Ngozi Nwoke
It is November, that time of the year that witnesses boisterous activities on the roads. As the year nears its end, it is said that over five million cars and hundreds of commercial literally invade the highways on daily basis.
However, travellers, commercial transporters and commuters from various parts of Nigeria have continued to lament over the deplorable state of the roads, which they claim causes them untold hardship.
Over the years, the roads and highways have terribly deteriorated. They are filled with potholes, craters and gullies carved by erosion, making life miserable for commuters. It is especially worse during the rainy season. The inner rural roads which serve as links to the major highways are even worse.
On the major highways such as Ore-Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway, Lagos-Benin Expressway, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos-Shagamu Expressway, Lagos-Ota Expressway, Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and other major federal roads, it has been lamentations from travellers and motorists over persistent vehicle damage and loss of lives.
Recently, the reporter travelled through some of the roads and experienced the torture that commuters and travellers go through every day.
Dr Chidi Anyaegbu, Chairman, Chisco Transport Company, Lagos, described the condition of the highways and roads as an eyesore which speaks of neglect by the federal government.
“The major reason why there are abandoned poor road networks is simply because the elite and high profile government officials do not ply the roads regularly. They do not care about whatever happens to motorists and travellers who use the highways. It’s a good thing that the federal government has begun massive construction on some major parts of some of the deplorable roads, but I must say, there’s a lot to be done.
“We need not be told about the security threats that bad roads have caused. Bad roads are death traps to commuters and travellers. Nigerians are suffering, and travellers are being kidnapped on these major bad roads. As a businessman, I want to appeal to the federal government and the Federal Minister of Works, on behalf of the innocent citizens who use the roads daily, to save the lives of travellers by working on the roads,” Anyaegbu said.
A commercial driver with the transport company, Mr Mark Nzube, stressed that the inner roads linking the major highway are also in a deplorable state. He appealed to the state governments to also do their own bit by fixing the inner roads.
Commercial bus drivers and motorcyclists have described the state of the road in Agege area of Lagos as a nightmare. Solomon Ibe, a resident in the area, argued that Oniwaya Road was expected to serve as an alternative route for motorists plying the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway which is in a terrible state now. He regretted that it has since been neglected, causing nightmare to users.
“The roads are bad and that also contributes to the gridlock we often experience on the road. While running away from the traffic on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, you run into another one on Oniwaya Road which is caused by potholes,” he lamented.
Another commercial driver, Olaitan Ambrose of The Young Shall Grow Transport Company in Lagos, lamented that some of these inner roads were constructed several decades ago while others have suffered persistent neglect.
“Many accidents happen on the road during the rainy seasons and we have cried out but the federal government has ignored us,” he said.
Owolabi Abraham, a traveller based in Ijebu-Ode, while commenting on the Lagos-Ijebu Expressway, said that the road serves as a link for thousands of motorists who want to avoid the traffic along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, yet it has remained in a bad shape for years.
He said: “You can see the state of the roads within Ijebu Ode and other Ijebu towns. We don’t have roads and that is why we often abandon our cars at home whenever we know that the community we are visiting has impassable roads. And for those that are still passable, one will have to master the potholes and others. If he doesn’t do that, he may have himself to blame”.
As motorists within the highways groan, residents of Ore axis on their part couldn’t understand why they deserve such neglect from the federal government.
Commuters are lamenting that the ongoing construction on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been inconsistent. Many lives are still being lost on the road almost on a daily basis.
In December last year, a lawyer, his entire family and their female maid died in an accident on the expressway while travelling for the Yuletide. The accident was attributed to the ugly state of the road. The lawyer’s aged mother remains inconsolable because he was an only child.
Another traveller, Teniola Emmanuel, said the agony on the road is indescribable.
“We keep experiencing the same thing every day. It takes us five hours on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway whenever we are travelling to the east. Fuel tankers keep falling at the same spot, spilling fuel and diesel on the road where pedestrians use. We are begging the Federal Government to work on these roads please,” she appealed.
A private motorist, Daniel Ibekwe, who spoke with the reporter, said the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is not suitable for motorists. “We keep hearing that the road is under constriction but from we always see it in the same bad condition. That road needs urgent rehabilitation and that is not the responsibility of the drivers but government,” he added.
The traffic gridlock caused by potholes and dilapidated roads on the highways in the country are usually campaign tools for presidential candidates, who make promises to renovate them during every election campaign. But as soon as elections are over, the campaign promises die.
An official of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation, who spoke anonymously, revealed that the agency was already fixing some of the bad roads in Lagos State.
“As I speak to you, the Lagos State Public Works Corporation has intensified their rehabilitation of potholes across the state. We were initially held back by the rains, but with the dry season now, more roads have been covered in the last one month and we appeal to motorists to be patient. We will get to all affected routes soon,”
He argued that several efforts have been made to ensure easy movements, even as he assured that failed roads in Lagos would be corrected.
An official of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC] said roads in some strategic areas across the country are being fixed. “At the moment, places like Onitsha-Enugu, Abuja-Kaduna, Zaria-Kano, and the on-going Niger bridge are being worked on,” he added.
It was also observed that many of the highways have become narrow and can barely accommodate two buses at the same time. ‘Most of the roads do not only require rehabilitation, but should be turned to dual carriageways as well,’ a motorist said.