Ten months to the end of Buhari administration: South-East roads remain death traps

WITH ten months left in the life of the present Federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari, expectations of the people of the South East geopolitical zone concerning federal roads in the area are still far from being met. 

The federal highways, including the Enugu -Onitsha, Enugu – Port Harcourt, Oba -Nnewi -Okigwe, Ninth Mile – Nsukka, Umuahia- Ikot Ekpene, Owerri – Umuahia, among others are still in dilapidated states and with attention now shifted to who would succeed President Buhari, nobody talks about road construction in the area anymore.

However, kudos must go to the federal government for the ongoing multi billion naira 2nd Niger Bridge connecting Asaba in Delta State and Onitsha in Anambra State, which is nearing completion.  However, connecting roads in the states in the South East are not in good shape.

For over a decade, movement by road in almost all the states in the South East geopolitical zone has remained excruciating and the question on the lips of the road users is, when will this nightmare end? In the past, someone traveling from Enugu -to Onitsha could target one hour to arrive at his destination, but that is no longer the situation. Today, to travel from Enugu to Onitsha takes at least four hours, no thanks to the bad roads.

The Enugu – Onitsha road has been under construction or reconstruction for nearly 20 years and nobody knows when it will be completed. Towards the end of 2020, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola promised that one lane of the road from Enugu to Onitsha would be ready for use by the end of that year. In fact, the contractor handling the job raised the hope of the road users when the company worked seriously on the Umunya -Awka stretch, but as the year 2021 ended, that one lane was not completed and in April 2022, that one lane is yet to be completed. One can therefore imagine when work on the two lanes of the expressway would be completed.

On the lane where work was started, only the Onitsha – Amawbia section has been completed, while Awka to Oji River is still in a deplorable condition, forcing motorists to divert to the old Enugu -Onitsha road. Also, motorists are now forced to use the completed lane and this has been causing accidents frequently on that portion of the road. Recently, five persons, including two Reverend Sisters, their driver and a couple perished at the Nawfia area of the road following a head-on collision. It is also a common sight on the road to see broken down vehicles posing dangerous threats to other road users and the argument is that such scenario might have been avoided if both lanes of the expressway were in use.

Also, the ninth Mile to 82 Division junction is still bad, forcing motorists to be using the Miliken Hill to join the ninth Mile with the danger it poses.

Similarly, the Oba -Okigwe federal road has not gone beyond Uga, while the Enugu-Port Harcourt road is going on a snail speed.

In Abia, there is no end in sight over the ordeals of commuters and motorists plying the routes following carnages which have become a daily occurrence on the roads. Admitted that work progressed considerably on the much-talked-about Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, but many portions of the dual carriage way are still in a sorry state.

For instance, the highway is almost impassable between Enyimba/Ariaria junction and Obigbo bridge in Port Harcourt.

While Osisioma junction to the border town of Awgu in Enugu State can be said to be in good shape, the Ariaria junction to Obigbo in Rivers State is a nightmare. Port Harcourt road inside Aba commercial city, which is a federal road, has completely been abandoned due to dilapidation and motorists no longer use it. And Enugu-Port Harcourt road has been under reconstruction for about 20 years, too.

Ikot Ekpene Road linking Aba and Akwa Ibom State, which is another federal road is in a terrible condition. Same goes for the 50- kilometers Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road which has remained in deplorable condition for many years.

When the Federal Government announced towards the end of 2021 that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was going to take over the total reconstruction of the road, hopes were raised and the thinking was that at least by now, work would have reached advanced stage. But there is nothing to suggest that the road would be fixed any time soon as only skeletal work has been done by the contractor handling the job. The contractor recently told newsmen in Umuahia that only five per cent of the contract sum had been released to the firm, thus making it difficult for the job to continue.

When he was awarded the contract, the contractor promised to give priority attention to 10 kilometer stretch from Umuahia metropolis to Umudike to help decongest the perennial traffic jam witnessed on the road as a result of the heavy traffic caused by those shuttling between the city and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. But nothing has changed.

Last year, the life of a final year student was claimed by an auto crash on the road before the latest Intervention by the NNPC, yet nothing has changed. There’s no  serious signal it may change any time soon.

Also in Abia, the Umuahia Arochukwu federal road which many people say is jinxed has witnessed snail speed work around Ohafia end of the Bende route.

The contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, but till today, President Muhamnadu Buhari is already in his seventh year in office, yet major work is yet to commence on the road.

The Ihube/Okigwe -Uturu-Isuikwuato- Akara road has almost collapsed and taken over by bandits who now terrorize citizens.

Gully erosion has also eaten deep in some portions of the road especially the Oguduasa axis in Isuikwuato, Abiriba, and Akoli Imenyi axis.

The most worrisome aspect of the situation is that the almost impassable sections of the road have been converted into toll gates by security agents where they extort money from innocent motorists.

On the Owerri -Mbaise- Umuahia federal road, work was yet to commence on the project which contract was awarded when Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of Imo State, was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. As it stands, journey from Owerri to Umuahia which ordinarily should not last beyond 50 minutes, now takes up to three hours.