By Cosmas Omegoh, (Lagos), Judex Okoro (Calabar), Emmanuel Adeyemi, (Lokoja) Femi Folaranmi (Yenagoa), Laide Raheem, (Abeokuta), Okey Sampson, (Umuahia) & Felix Ikem (Nsukka), Geoffrey Anyanwu, (Enugu) Timothy Olanrewaju (Maiduguri)
This is a season of pain for everyone using the roads.
Across the country, the sorry state of the roads is the same. Everything speaks of death, discontent and disbelief – on a rising scale – each bearing the signature of nightmare, agony, and despair.
Our correspondents who visited some roads across the country met a people who were lamenting their woes, including spending long hours and days that seem like eternity. 
This is coming amid Federal Government’s claims that it has performed exceeding well on road infrastructure. But the experiences of people right on the roads do not support the claim.
Now, the reality before everyone is that renewed onslaught by the rains has ushered in more misery. Almost all the roads have been badly affected in one way or the other. Rampaging flood has escalated the problem, opening up gullies and craters on the few manageable roads. Even the problem of insecurity had added to the growing nightmare on the roads. These are the realities captured by our correspondents when they went to town.
Travellers groan on Calabar-Itu-Ogoja-Makurdi roads
Hundreds of motorists and commuters have been lamenting the deplorable condition of federal roads in Cross River State.
Those affected are unhappy that they are daily held up for long hours at the Odukpani Junction Flyover, and somewhere between Ikot Nyong and Itu Bridge head.
It is the same story for those plying the Calabar-Biase- Ndok Junction-Ogoja-Bekwarra-Makurdi road. The facility is a gateway to the northern part of the state. It also serves as an evacuation corridor to the Southeast.
Drivers and commuters are complaining that federal roads in the state have become a source of nightmare. They spend several hours and sometimes days on a journey that ordinarily should last between one hour.
Our correspondent gathered that the slow pace of work on some of the affected roads is as a result of the slow release of funds to contractors by the Federal Government as well as the non-payment of compensation to the host communities whose property are to be destroyed.
Recently, for instance, various clans in Odukpani in Odukpani Local Government Area such as Ikot Eton Oku, Aynaga-nte, Ikot Essien, Ekpo Iyang, Ikot Iwatt and Idim Eken in Mbiabo Esine Ufot/Edere, alleged illegal destruction of their property worth hundreds of millions of naira.
Through their counsel, Dr Emmanuel Sani, they expressed worry that the Federal Government was using divide-and-rule method of payment of compensation to the affected people.
Clan head of Okpokom, Dr Nya Asuquo, confirmed that the non-payment of compensation was delaying progress of work on the road that links Cross River to Akwa Ibom.
Asuquo, a former member of the House of Representatives, said that the people of Mbiabo Ikot Offiong and others where the road passes had been rendered homeless, while their means of livelihood had been destroyed by the contractor.
Amed Shehu who regularly plies Calabar-Makurdi route said that passing through the road is akin to hell.
He revealed that sometimes, drivers spend two days before getting to their destinations; the journey before now lasted for just a day.
Shehu called on the government to speed up construction work on the roads to boost trade and other economic activities.
Death traps on Abuja-Lokoja highway
The Abuja-Lokoja highway is one of the busiest in the country. It links the South to the Federal Capital Territory and much of the North.
But a substantial portion of the road is in bad shape and needs urgent repairs.
Our correspondent reports that terrible pot holes now liter the Kabba Junction from where motorists connect Obajana Cement factory. The spot, he observed, is a major cause of gridlock in the area.
He noted that the area had been made worse by articulated trucks hauling cement, even as the axis has remained flooded.
According to him, the highway from Okene to Lokoja is currently being dualised. But sadly, frequent accidents have become common place especially at bad portions around the Felele axis.
He recalled how not long ago, three people were burnt to death at Felele when a tanker burst into flames and also injuring many.
Investigations revealed that the Okumi area also on the road just before Navy checkpoint, Navy barracks and Banda and Odugba communities axis of the road had gone bad.
It was observed that the portion of the road between the Federal Road Safety Corps office in Kotonkarfi and Opaka village is bad for driving. And because of the windy nature of the area, speeding vehicles often either somersault or have head on collision with oncoming traffic.
It was also observed that a portion of the road around Uwa community that is hilly, and often forcing some drivers lose control of the wheels, just as it has bad portions close to Ejeji bridge near the NDLEA check point at Abaji.
Unending pain on controversial East-West road
After several years of promises, directives and assurances, the 328km East-West road, which has remained under construction in the past 16 years is yet to be completed.
The road which traverses Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states continues to give travellers a nightmare.
Our correspondent reported that the state of the road has been a source of embarrassment to the people of the Niger Delta region considering the quantum of resources that the area contributes to the commonwealth.
In 2013, the then governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, complained bitterly about the dilapidation of the road before the Federal Government took action. Amaechi who accused the Federal Government of abandoning the facility, demanded that funds should be released to the various states to handle it.
Although the then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, engaged in a verbal war with Amaechi, the Federal Government eventually deployed Steraco to the road.
While considerable work has been done from Kaiama in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area in Bayelsa State to Ughelli down to Warri, the section from Kaiama to Mbiama remains an eyesore.
Several groups in the Niger Delta region, including the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) have made several appeals to the Federal Government to complete the road. But nothing concrete has been done.
In April 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the road to be handed over to the Ministry of Works and Housing. Then, the Minister, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, solicited corporation from host communities for the road to be delivered.
Five months after in September, President Buhari again directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited and its subsidiaries to step in and fix Section Four of the road which runs from Eleme to Onne in Rivers State with no mention of the section from Kaiama to Mbiama and Ahoada in Rivers State.
Investigations revealed that the current flood ravaging the area has further done incalculable damage to the facility.
The section from Patani to Ughelli, and a part of Mbiama to Ahoada have been taken over by the rampaging flood, while Ahoada to Okogbe has failed.
After the flooding, it would cost the Federal Government huge funds to repair the destroyed part.
Motorists unhappy over Lagos-Ota-Abeakuta road
At the moment, the Lagos-Sango-Ota-Abeokuta road is in deplorable condition, and has continued to stress road users. Several portions of the road at the Sango Toll Gate section, Singer Area, Ewekoro and Itori as well as Ilepa area in Ifo, are in terrible conditions.
Road users have continued to bear the brunt of the road, which have undergone various phases of rehabilitation over the past years.
When contract for the road’s rehabilitation was awarded by President Muhammadu Buhari not long ago, residents of Ogun State heaved a sigh of relief. But no sooner than later, work on the road was abandoned. Since then, motorists and travellers on the road have been subjected to indescribable nightmares.
On more than one occasion, labour unions had protested the bad condition of the road. In the process, they blocked the facility to draw the attention, and even issued ultimatum to the Federal Government. But none of that has worked.
Lately, the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, announced that his administration would embark on rehabilitation and reconstruction of most of the failed portions of the road.
He said that the effort would ease the transport of passengers and goods.
In August, the governor, while inspecting rehabilitation work on highway, announced that work on the Tollgate section of Lagos-Abeokuta would be completed in three weeks time.
He explained that some bad portions of the expressway, grouped into five sections would be awarded for rehabilitation.
Enugu-PH Expressway still needing attention
The Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway has always presented its own challenges since it started to deteriorate.
According to our correspondent, although one side of the dual carriage way of the Enugu end of the road, has been reconstructed, it still has serious defects.
According to investigations, the axis which took a little long time to complete unfortunately began to fail while the construction company handling the project was still on site.
Our correspondent learnt that the former Director of Works in charge of the road recently was promoted and had to relocate to Abuja. A new one is yet to be appointed. But a source in the ministry admitted that the road has subsoil issues.
He said: “When they designed that project, they did not take cognisance of the soil texture of some portions of the road. Unfortunately, some portions have clay soil, and that was the reason some areas have been failing.”
He said the problem had been identified and the necessary paper works for its correction were being done.
Meanwhile, it is a mixed grill for drivers and commuters on the Okigwe-Umuahia-Aba Port Harcourt end of the road.
Whereas some portions of the expressway are in good condition, other sections are hellish.
Reports indicate that the section from Lokpanta through Osisioma Junction to Aba is manageable, having undergone some rehabilitation lately.
But it gets worse going from Aba to Port Harcourt. The journey that is supposed to last for 30 minutes, now takes between three and four hours.
According to our correspondent, Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, in a recent interview, disclosed how he spent more than three hours struggling to get to Aba from Port Harcourt weeks back.
He recalled that “a 30-minute journey from Aba to Port Harcourt, you cannot go in three hours.”
At the moment, motorists plying that section of the expressway have been bemoaning their fate, warning that if nothing is urgently done, soon, it would be difficult to access Port Harcourt from Aba.
The condition of the road had become so desperate that some commuters now have to get to Port Harcourt from Aba, passing through Owerri in Imo State, and Elele. That stretches a journey of 30 minutes to more than three hours, with its attendant hike in fares.
Before now, it costs between N500 and N1,200 to get to Port Harcourt from Aba. But now the fare ranges between N1,000 and N3,000, depending on the vehicle used.
Recently, a trailer conveying goods from Port Harcourt to Aba, ran into one of the numerous craters on the highway. It fell on a commercial bus, killing some of its passengers.
According to our investigation, other federal highways in the state such as the Aba-Ikot-Ekpene, the Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene and Umuahia-Owerri highways, are suffering various degrees of dilapidation.
Accidents and deaths in particular are common features on the Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene highway.some days ago, for instance, a student of Michael Okpara University, Umudike, was killed when an articulated vehicle fell on her at a bad portion of the road with dreadful potholes.
Enugu-Makurdi road bad
Motorists plying Enugu-Makurdi federal road have variously described their experiences as hellish and nightmarish.
For close to half a decade now, the road which is the major artery between the northern part of the country and the Southeast region, has become a death trap for motorists.
Currently, some sections of the road are impassable; motorists now divert from the Opi-Nsukka junction to Ukehe-Abor-9th Mile old road so as to avoid the failed portions of the road.
The horrible situation has trapped and cut off access to some communities in Igbo-Etiti and Udi local government areas of Enugu State
A week ago, the Council Chairman of Igbo-Etiti LGA, Mr Ikenna Nwodo, had to mount a motorcycle in his effort to access how bad the road has become and to fashion out palliative measures to ease the suffering of the people of the area.
Also recently, Senate Chukwuka Utazi representing Enugu North senatorial district while interacting with newsmen in Nsukka disclosed that the Federal Government had awarded the contract for the dualisation the of Enugu-Makurdi road.
“I took it upon myself when I went with a cameraman to video and snap the deplorable condition of the Enugu-Makurdi express road starting from 9th Mile down to the other connecting Benue State in Udenu LGA. Indeed, the road is in a very bad state; I took the recordings to the relevant ministries in Abuja and I followed it up until a contract for the dualisation of the road was awarded. The construction of the road had started from the 9th Mile axis; but work stopped on the road due to scarcity of funds,” he said.
A commercial bus driver, Mr Anthony Onyishi, in his reaction said that plying the road these days is like making a journey to hell, adding that the situation had doubled the sufferings of road users.
“The bad state of the road has cost us a lot in the past six years. Before now, the 9th Mile to Makurdi used to be a three-hour journey. But now, it takes days, depending on the type of vehicle you are using. Mini busses like mine always maneuver through some of the failed portions, but that would not be said for articulated vehicles. Any day it rains the road becomes impassable.
“From Opi Junction, the road down to Ogbede to Affa axis has failed. Motorists now divert from Opi junction through Ukeh-Abor old road to 9th Mile.
“The situation is hellish because that alternative road is not even good and wide enough for big lorries, and other vehicles. Every day accidents are happening on the road, claiming lives and damaging people’s goods and vehicles,” he said.
Mrs Grace Uzor, a trader at Nkwo-Ogbede Market in Igbo-Etiti LGA said that the state of the Enugu-Makurdi road is typical of government’s insensitivity to the plight and well-being of her citizens. She blamed both the Federal and state governments for not doing enough to salvage the situation.
Pains not over still on Enugu-Onitsha expressway
On Thursday, October 27, 2022 the Federal Government approved the reconstruction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway by MTN, at a cost said to be in the region of N202.8 billion. This is coming under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme.
Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, explained that the road project was being executed in line with the Executive Order 7 signed by the President in January, 2019. That will see to the rehabilitation of the 110 km road.
Government’s recent intervention underscores the state of things on the said road.
Until this moment, the condition of the road has been deplorable. Work on it has been slow, hampered by paucity of funds and the rains.
Our correspondent was told that work on the Enugu-Onitsha road is being undertaken in phases.
While effort is being made on one side on the road, motorists manage to use the other. The 9th Mile axis remains in bad condition, the same for the Amansea-Awka corridor. Some motorists take alternative routes to avoid the 9th Mile area as a result of its condition.
Our source in the Ministry of Works said the contractor, RCC Nigeria, had actually been on the road, but regretted that at some point had to stop work.
“No work is going on there now, but with the takeover of the project by MTN, I learnt RCC will be back on site next week. I saw that they have even started palliative works around the Trans Ekulu through 82 Division.”
Over the years, the Anambra State government had made efforts at rehabilitating its own section of the road since it cuts through Awka, the state capital.
Recently, it was noted that the state government commenced intervention works on the failed portions of the Enugu-Onitsha old road particularly at Amansea, Awka North Local Government Area, to ease the pain of the people.
Our correspondent gathered that commuters had at various times had a handful on the road, after being trapped at the same spot, for hours. Many, it was further gathered, had been kidnapped along that axis while they struggled to maneuver out of the failed portions.
Neglect, insecurity worsen Borno, Yobe roads
Many years of neglect by the Federal Government and incessant Boko Haram attacks for over 13 years have contributed to the poor state of roads in the Northeast, particularly Borno and Yobe states.
One of the roads that has suffered the most is the 132 km Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.
According to a Maiduguri-based journalist Njadvara Musa, the road was constructed during the colonial era and expanded in the 70s. So far, it has undergone few rehabilitation, especially during the military era.
Mohammed Saleh, a retiree, recalled that only minor repairs were done on the road by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), until President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded a contract for its dualisation.
Works on the road were, however, slowed down as Boko Haram stepped up attacks on the construction workers, burning their equipment in the process. Incessant bomb explosions and burning of vehicles on the road had further created more problems.
Ali Garga, a commercial vehicle driver told Sunday Sun that driving from Maiduguri to Damaturu, Yobe State capital, now takes about two hours unlike before when it used to be just an hour.
He said: “The road is still bad while security threat is still there.”
Sources at FERMA said the agency could not continue repairs works on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway due to security challenges.
The Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa earlier told our reporter that military troops were on patrol of the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.
However, travellers on the road insist they are scared stiff for fear of possible eventualities.
Sunday Sun was told that the roads linking Borno to neighbouring Adamawa and Gombe states in the same region are in various states of collapse.
It was noted that the 187 kms Maiduguri-Damboa -Biu road which trusts into Adamawa State is largely impassable. Travellers from Borno are compelled to go through Yobe, and Gombe states, spending about nine hours on a journey that hitherto lasted for five hours.
Similarly, travellers have continued to raise concerns on the state of the Maiduguri- Madagali road which is about 170km. It was learnt that the deterioration of the facility and security challenges in the axis have continued to present a handful to everyone.
Delta, Edo Ondo FG roads deteriorating
The impact of the rains over the past months has unleashed untold harm on federal roads in Delta, Edo and Ondo states.
According to our correspondent, the Asaba-Benin highway remains good. But there are growing bad portions of the road that have continued to give commuters serious headache.
According to a commuter, Chidi Onyema, some spots several kilometers on approach to the Benin bypass are very bad.
He observed that some of the failed areas were filled with granites, which are also being washed away.
“At various failed portions, motorists divert to the opposite lane. While doing that, gridlocks always build up, sometimes lasting for hours.”
It was also observed that the Benin bypass itself is in a terrible mess.
Our correspondent reported that recently, residents of the area protested the state of the road, forcing the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, to intervene.
It was learnt that the governor’s intervention was, however, stopped as the Federal Government asked him to back off.
It was also learnt that some other parts of the bypass inward Warri are in very dire state, the worst affected being areas around RCC Junction. Palliative measures have been applied, but they have not changed anything.
Similarly, the Benin-Auchi road is said to be in extremely bad condition.
Lately, truck drivers blocked the road in protest. Vehicular traffic is often diverted to adjoining local roads within the area, thereby inflicting further damage on the facilities which were not built to accommodate trucks above 30 tons.
Sunday Sun also learnt that some portions of the Ore-Sagamu axis have been affected by the rains, leaving failed spots for motorist to deal with.
A driver with one of the popular transport companies told Sunday Sun that he spent long hours at some of those dilapidated portions between Benin and Ijebu Ode.
“Drivers who refused to be patient caused serious gridlocks at those places.
“On the whole, we spent lengthy hours that appeared like a life time at those places.
“Can you imagine that I left Imo State at 8:30 a.m, but guess when I entered Lagos? – 1:00a.m the following day,” he lamented.