FORGOTTEN AND FORSAKEN: THE ABANDONED BRIDGE PLUNGING IBIANANG / EDEM IYERE INTO TRAGEDY AND ECONOMIC DECLINE.
Forgotten and Forsaken: The Abandoned Bridge Plunging Ibianang / Edem Iyere into Tragedy and Economic Decline By Edet John (Ikonowatch) At the boundary between Ibianang Ediene and Edem Iyere communities in Ikono LGA, Akwa Ibom State, what once stood as a promise of progress and connection now lies in ruin and despair. An abandoned bridge — unfinished, neglected, and dangerously deteriorating — has become both a symbol and a source of deep suffering. Once envisioned to link neighborhoods, stimulate trade, and ease transportation, this bridge has instead brought death, isolation, and economic retrogression to the people of Ibianang and Edem Iyere. In recent months and years, multiple lives have been lost due to the impassable state of the bridge. Children on their way to school, farmers transporting produce, and motorists attempting to navigate the perilous structure have met tragic ends. These are not isolated incidents — they are the consequence of years of silence, delay, and inaction...