Drive Time:
Ubiaja – Agodaada 3hrs
Agodaada – Akure 40mins
Akure – Ijero 2hrs
To date, we’ve done 7,675km – from starting point (Abuja) to Ijero in Ekiti state.
As the Solar for the Masses road campaign draws to a close, we still get up each morning wondering what interesting things we might discover.
We got off to a good start today, but it all went pear-shaped at our second stop.
The first port of call (our 27th stop) was the Ubiaja Primary Health Centre (Esan South East local government) in Edo state. The Local Government Chairman, Hon. Andrew Ojiemhenkele, had hand-picked this PHC as being most in need of our solar solution.
The Ubiaja PHC was not much different from much of what we had seen as we criss-crossed Nigeria – old building, worn infrastructure and equipment, archaic lighting methods (kerosene lanterns, torchlights, and candles). The stories were no different either. There were currently no admitted patients in the 8-bed hospital but a baby had been delivered the night before by the Matron, Mrs. Agbogidi, aided by a singular kerosene lantern. Halfway through the delivery, the lantern went out (it was out of kerosene) and they reverted to just one torchlight. We shared a story about how clinics actually delivered babies, aided by light from a mobile phone, thinking we were recounting an extraordinary tale. Turns out we were the ones out of touch with reality.
As usual, we asked to see the lantern, and I must say that this particular one made you wonder if the unit did not house a bunch of ailments all on its own.
The staff shared a joke with us. To underscore the lack of electricity, we were shown a very old radio which we were told was permanently plugged to the electricity socket - in the hope that one day soon, power might be restored to the clinic!
The second stop of the day (Ondo state) turned out to be a not-so-amusing joke. Our guide took us two hours away from Owo/Akure junction, to the Agodaada Community Health Centre (Iju Akure North Local Government Area) - only for us to discover that the clinic had since been abandoned by the staff. Apparently, the community is notorious for its violent clashes (caused by leadership tussles), and the last outbreak had seen members of the community fleeing for their lives, including the clinic staff who had refused to return.
After the merry-go-round, we decided to postpone our donation to Ondo state until a suitable recipient was found, and headed for the next state (Ekiti) where we spent the night.
Connectivity
Internet: Good service from Glo, even in Ijero (Ekiti state) which seems like travelling to the end of the world.
Mobile: Glo & MTN work well in Ubiaja, Akure. No MTN/Glo network in Agodaada. MTN more reliable in Ijero.
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