Effective Transportation Requires Road Master Plans With Economic Inclusiveness

Bennett Oghifo

The provision of road infrastructure is for enhanced movement of people, goods and services, facilitating trade and economic development.

Transportation being a vehicle for economic growth through in-country and cross border transactions is enhanced by qualitative roads designed and built with economic inclusiveness in the master plan. By this, road building is purposefully implemented to coordinate places and business activities.

The Corps Marshall, Federal Road Safety Commission, Dr. Boboye Ayeyemi stated this during the week in Abuja at the African Road Builders’ inaugural conference and Africa Road Builders’ Award, known as the Trophee Babacar Ndiaye Award.

President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2021 Trophee Babacar Ndiaye award but the presentation was not done because of COVD-19. The president’s award was thus presented at the Abuja conference. 

The 2022 Trophee Babacar Ndiaye, which was the 7th Edition of the Road Builders, had the theme ‘Building Roads, Building Economies’. It was organised by African journalists in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works & Housing, and AfDB.

The Corps Marshall said, “Apart from providing mobility to enhance the business environment, roads are paramount in granting access controls to certain localities in the context of national security, as economic growth and security are linked.

Importance of Road

“Roads are inevitable to economies (Micro and Macro levels) in the following ways: Roads that Support Economies

In underscoring the importance of roads to building economies, the roads and road infrastructures must be designed and built to be: Safe, resilient, smart, sustainable. Roads should be built in a way that would not become ‘death traps’ to the users.”

Dr. Ayeyemi said there is a strong relationship between roads and economic development. “The world’s leading economies have better built roads with networks that promote road safety and minimal socio-economic consequences.

“The number of Kilometers of road available per capita in the developing economies is very low compared to what obtains in Europe and North America. This low availability of roads per capita has its negative impact on the economies of the countries in Africa and Asia.

“In the case of Nigeria, it is responsible for: High rate of Post harvest loss in Agriculture; Low life expectancy; Low economic power for the rural dwellers; High level insecurity in rural areas; and High level of ungoverned spaces.”

Building Roads and Road Safety

He said, “WHO regions with high road fatality per 100,000 population have severe socio-economic impacts that reflect the state of their economies. Countries in the 24.1 index area are mostly third world nations with poorly developed roads and road networks.

“The number of Kilometers of road available per capita in the developing economies is very low compared to what obtains in Europe and North America. This low availability of roads per capita has its negative impact on the economies of the countries in Africa and Asia.

“In the case of Nigeria, it is responsible for: High rate of Post harvest loss in Agriculture; Low life expectancy; Low economic power for the rural dwellers; High level insecurity in rural areas; High level of ungoverned spaces.”

The bridge between Building Roads and Building Economies

The intermediary actions that must be implemented on the pathway between building roads and the economy of Nigeria includes a safe transportation system and road safety, he said.  

“The main bridge connecting Building Roads and Building Economies must not be neglected in any phase of planning or execution of road projects.

“The road in Nigeria is not just a social infrastructure. It is a political tool engaged by the political class to prove they are working. It is a major political campaign issue. The road has served to unite people. It has been used to compensate people for political patronage. It has also been used as a political weapon against political opponents.

“Nigeria’s investments in roads and road infrastructures have opened up the arteries for doing business by facilitating movement of goods and services. Further steps must be taken to bridge additional roads to properly connect with the business in their right zones.”

According to Dr. Ayeyemi, “the proportionality of building roads translating to building economies becomes linear if other projects such as safe transportation and road safety are implemented adequately and comprehensively.”