Three years after life was breathed into it, Agodi gardens is fast becoming a death trap.
Built on a 35-hectare landed facility, for 34 years after it was ravaged by the popular Omiyale flood incident, successive administration did not deem it fit to resurrect the heritage until Governor Abiola Ajimobi decided to give it a facelift with the initiation of a N1 billion redevelopment programme. When works started, it had been reduced to nothing but a play ground of dangerous reptiles and such animals, making the task of resuscitation a herculean one for the Ajimobi administration.
Parents who frequently visit the tourist site, located very close the Oyo State secretariat, Ibadan, had informed insideoyo.com about the way the place is managed.
To enter the garden, an entrance fee of N500 is paid per person while an extra N500 is paid for access to the swimming pool. The garden houses several shops that sell refreshments as external drinks are not allowed into the park.
Despite all these, parents said that the level of management is poor, adding that the lion, crocodile and few monkeys in the zoo may wreck havoc one day as “they are not well-fed; they look hungry and fierce.
Prompted by the frequent complaints, insideoyo.com visited the place and was greeted with another round of complaints by parents who had come to enjoy with their kids.
At the garden, it was observed that many of the facilities which have faults were left unattended to.
It was observed that the planks used for the raised platform, bridge and. walkways connecting the various sections of the gardens were not in good shape when insideoyo.com toured the site.
A woman who did not want name mentioned, threatened to take his children elsewhere. Pointing to a damaged plank on one of the walkways, she said: “God forbids bad thing. Imagine if a little child gets trapped inside this,” urging the state government to consider probing those managing the place.
Not very far from Mokola Hill, Agodi Garden is surrounded by a lake, hilltop Premier Hotel and Cultural Centre on the west, the first teaching hospital in Nigeria, the University College Hospital, UCH, Oyo State Government House and a thick forest. It is about four kilometres to the historic Captain Bower’s Tower, three kilometers to the University of Ibadan, and two kilometers to the current centre of trading buzz, Heritage/Cocoa Mall. It is also only about one and a half kilometers to the proposed Olubadan palace.
