Alhaji Usman Ayeni, the Alashipa of Ashipa town, a border community in Badagry, on Monday appealed to Lagos State Government to provide social amenities to the community as a strategy to curb smuggling.
Ayeni told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry that lack of amenities in Ashipa was pushing its youths into smuggling.
“We don’t have a functional hospital, market, access road, portable water and regular power supply in Ashipa land. We are suffering.
“As big as Ashipa is, there is no single industry. We do not have potable water. Water from our boreholes is not drinkable, but we don’t have any choice.
“We do not have access roads in Ashipa.
“There is no regular power supply in Ashipa, even when there is electricity supply, we cannot use it to power gadgets because it is low current,” he said.
On education, he said that the community had a primary school and secondary school to cater for many children, adding that the primary school was not fenced.
He said: “Our children trek several kilometers daily to attend schools in Badagry or Apa. We are suffering in this town,” he said.
Ayeni appealed to the federal and Lagos State governments to come to the community’s aid by establishing industries and providing amenities.
“Ashipa land has a borderline between Nigeria and Republic of Benin,’’ he said. (NAN)
