Residents Call for Improved Standard of Living in Ilupeju

Human needs, according to John Maslow, include physiological, safety, belonging and love, social needs or esteem, and self-actualization. These are very important to determine people’s motivations in life. Meeting each level of needs would give rise to the next until self-actualization is derived and this directly or indirectly affects human behaviours.

This is why Today’s Showers team went into the Ilupeju community to find out how much of these needs have been met and the areas that still need improvement. 

Ezekiel Paul: I am from Akwa Ibom, but I live in Ilupeju. I think there should be job creation or opportunity for the youths so as to curb some of the ills perpetrated by them in the environment. The government can help build more companies where youths can be employed so that they can also have entitlement to life and be happy. Yes, electricity has improved in Ilupeju, but if you don’t have money, you are hungry or sick, how can you enjoy the light? It is when you have money and good health that you can enjoy the light.

Jamiu: I work in Ilupeju, around that Cappa area and I noticed there are no enough public toilets. Electricity also is not constant. So if they can help us make electricity more constant to help our business and give us more public toilets, people will be mandated to use them and the environment will be better

Godwin Ojo: I have been living and working in Ilupeju for about 14 to 16 years now and I can say that Ilupeju is okay. There are no thieves or hooligans (popularly known as area boys). However, Ilupeju can be better. The government should help us improve electricity in Ilupeju and also repair that Coker Road; that road is very bad. They should also help us improve the standard of education in Ilupeju, especially the primary schools.

Olufowobi Akintunde: Most of the public boreholes that were constructed have stopped working. Then there are some streets that don’t have electricity virtually every week due to break points or something like that, especially Wilmer Street. If those can be solved, and those streets have light, then things would be better.

Mr. Moses: I’ve worked in Ilupeju for over 30 years and I can say that Ilupeju is not a bad place to live or work in. However, light is a major issue in Ilupeju that the government should help us work on. Also the roads can be worked on. The roads are bad.

Mr. Daniel: Most of the youths in Ilupeju are not working. They only smoke and do internet fraud (yahoo-yahoo). So if the government can sensitize the youths and create jobs for them so as to make them responsible in the society.

John: I have been living in Ilupeju for the past two years now and so far, I can say that unemployment is more in Ilupeju, so that can be improved. Then the environment too is becoming not healthy for residents, so something should be done about that. The gutters around Johnson Street are not good. There should also be creation of jobs. Some people since January have not gotten jobs. I am an electrician and if I can get employment, I will be able to feed my family and also live responsibly.