Last week, we started our cover on roads across Nigeria. This week, we bring you reports state by state
Are the residents, commuters and motorists of Ifoshi axis, in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area of Lagos state doomed to suffering as a result of the on-going road construction in the area, which has lasted several without any tangible word on ground? A few of the residents who spoke to Saturday Vanguard demanded an answer to this poignant question.
But residents seemed to have taken their fate in their hands, while some had to relocate to other areas, others have continued to groan in silence hoping to see better days ahead. The impassable condition of the road has however turned the ever busy Iyana Ejigbo market to a shadow of itself as traders complained about low patronage.
One of the bad roads in Bayelsa
Unlike other areas like Opebi, Allen Avenue, Adeola Odeku, amongst others which have good road network and people are happy to return home at the close of work everyday; some of them have even taken to returning home late at nights when they believe traffic on the roads would have reduced.
Not only is the present state of the road in that area affecting road users, traders are not also spared as some of them have lost their customers because of lack of parking space. Road-side traders in the area in some cases, turn to rescue operatives in cases where any motorist falls into the deep uncovered gutters in the area.
Infact, the present state of the road makes mockery the efforts of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) that sweeps Lagos roads as there is no place to sweep especially after rainfall as the whole area becomes flooded. Residents wonder if Ejigbo/Ikotun is still part of Lagos state as the place looks more like an abandoned area.
For Joshua, a road-side trader, who deals on electronics in the popular Iyana Ejigbo market, they have taken their fate the way they see it as they make little or no sales since the commencement of the so called road construction which began earlier in the year. The trader who should be in his middle 20’s said that in most cases, they rescue motorists who fall into the deep uncovered gutter in the area. “We are experiencing low patronage due to the bad roads.
The gutters which were dug and abandoned here are also posing serious danger to the public, because most times especially when it rains, if you are not careful, you might slip and fall into the very deep gutter and we end up bringing the person out from the gutter. It is affecting our business in that most people prefer to go elsewhere to buy their goods instead of coming down here due to the condition of the road,” he lamented.
The young man also complained that the workers have abandoned the work and come to the site once in a while to pretend as if they are working while they are not doing anything meaningful. Joshua’s major concern is not only to put the road in shape, but also, to cover the gutters in order to save life. “For sometime now, even the workers have not been doing anything, so I am using this opportunity to call on the government to intervene and at least close the drainage., because it is dangerous the way it is left open,” he decried.
Another road user, Tunde who is a tricyclist along the Ejigbo road, says making money for his schooling now poses a very serious problem for him as his daily income has reduced drastically due to the nature of the road unlike when he just started the business .
The undergraduate of Lagos state University who pays his school fees from the proceeds of his tricycle business said that there is massive reduction in the income he makes on a daily basis compared to when he started the business. To Tunde, the Iyana Ejigbo road is not only the problem in the area but, basically all the roads in Ejigbo are in bad shapes. His income has depreciated from N7000 he used to make half day to N4000 in a whole day.
“Most of the roads in this Ejigbo area are very bad and it is really affecting us. When this road was still in good shape, at least, I used to make up to N7000 before it is 3.00 p.m, in a day. But now, I hardly make up to N4000 at the end of the day. In fact, making that amount in a day is by the special grace of God.
The road has been in this ugly state for over a year now and there has not been any improvement. The worst part of the story is that, this road we are talking about is a major road that connects Idimu, Ikotun and Ejigbo. I wonder why the government is not serious about the road,” Tunde laments.
When contacted as to why the road was in that ugly shape, Mr. Hassan Rabiu,Information Officer, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, said the road will soon be put to shape as the state government is making every possible effort to ensure that residents of the area enjoy a smooth ride. He blamed the general public for being impatient. He also said that there are alternative routes for motorists to ply until the major road is put in shape.
“The members of the public are not patient. The contractors are working on the drainages, so whatever they dug will not be left open like that, it’s just temporary. There are alternative routes for motorists, for instance, if you’re coming from Cele or Isolo to Ikotun Egbeda, you can take Isheri / Jakande Road, but that one is not also in good condition.
The problem we have with some of the alternative routes is that, most of them are not in good shape as well. The Jakande road has been under construction since 2007. But I can assure you that the project will be completed before the expiration of Governor Fashola’s regime,” he said.
According to Hassan, the government has the citizens at heart as they are making all necessary efforts to ensure that everything is under control. “ The local government is working seriously towards creating relief for motorists and residents alike in the way of constructing drainages around Iyana- Ejigbo. It would have been completed by now, if not for the rain that has been on for a while. I believe that now that the rain is subsiding, work will continue in earnest.
The project of constructing drainages is being handled by Mafinco Nig. Ltd and they are working on channeling the flood into the canal, so that each time it rains, that place will not be flooded any longer,”. The Information Officer, Mr. Hassan blamed the poor state of the road on the water coming out from Ifoshi road inside Ejigbo. He said that instead of the water to flow, it stagnates thereby causing a big flood in the area and that is the reason why the government has decided to work on the drainages before constructing the road.
“ Actually, the problem emanated due to the water coming from Ifoshi, inside Ejigbo. Instead of the water to flow, it stagnates at the junction there. When the construction firm completes the drainage, another firm will take over laying of Asphalt to make the road smooth. The situation right now is temporary and will be fixed soon”.he disclosed.
Bayelsa: The terrain is tamed by road construction
Road which is taken for granted in some parts of the country is a luxury to the people of the predominantly riverine Bayelsa State.
Though rich in oil and gas, the mainstay of the nation’s economy, the state has the least kilometres of federal roads in the federation, a development blamed on the several failed federal government road projects in the state.
Some of these road projects include, the Ogbia-Nembe road project, a collaborative effort between the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC and the federal government interventionist agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC.
There is also the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge road project, which was being handled by the NDDC but was later taken over by the Bayelsa State government following the abandonment by construction firm due to alleged non release of funds by the federal government.
Saturday Vanguard investigation revealed that since the state government took over the project, work on the road has improved tremendously. Communities in the hinterland of the riverside Sagbama council area as far as Toru-Orua, Ofoni and beyond can now be reached by land.
Also, Yenagoa the state capital is today a huge construction yard due to the flurry of on going construction works. New layouts are being opened up and wider roads being constructed as against the narrow roads of the past many of which have gone bad on account of the shoddy jobs done by the indigenous constructors and poor supervision by the ministry of works.
But the resumption of work on the long abandoned Yenagoa- Oporoma road project passing through the vast mangrove stretch of Southern Ijaw council area has ignited fresh hopes for communities far flung in the central senatorial district of the state.
For the first time in over five decades, the people are convinced of accessing their council headquarters, Oporoma and other far flung communities by road in no distant time given the speed of work on the road.
Though the project had been on federal government drawing board since the sixties, nothing tangible was done until the first civilian governor of old Rivers State, Late Melford Okilo an indigene of Bayelsa, mustered the political will and began the sand filling of the road before the Second Republic was terminated by military coup in 1983.
Former Governor Timipre Sylva tried to revive the project in 2008 when he awarded contract for the jinxed road to construction giant, Julius Berger.
It however suffered a setback few months after, as the construction company was forced to pull out of the Niger Delta and by extension the state at the height of youth militancy.
Governor Seriake Dickson has again ignited the hope of the people following the award of contract for the construction of troubled road to a Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at the cost of N31bn.
The project on completion is expected to transform the fortunes of the oil and gas but neglected communities in the central senatorial district of the state, regarded as one of the biggest council areas in the federation which can only be accessed by water.
The area has some of the biggest crude oil clusters in the Niger Delta and is also home to the oil majors, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) and other oil servicing companies.
When Saturday Vanguard visited the Ogbogoro starting point of the road in the outskirts of Yenagoa, the once deserted zone was a beehive of activities as heavy duty equipment and personnel were seen going about the task of over coming the difficult terrain.
It was also observed that the construction company had covered over five kilometres of the road project with asphalt less than two months after it commenced operation.
Interestingly, the speed of work and the constant inspection of the project by the governor is an indication that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the road, a development that has further heightened the expectations of the people that soon they would be able to travel to their ancestral homes by road and be saved the trauma of riverine transportation and the attendant risk of being attacked by sea pirates.
Taraba: Bad roads hinder harnessing of agricultural products
Taraba, the home of agriculture, mineral resources and tourism is without access roads. The process of harnessing the agricultural product, mineral resources and the tourism potentials is being hindered by lack of access roads to the destination where such potentials are lying untapped.
Not only in the rural areas that state had deplorable roads condition. Jalingo the state capital is also far backward in terms of construction of access roads and streets that give center of power a befitting outlook.
The administration of Gov. Danbaba Suntai when he assumed duty in 2007 he awarded contract for construction of Marraban Kunini to Abong road for over 7 billion. According to the governor the gesture was to boost agriculture and also to alleviate the sufferings of famers from conveying their farm products in the area.
The governor in the same year contracted the construction of Marraban Baarefi to Karim-Lamido for over 1.5 billion where the state has vast land for Rice cultivation.
The contractors [CUMEX ENGEERING] were mobilized to site on the two major roads immediately and the contract agreement was to end in 24 months.
One of the bad roads in Alimosho local govt, Lagos
Up till the time of this publication the roads have been abandoned by the state government leaving the pot holes that were created by the contractor’s heavy machines as death traps for motorists.
Karim Lamido for the past six and a half years has been blessed to produce the deputy governor of the state. Is also an area that is richboth in agriculture and fishing activities but the people of the area can only access Jalingo through Gombe state because of the dilapidated nature of the road that links it from Jalingo.
Peva in Takum local Government area of the state is the largest Yam, Groundnut, Rice and Beans Market in the southern zone. Chanchanji through Demevav to Ayu which are purely agricultural based areas have been completely neglected by the state government.
Zaki Benjamin Tom a crown head from Chanchanji while speaking with our correspondent declared the sufferings and set back which the neglect of the road by the state government is causing on the people of the area is monumental.
He said the area was blessed with good land for agriculture and the famers especially the youths have been engaging themselves in yearly farming activities bad road have hindered the transport of product out of the area.
The Danbaba Suntai administration also contracted Public Work construction company [PW] for construction of four kilometer roads in all the sixteen local government areas of the state shortly be before he was involved in a plane clash.
The four Kilometer roads are also yet to be completed as most of the local governments are yet to witness the takeoff of the contract in their areas.
Worried by the acting governor of Taraba state Garba Umar over the dilapidated nature of Bali Selti Gyembu road where potentials like Kakara Tea, Gashaka National Gunti Park, and National Hydro Electricity Plant are non-accessible.
The acting governor in the last three months awarded a contract of Bali, Gashaka, Gyembu road for over 17 billion naira to PW construction company and the work has since commenced.
Worst of the roads in the state is Jalingo the state capital where areas like new layout Abuja phace two, Magami, Angwan Kasa, NTA Vilage, Angwan Gaadi, Water Boald village and ATC.
Yobe Snail -speed charactrise road projects
DAMATURU- The administration of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam deserves a pat on the back considering road projects undergoing construction all over the state. However, it will not be a misplace priority in order words taking into considerations the snail-speed at which other roads within and outside the state capital are been handled. The Damaturu- Maiduguri high way a dual carriage way is one of the numerous projects been executed at snail-speed. It will be recalled that the Damaturu -Maiduguri dual carriage road was awarded to a Chinese company (CCEC) during the era of president Olusegun Obasanjo, but uptill date, half of the 130 km road is not completed.
This dual carriage way that is poorly handled is a source of major accidents that occurred on the road due to its dilapidated nature. Potholes, and bumps have over taken the entire road due to its outdated and poorly constructed nature before it was re-awarded to a Chinese firm that is presently carrying out an epileptic services to the detriment of road users.
Worse still, is the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) that is saddled with the responsibility of maintaining the roads is still doing another poor job. Certainly, the movement of heavy duty equipment by FERMA is a source of worry to road users without anything tangible on ground. There is the urgent need for the federal government intervention in re-awarding this significant road project to a competent company that will execute the contract on schedule in order to cushion the effects of road hazard been experience by road users on this high way.
The Damaturu -Gujba road is another source of head ache to road users considering the bad nature of the road whether this road is state or federal road, the joy of the down trodden masses is to see it in order. This is because some roads are been referred to as federal roads or state roads. What matters to the masses of this country is to see the roads in good shape. Some major roads are been abandoned in the so called syndrome of federal or state roads.
The authorities concerned should as a matter of priority give these major roads the desired attention. The Damaturu-Gujba road of about 50km is another death trap in Yobe state. This road has been in bad shape since the Era of governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the first executive governor of yobe state. Uptill now, nothing has been done in respect of transforming the road.
Ogun: Amosun and the N200 billion roads controversy
Road is one of the most important social amenities a government can provide , just like a good road network remains a conveyor belt for the delivery of democracy dividend.
Presently, in Ogun State, what is paramount in the mind of the government is road and road, even, other things including education, health among others can wait till after all the poor roads are fixed.
Findings by Saturday Vanguard have shown that, the Ibikunle Amosun-led government has budgeted a whooping N200 billion to fix both the Federal and state roads across the state.
Initially, he had budgeted a sum of N130 billion for 14 roads while in recent time, some other roads like a-37 km Sango-Ijoko-Akute-Ojodu Road which will gulp N52 billion and Mowe among others have been marked for construction
Historically,prior to the emergence of Aremo Olusegun Osoba as a democratically elected governor of Ogun state in 1999, almost all the roads in the state were not only narrow but, also in a deplorable condition . In fact, only few of the roads in the state capital were motorable then.
And those few roads that were motorable prior to Osoba tenure were constructed by successive military administrators and the first democratically elected governor, Late chief Olabisi Onabanjo.
But, when Chief Osoba came on board, he constructed some roads within the state , most especially in the rural areas and till this moment those legacy roads were still intact and motorable.
As they say, government is a continuum, when Otunba Gbenga Daniel took over the mantle of governance from Osoba in 2003, he also did his own best. He opened up the state with some roads across the three Senatorial Districts in the state such as Lalubu-Oke-Ilewo road and a-two billion naira dualisation of 37kms of the Abeokuta /Siun/Kobape road among others with a view to reducing carnage on the ever busy roads.
Daniel administration was criticised for leaving behind so many roads in deplorable condition while leaving office in 2011 . He was also accused of using substandard materials for the roads he constructed which were said to be peeling shortly after he left.
However, when the incumbent administration led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun was sworn-in in 2011, he vowed to rebuild the State with his much touted rural and infrastructural development.
And two years after, over N200 bilion have been budgeted on roads construction, yet, many roads in all the three Senatorial Districts are still begging for attention. Motorists and commuters experience hell whenever they ply those deplorable roads within the state.
In 2012, the governor had signed eight roads contracts out of the 14 that it had earmarked for construction at the sum of N130 billion.
The roads, according to the government are the 25 kilometre Ilisan-Ago Iwoye, 9 kilometre Ejirin-Oluwalogbon Junction, and the Sagamu 7 kilometre Benin Express junction-Oba Erinwole junction in Ogun East senatorial district.Others are the 4.8 kilometre Ilo-Awela Road and 60 kilometre Ilara-Ijoun-Egua-Oja Odan Road in Ogun West senatorial district.
In the Ogun Central senatorial district, the government said the 6 kilometre MKO Abiola way, 9 kilometre Ojere-Adatan Roundabout, and the 8.7 kilometre Brewery junction-OGTV are also to be constructed.
So far, the only road that has been completed was the six-lane Ibara Roundabout-Ita Eko-Totoro Road in Abeokuta which gulped N1.3 billion, with a median with street lights, drainage systems, sidewalk and green belt on either sides.
Recently, a sum of N52 billion was budgeted for a road expansion and reconstruction of 37 km Sango-Ijoko-Akute-Ojodu Road in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner for Works, Mr Olalekan Adegbite, who led a government delegation to the area said the project was part of efforts aimed at improving the socio economic development of the area and part of the urban renewal effort of the state government.
The 37 km road, which is estimated to gulp about N52 billion including compensation to affected property owners, is also expected to be completed in the next 30 months.
Imo Roads have become death traps and erosion sites
Man, from time immemorial, is itinerant by nature. If he is not driven by commerce, he is moved by the quest for greener pastures or marriage. To actualize this quest, the most commonly used means of movement is the road, which carries the bulk of commuters on a daily basis.
Road is so important to any nation’s economic life and that is probably why the egg heads that put together the 1999 Nigerian Constitution opted to place it in the concurrent list with a view to allowing the three levels of government to legislate on it.
The irony is that despite this constitutional provision, most Nigerian roads, particularly in the South East geo-political zone of the country, have since become death traps since after the Nigeria/Biafra war, which ended in 1970. These roads are as difficult to motorists as it is to pedestrians!
The precarious state of these roads is sadly multiplied in geometric proportion by threatening gully erosions that dot most communities in the South East. In Imo State for example, there are over 500 identified erosion sites that are begging for serious attention.
COMMUNITIES COMPLAIN
Writing on why Ogwa is so neglected by every government in Imo State, Mr. Samuel E. Nwanjoku said the major problem confronting Ogwa people today is a matter of road network.
“There is no road in any part of Ogwa in general. This is not a fairy tale. Ogwa has many a time been declared a disaster area because of bad roads and gully erosion in various parts of Ogwa”, Nwanjoku lamented.
The aggrieved villager lamented that it was during the Ohakim era that the Iho-Ogwa-Orodo road was re-awarded to another contractor after several failures from previous contracting firms.
“The tarring of the road started at Iho junction but terminated a few poles after Iho Comprehensive Secondary School. The rest of the road from that point to Ogwa and then to Orodo, through Idem Ogwa, was left untarred with attendant problems of flood and erosion in many sections of the road”, Nwanjoku said. Continuing, the man fumed that one cannot imagine any part of the state that its roads are as bad as that of Ogwa in Mbaitoli local government area. He then wondered if Ogwa is part of Imo State.
For the greater part of this year, people from communities situated along the usually busy Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze road passed through harrowing times occasioned by awful road. Two federal tertiary institutions, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and Federal University of Technology, are located along this road.
This road was so horrible that even pedestrians found it difficult to use it. Vehicles broke down with ease on this road. Other got stuck in the muddy water It was never an unusual sight as elegantly dressed artisans, students and workers were often ordered out of vehicles in the middle of the brownish swamp and irrespective of the depth of the smelly stagnant water.
Only recently, Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, declared a state of emergency on this road, describing it as “worse than hell fire”. Okorocha, who made the declaration when he paid on-the-spot assessment of the badly deteriorated road, equally confirmed that he had received several complaints about the bad state of the road.
“I have received several complaints about the bad state of this road. Honestly, I never envisaged that it was as bad as what I am seeing now. It is worse than hell fire”, Okorocha said.
He assured the people that trooped out to welcome him at Nkwo Ukwu Ihiagwa market square that the contractor must start work on the road as soon as the rains stop. “I assure you that the contractor will resume work on this very important road as soon as the rains stop.
The suffering of the people of this area must stop”, Okorocha said. He however warned that people must be prepared to make some sacrifice, pointing out that those whose stores, kiosks or buildings were built along the way, which equally obstructed free flow of flood water, will be demolished in the process.
The Governor also warned the people to also resist the temptation of building their houses close to the major roads, adding that such development impedes expansion of the road whenever government was ready to do so.
Cross River: So much economic loses due to deplorable roads
Calabar, the Cross River State capital, and other major towns in the state, Ogoja, Ugep, Obudu and Ikom are blessed with well paved roads, but Federal Highways in the state, if one could call them roads, are a horrifying nightmare.
Overtime, the numerous villages, hamlets and communities, that dot the nooks and cranny of the expansive state have existed without any good network of roads linking particularly the rural areas where majority of the population reside to the urban centres.
Spanning all the council areas, vehicular roads are almost nonexistent or where such existed, they were decrepit and dilapidated making any form of movement be it on bicycle, motor cycle or even on foot a hazardous experience talk much of driving on them. During Mr. Donald Duke’s years between 1999 and 2007, efforts were piled on rehabilitating urban roads most of which were devastated by many years of neglect leaving those in the rural areas significantly unattended.
For instance Yala which borders Abakaliki in Ebonyi State and Oju in Benue where rice, gari and yams are produced in large quantities, the several communities there like Wanikade, Wanihem, Ezekwe, Wanokom had no roads to take their produce out. So also are their Aliforkpa, Ijegwu, Gabu neighbours. In Ogoja the Ibil, Bansara, Ukpe, Aladim and Igodo had access roads. Obudu and Obanlikwu is the same story.
Places like Shekpeche, Ablesang Ukwel, Ohong and Begiaba had no road. The story was the same in Obubra and Ikom where communities like Majugha, Osueghui, Ofumbugha and Aton were completely cut off from the rest of the state. The lot of the rural communities was pitiable and lamentable as poverty was rife and widespread. Senator Liyel Imoke on assumption of office in 2007, through several agencies he created frontally confronted the development of rural roads and infrastructure.
To achieve the target of opening up the rural areas which he believes would enhance the economic well being of the people, he set out a target of constructing two roads in each of the eighteen local government councils every budgetary year.
This approach has since seen the construction of over one thousand five hundred kilometres of rural roads across the state. To ensure that the job is successfully done, he in 2008 set up the Rural Areas Development Agency (RUDA) and in 2011, the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) and the State Ministry of Works while the RUDA and RAMP concentrate primarily on rural roads, while the Ministry of Works attends to urban roads, significantly continuing where Mr Duke’s Urban Renewal Programme stopped.
However, the current efforts to construct more roads have stalled owing to the poor financial position of the state. Work on most rural roads have stopped or are progressing at a very slow pace.
To worsen matters, the several Federal roads in the state are terribly devastated. The Ikom –Obubra- Calabar highway, the Calabar – Itu highway, the Calabar- Bakassi road, the Ikom –Obudu road, the Ogoja – Obudu road, the Ogoja – Katsina Ala Highway, and the Mbuk 1 – Okpoma roads are all in terrible state.“Latest information at the disposal of the Cross River State Government on the continued deplorable state of the Calabar-Itu and Calabar-Ikom Federal Highways indicates that sections of these roads around Odukpani and Ekukunela axis have totally collapsed in the last two days” Wrote Mr Akin Ricktetts, the Cross River State Information Commissioner in August, 2013.
This came as a result of the blockage of vehicular movement and disruption of free flow of traffic on those two highways with commuters spending several hours on snail speed traffic at the different diversions created to ease traffic flow.
The blockades which are a yearly feature lead to excruciating and debilitating pains which commuters face as a result of the unwholesome situation. This is in addition to the huge economic loses that various businesses incur because of the deplorable state of these roads.
As a result of the pain inflicted on commuters and economic loses to the state, the Ministry of Works occasionally engages the services of construction companies like, Central Chinese Engineering Construction Company, CCECC, SEMATECH and LEMNA to carry out emergency remedial works on some failed portions to at least ease flow of traffic.
Stating the frustration of the state government on in its inability to get assistance on the repairs or reimbursement from the federal government on money spent on the repairs by the state government. Mr Rickkets, the Information Commissioner told Vanguard that, “The deplorable state of Federal roads in the State which has worsened in the last six years, a result of which the State Government has expended over N 24 billion on remedial maintenance of these roads is taking a toll on our finances as no kobo has been paid back to the State till date by the Federal Government”.
Making an appeal on behalf of the state government, the Information Commissioner said “We therefore appeal to the Federal Government under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to urgently come to the rescue of the State by directing the re-construction and dualization of these Federal roads to bring them to the capacity of the current high volume of heavy duty traffic on these roads as well as make refunds of the over N24 billion already spent on providing remedial maintenance on these Federal road.
Mr legor Idagbo, the Works Commissioner for the state told Vanguard that the terrible state of these roads is “pathetic and horrible”, saying that the situation has brought terrible hardship to commuters on these highways. “We are saddened by these horrible sights we are seeing on our roads which are causing unnecessary traffic holdups and accidents that keep commuters for several hours on the road and sometimes for days; It is a huge nightmare. You can feel the pains of the people and the financial losses incurred by businesses as a result of these delays in vehicular movement as well as upturning of goods in road mishaps ”, Idagbo said
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