29/09/2025
DEPLORABLE FEDERAL AND STATE ROADS, WHO SHOULD DELIVER NIGERIANS FROM THESE DEATH TRAPS?
Nigerians recognize the crucial role transportation plays in commerce, with over 90 percent of goods and passengers being transported by road, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics. However, many of these roads are in disrepair, leading to extended delivery times, increased fuel costs, and reduced vehicle lifespan, among other challenges.
Individuals who regularly commute on these and other roads nationwide share experiences of poor road conditions and insecurity, eliciting astonishment.
The alarming number of lives lost due to the roads' deplorable state is staggering, and hundreds of people are hospitalized across various states due to accidents, often facing substantial medical bills they cannot afford.
More often than not, the usual narrative from government quarters is that these are federal roads that states are not permitted to fix or affect any type of intervention on them.
The federal government sadly has other priorities, among them the much-debated, controversy-tainted Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
Government functionaries sadly do not experience the hellish sufferings that commuters go through on a daily basis because they often travel by air.
Let's not delve into the gist of the enormous funds they spend flying private jets from one place to another.
From an economic standpoint, these roads have a multiplier effect on market prices of commodities, considering the transportation costs factored into goods and services.
Poor road conditions also impact access to medical facilities, given the time-sensitive nature of medical emergencies.
Shouldn't the government take proactive measures to ensure that some of these roads are at least made passable, if not completely rehabilitated?
What about establishing structures to achieve a good maintenance culture, similar to those seen abroad, rather than allowing these roads to deteriorate badly before intervening?
Should i believe my friend in government, who once told me that these roads are deliberately allowed to deteriorate completely to enable a fresh contract to be awarded, thereby creating opportunities for kickbacks and corruption practices?
I hope this isn't the truth behind the neglect of easily fixable infrastructure we have in Nigeria.
One wonders why the federal government does not enable state governments to rectify the deplorable state of roads within their borders and provide reimbursement afterward.
The difficulties encountered by commuters on these roads are almost inconceivable.
Journeys that normally should not exceed five hours now take twice as long.
As it stands, travelers from states such as Lagos and Abuja embarking on journeys to the East are compelled to undertake night-bus, thus exposing themselves to the dual risks or raging monsters of insecurity and bad roads.
The probability of arriving at night and confronting security challenges is high, making it more practical to embark on night-time travel and possibly arrive the following morning/afternoon.
A pertinent question on many lips is how many more fatalities must occur before the government takes decisive action to address the deplorable condition of these economically vital roads that have become death traps.
Is the anticipated intervention not already long overdue?
Surely, these are not the dividends of democracy that we voted for or anticipated.
Dr Barth Ufoegbunam
Writes from Lagos
