FEDERAL HIGHWAYS AS DEATH TRAPS 

Roads are critical infrastructure for growth and development. Government cannot take these for granted

For more than a decade, the Benin-Warri Expressway has been treacherous, marred by potholes, craters, and gullies. A fortnight ago a tanker laden with petrol fell at the Koko Junction, while trying to meander through the deplorable route. With its content spilled on the road, many poor residents of the area, as has become the norm, rushed to the scene to scoop up fuel. In the process, there was a spark which led to an explosion that consumed about a dozen people, including children. While several vehicles were trapped and burnt, a similar tragedy occurred last week in Lagos, when several people were trapped following a multiple accident involving another tanker, this time laden with diesel. Scores of people were also reported to have died. That these are avoidable calamities is why authorities should be worried.

Meanwhile, the Benin-Warri Expressway is less than 100-kilometre long. But it is a strategic commercial route linking the two oil-bearing states with others and plied regularly by heavy-duty trucks and trailers. During the raining season, the road is almost impassable as the journey of less than one hour could drag on for the entire day. And the rains which came in torrents this year have added to the woes of travellers. There have been several reported cases of accidents on the road due to drivers’ attempts to overcome the bad spots, driving against traffic and killing unsuspecting citizens. In addition, many unscrupulous persons often lay siege, day and night, at the many failed portions of the road to rob, maim, and abduct innocent travellers. Besides, the poor state of the road hampers economic activities as farm produce cannot be transported easily to areas where they are needed. 

In desperation, thousands of youths have repeatedly converged on the failed portions of Sapele road in Benin City to protest the deplorable conditions, to no avail. Incidentally, the Warri-Benin Expressway is part of the East-West Road connecting the states in the Niger Delta which has been in construction for almost two decades. Unfortunately, the poor state of the Benin-Warri expressway is replicated almost everywhere across the country. From the West to the East and the North, many federal roads across the country are in a state of disrepair. 

Despite the best efforts of the President Muhammadu administration to fix transport infrastructure, the impact is hardly felt by Nigerians as most of the roads are in bad shape. Only last month, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, voiced concerns over the conditions of federal roads, describing some as not just having potholes but resembling “boreholes” during his recent project inspection. He recounted his gruelling experience of travelling from Abuja to Benin City through Lokoja, where many stretches of road were under contract but remained in deplorable conditions.

Indeed, as dreadful as the conditions of these roads are, contractors are still owed over the years in billions of naira. It follows, therefore, that the federal government must find innovative solutions to close the yawing finance gap in the sector that is so critical to the growth and development of the national economy.  In a bid to lessen the sufferings of commuters who travel through the bad road networks on daily basis, President Bola Tinubu, according to Umahi, has approved 260 interventions on the country’s 36,000 kilometres of Trunk ‘A’ roads and bridges. As laudable as this gesture may be, it is an ad hoc arrangement. 

 Questions remain on what has happened to the decision by the former administration to concession 12 major highways across the country. The roads listed for the pilot Public- Private Partnership (PPP) early last year are Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano–Katsina, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, Shagamu-Benin, Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga, Kano-Shuari, Potiskum-Damaturu, Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, and Lagos-Badagry-Seme. The Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme (RIDRITCS) Order of 2018 was also inaugurated to solve the same problem. We have not seen the impact of these measures.

We hope that the Tinubu administration will come up with fresh ideas on how to revamp road infrastructure in Nigeria.