Thing falling apart in home of the largest sugar factory after two decades

Rural Bacita community is a Nupe land situated in the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State. It comprises of about 400 communities. The town, which used to be a beehive of socioeconomic activities in the past years, can now best be described more or less a ghost town. The reason being that Bacita Sugar Company, established in the 50s, which used to be the glory of the former promising community, is no longer in operation. Facts available revealed that the town existed because of the sugar factory as it provided socioeconomic and welfare to the population inhabiting the Nupe land.

Bacita was home to indigenes of all tribes in the country, including foreign nationals, as investigation gathered that the company provided employment to over 4,000 direct and indirect workers. Many political office holders who hail from the town were said to have worked in the company for years before assuming relevance and popularity that paved way for their political life. Example is that of former governor of the state and now senator representing Kwara North senatorial district, Alhaji Shabba Lafiagi, among other serving political office holders in the state. The staff quarters built when Alhaji Lafiagi was a managing director of the sugar company are  still there though mostly uninhabited and dilapidated presently.

Furthermore  , The housing estates, even though some of them have become the worse for wear, are Patitunku now called Goshen Estate, Waziri Quarters, Sha’aba Quarters, Booth House, Guest House and others that have been either abandoned or decrepit.

Jimoh opeyemi , a resident who lives in one of the housing estates, said: “I can say almost everything in Bacita is about the sugar company.” I can recall growing up back as a child then in the early year the fall apart by late Chinua Achebe is really what is happening in the town, at a time we enjoy free power supply but the company was not more we witness bad power supply, it happens that my dad worked with the company since early 90s 

He believe that the privatization is the main cause of the problem. 

Speaking with one of the Graduate of the Sugar school can't hold the tears back saying that he can recall when the school bus will pick them from home and return them after closing time, he says he can still recall those moment when he played with the foreigner who attended the school. 

Finally it a pity, that a company being the largest in west African is no more due to the privatization which was done 13 years ago.We hope things will get back to track again.