currently serves as dry house for maize and yam flour conveniently.Twenty staff on the pay roll of the Federal Government seems underutilised. In order to survive, they have turned to farming using the large expanse of land available to them.
Though the staff declined to make comments, they themselves, like the dam, looked abandoned. Job satisfaction or financial reward seems not for them. They seem to have accepted their fate.
In defence of the Federal Government, they claimed that only the power project that has not been completed. But, it was quite evident that the irrigation scheme and the fish project were not operating at optimum level. A 2004 report by the United Nations (UN) stated that no irrigation had taken place at the dam, but that efforts were being made to implement one of the five planned irrigation projects. The project was to be based on the sprinkler system which is difficult to manage and requires that the farmers be trained. To corroborate UN report, some iron pipes buried over the years and suspected to have been connected from the dam were seen to have found their way to the surface.There have been claims
that successive governments had tried to revive the dam as other such projects established around the same time were functional, yet the Ikere gorge dam remains non-functional.
The Federal Government said to have sunk so much money said to be in the region of over N5billion at current value must have had a plan for the people of Oke-Ogun region of Oyo State and even the country at large. Yet the question is what effort has been made to revive the over three-decade old dream? Last year, the then Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe,during a courtesy visit to the host communityâs traditional ruler, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Adekunle Salau Ologunebi Ajinese 1, had promised governmentâs intervention. Her promise of contacting the management board of Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for urgent assistance on the link road to the dam site has remained a mirage 15 months after.
While speaking with Nigerian Tribune on efforts being made to resuscitate the dam, the Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial
District, Hosea Agboola, stated that he had contacted the Vice- President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, on the state of the dam, and that he had received assurances that the Federal Government would give it attention in the 2015 budget. He, however, said that as part of his constituency projects for 2014,
N170 million had been set aside for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roads leading to the dam, adding that the rehabilitation would in the mean time aid fishing activities and tourism at the Ikere Gorge Dam on a commercial scale. âThe power generation scheme in the dam will receive attention in the 2015 budget. But as part of my commitment to improving infrastructure and the lives of my constituents, given the importance of Ikere Gorge Dam as one of the major tourist sites in my constituency, as well the need to encourage fishermen and farmers around the area, N170 million has been earmarked for the roads,â Senator Agboola said.
