SPECIAL report
By Oluseye Ojo, Priscilla Ediare, Lukman Olabiyi, And Lateef Dada
It was an experience he would never forget. Thaddeus Ojo, an executive with an advert agency, had left his home around Ojodu in Lagos that Thursday morning to meet up with an appointment at Ile-Ife in Osun State. Somewhere on the Ibadan-Ife Expressway, the Ife-bound lane had become impassable, with craters and ditches that could swallow up small automobiles sitting magisterially on the highway. All motorists had no choice than to divert to the other lane to face oncoming traffic. He was surprised, but since it was what every other driver was doing, he jumped on the.
But soon after, somewhere along a winding portion of the road, he saw himself facing two fuel tankers driving side by side, each speeding as if they were on a race course. Alarmed, Thaddeus swerved off the road into the bush. That was probably what saved his life. But the truck did substantial damage on the car, breaking a side mirror and scratching parts of the car.
“The car also suffered some other damages, as there were rocks, and tree stumps in the bush that I ran into. But I was and I’m still thankful that nothing happened to me,” he told the reporter.
Thaddeus’ experience is not peculiar. In the past several years, many are the motorists that have suffered such scary fate on major federal roads in the South West. Not a few are those that lost their lives in the process.
Craters, ditches turn highways to death traps
Potholes, craters and ditches are some of the features that have characterised many portions of the federal roads that are in Oyo State. The features have made a number of people to hold the opinions that the deplorable state of the roads has turned the highways to death traps.
Some of the federal roads Oyo State are the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa Expressway, Ibadan-Olodo-Iwo Road, Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin Expressway, Ibadan-Apata-Abeokuta Road, Oyo- Iseyin Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Iwo Road-Agodi-Oje-Beere-Molete Road, Ojoo-UI-Mokola-Dugbe-Challenge Road, and Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road.
A tour of some of these federal roads revealed that many portions of the highways have failed. The Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin Road, which started in 2002, has not been completed. It was divided into three lots. The first lot from Ibadan to Oyo has been completed. But many parts of it have failed, especially at Idi-Ose, Tose, Akinyele, Fiditi, Ilora and Eleekara. 
The second lot between Oyo and Ogbomoso has not been completed. The non-completion of the portion has been forcing motorists to cross to the single-lane and narrow old road. Some of the features of it include dangerous bends and deplorable state that have caused fatal accidents and dispatched dozens of people to their early graves while inflicting various permanent degrees of disability on many survivors. One of the survivors of the accidents is the Bishop of Methodist Church Nigeria, Ogbomoso Diocese, Right Rev’d Ademola Moradeyo. During an encounter with this reporter, he gave glory to God for giving him a second chance.
However, the lot three of the road from Ogbomoso to Ilorin was the first to be completed and travellers on that portion said it’s still fairly okay.
But for Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha Road, it has always been a gruelling experience for travellers for many years. Many parts of the road have degenerated to the extent that motorists usually leave their lane on the dual carriageway and drive against the traffic on the alternate lane in a bid to avoid potholes dotting the road, especially from Gbongon to Ife Junction. The Asejire Bridge over Asejire River that serves as a boundary between Oyo and Osun States also needs attention.
There have been complaints that the bridge is vibrating and that some parts of the connecting joints of the bridge are in a sorry state. Motorists complained that they had on several occasions had the tyres of their vehicles punctured or burst by some irons components of the bridge.
But the portion of the road from Ife Junction towards Ilesha is currently receiving attention of the Federal Government.
Both the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), have condemned the deplorable state of the road, especially two years after the Federal Government raised the hope of people over its imminent repair. The government had in 2019 awarded the rehabilitation of the road to a contractor at the cost of N79billion.
Though the reconstruction of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is still ongoing, it has not been sweet experience for road users whenever they are navigating through diversions and the areas yet to be touched by the contractor. One of such areas, where work is ongoing, is the Ibadan Toll Gate, which has become a nightmare for road users. A journey from Lagos to Ibadan may take less than one hour. But moving from Guru Maharaj area to the Toll Gate and the flyovers after it may take five to six hours on a bad day.
Commercial drivers plying the Ibadan-Iwo Highway, also revealed that some portions of the road have also failed, especially at Olodo axis, Iyana Church, Lalupon, Iyana Offa, and Odo Oba.
Another federal road in Oyo State that is in a sorry state is the Oyo-Iseyin Road. But the state government under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, has got approval from the Federal Government to reconstruct the road.
But this reporter could only locate one road owned by the Oyo State Government that has had, some of its portions dotted with potholes and craters. It is the Ido-Eruwa Road. It was constructed by the administration of Alhaji Lam Adesina between 1999 and 2003. Though the road has been repaired many times, some portions of it are still in deplorable state at present.
However, the Oyo State Controller of Works, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Kayode Ibrahim, has said emergency repair of critical portions of Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha dual carriageway has commenced.
He stated that the contractor handling the project, Kopek Construction company, has moved to critical portions of the road to make it motorable. He added that based on the downpour that was experienced in recent time, a section around Ilesa has gone very critical and a contractor had moved there.
“The contractor has been working on the road since October and all the bad sections of the road, close to Ile-Ife are now motorable. The contractor started with the critical portions, the sections between Ile – Ife and Ilesa is currently receiving attention now and work will soon start at less critical locations as it progresses,” he said.
According to him, the Ibadan interchange to Asejire Bridge, which is not as critical as the other sections of the road will soon receive attention; that is the instruction they have and they are carrying it out.”
A serious washout that threatened to cut off the road at a section around Celica area in Ibadan has also been fixed. He said the “contractor went to that spot to put a new culvert and fill the embarkment, thereby halting the washout. The failed portion has now been put back to shape.
“You can now drive smoothly on that section of the road. But, the truth is that because the project is a full rehabilitation, you cannot be laying asphalt on that spot alone. Asphalt laying has to be done on the entire section so that it will not look like a patched work.”
Ibrahim stated further that the second lot of Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway between Oyo and Ogbomoso has been receiving attention. “A major work now is on the bridges and interchange at Oyo section. The road contract augmentation that had been approved was to strengthen the pavement so that failure experienced in other roads wouldn’t occur there. So, the design has been strengthened to include two layers of bidders, and the contractor is now putting the second layer.”
On the old Oyo-Ogbomosho Road, Ibrahim said: “Some sections of the old Oyo-Ogbomosho Road, which has almost cut off because of the recent heavy rain is presently receiving serious intervention. The Federal Government has awarded emergency repair for the old road, particularly the road shoulders where tankers and vehicles are falling. So, Renoid Construction Company has been instructed to attend to very critical portions.”
Ibrahim listed other federal road projects across the state that were presently receiving attention. They include Iseyin – Saki Road, Igboho – Sepeteri, Iseyin – Alaga to Okaka and Baasi, Ogbomosho to Igbeti and Oyo – Aawe – Iwo.
In Osun, many of the major federal roads have either collapsed or are in different stages of collapse. Some of the roads that have been awarded are not being funded, it was gathered. Some of the roads have been taken over by the state government, the reporter learnt.
The Osogbo-Ikirun-Ilaodo Kwara boundary road was awarded at the rate of N17.8billion in 2012 by the state government. Not a lot has so far been done on the road.
Lagos, Ogun: No cause for cheer on federal roads
The story is the same on the Ibadan-Abeokuta Road. The portion of the road from Odeda to Adatan Asero is in a sorry state. Investigation also revealed that the story is not different in regards to Abeokuta Lagos Road, as Itori to Papa Lanto has failed. But Papa Lanto to Ifo was said to be fairly okay. However, the road is still in a pathetic state from Onihade to Owode and Sango Ota, as well as Papa Lanto to Sagamu.
In Lagos, some of the federal roads that have become death traps in recent years are the Ikorodu-Shagamu Highway, Ikorodu-Itoikin-Ijebu-Ode Road, and the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
On June 5, 2018, the Federal Government awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the Ikorodu – Shagamu Road at the cost of N20, 845,336,248.20, with a completion period of 36 months. But as of today, the project has only attained 24.04 per cent completion due to lack of funding. This was revealed by the Senator representing Lagos- East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Adetokunbo Abiru, while calling for the road’s immediate rehabilitation at the floor of the National Assembly in April.
The road which was constructed in the 1960s, before the construction of Lagos– Ibadan Expressway, is currently in a deplorable state.
Despite calls by stakeholders for the road to be given an urgent attention, till date nothing has changed. The Ikorodu–Shagamu road which starts from Ikorodu roundabout terminating at Isale-Oko, Sagamu, Ogun state, is a death trap for motorists. It has claimed many lives, and vehicular movement on the axis is pure hell.
The situation is even worse on the Ikorodu-Itoikin-Ijebu-Ode Road, another federal government-owned corridor. In spite of the importance of the road, successive administrations have not deemed it fit to rehabilitate or upgrade it 46 years after construction.
The road was commissioned by then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon in 1975.
The Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway is another road that has parades several collapsed portions, giving motorists and other commuters a generous dose of hell on earth. On Wednesday October 27, leaders and members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ogun State chapter, protested the pathetic state of the road, even as they declared the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, an enemy of the Ogun people and a persona non grata in the state.
Ekiti, Ondo: Agony without end
The deplorable conditions of the roads in Ekiti State have become a menace. Road users – motorists and commuters as well as residents have continued to lament the terrible state of the roads.
As a result of the impassable nature of the roads, kidnappers, armed robbers and other evil doers take advantage of the situation to get their victims
Some of the bad federal roads in the axis are the Ado-Akure Road, Ado-Ifaki Road, Ado-Aramoko- Itawure Road, Omuo-Ijero Road, and Omuo-Ikole Road, among others.
In 2019, it was gathered, the Federal Executive Council approved the rehabilitation of the 36-kilometre Ado-Ekiti–Igede-Aramoko-Itawure road for about N14 billion. The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola in a statement said the contract which was awarded to Messrs Deux Projects Limited/Hitech Construction Company Limited was expected to be completed in 30 months.
Till date, nothing has happened on the road, where kidnappers often abduct travellers for ransom.
But perhaps the king of these failed roads is the Ado-Ekiti-Akure highway.
These killer portions have often resulted in gridlocks as motorists slowly navigate their way around the terribly failed portions.
Some portions have gradually grown from potholes to ditches. Some areas that can no longer be navigated have been completely abandoned.
One of the reasons for the collapse of federal and state roads in Ekiti is the influx of articulated vehicles into the state, occasioned by the collapse of sections of Jebba Road in Kwara State and the Kabba axis of the Abuja Road. Trucks and articulated vehicles bound for the North and South now make use of these routes in the state.
Residents, motorists and other road users in the state have used various platforms to raise the alarm on the recent inflow of trucks, which they said was doing more harm to the condition of the roads, as well as causing the users to stay longer hours on the roads.
Aside accidents, kidnapping, robbery and other vices that have become recurring decimals on these roads, commuters are now forced to pay high fares due to their dilapidated state as motorists claim they spend more to maintain their vehicles.
One of the worst federal roads in the South-West is the Ado-Akure Road. The road has been deteriorating for long before it finally and comprehensively collapsed in the past few months.
In early 2020, the Federal Government awarded the dualisation of the Ado-Ekiti-Akure Road to Dantata & Sawoe contracting firm for over N22 billion. Since then, the road has been abandoned with absolutely no visible efforts to commence job.
For long, commercial drivers now take other routes like Igbara-odo, Igbara-Oke, Ilawe to travel to and from Ado, Ikere or Akure.
A private vehicle owner, Mr Tunji Adebayo, who plies the Ado-Akure road on a regular basis, told the reporter: “This Ado-Akure road is very bad. Travelling has now become a burden on this road. There are portions where passengers will have to come down and even push the vehicle through. For some days in September and October, passengers had to come down at this very section of the road and cross over to join another vehicle as the portion was impassable. Trailers and other lorries were stranded for days here.
“Occasionally, I pass through this road like I am doing now, but in most cases I go through Igbara-Odo. I appeal to the Federal Government to attend to it and urgently too.”
A commercial driver, simply identified as Mr Mutiu, who claimed he travels everyday on Ado -Aramoko- Itawure Road, said: “I travel everyday on this road because I am a commercial driver. When driving I steer to the left and to the right to pass through here. Sometimes, we experience terrible gridlocks, and we are held up here for hours. This situation is also telling on what I make per day because it reduces my daily shuttle.
“Also, kidnappers and other evil doers leverage on this situation to do evil because they know one will have to slow down while passing through these portions. Also, many accidents have happened on this road because of these bad portions.
“Another headache we are currently experiencing are the truck drivers who ply this road and other roads in Ekiti.”
The Ado-Ifaki road has also been described as an eyesore.
Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Ekiti State, Otunba Rotimi Olanbiwonnu, blamed the Federal Government for the state of the federal highways in the state. In his words, the state governor has been working on many state-owned roads.
“The state government is trying but the only problem is that the Federal Government is not trying to help us in Ekiti State. They should please come to our aid in Ekiti State. There are so many roads belonging to the Federal Government that are being patched by the state government. There is nothing the federal government is doing for us here in Ekiti State.”
The Special Adviser on Road Infrastructure in Ekiti State, Mr Sunday Adunmo, said: “Generally, there is no federal road in Ekiti that is newly constructed; we are only maintaining them. Like Ifaki-Omuo Road, it was constructed in the 1970. The Ado-Akure road, you know how old that road is with colonial covers. The one we newly rehabilitated, that is the Agbado-Ode-Omuo road as if you are coming from Ipetu (Osun state) to Ogotun- Igbara-odo- Ilawe-Ado, Ado-Iluomoba – Ode- Agbado-Isinbode, that road was constructed in the 50s. It was rehabilitated in early 60s and was rehabilitated again between 1995 and 96. What they did then was to remove the bad portions and overlaid it. The foundations of these roads need to be revisited. Like what we have in Ado-Ilawe- Igbara-odo- all those roads belong to the Federal Government, but the state inherited them and inherited all the liabilities. What do I mean by liabilities? I mean the poor conditions of those foundations. So, reconstructing those roads matter, not rehabilitating or repairing them. There is no new federal road in Ekiti.”
In June this year, members of a group – Great Patriots for Better Initiative (GPBI) staged a protest over the alleged desertion of the N22 billion Akure/Ado-Ekiti road dualization. The protesters charged the Federal Government to revoke the contract awarded to Dantata and Sawoe in 2020.