Let’s Fix These Highways Of Death

Editorial

How many lives must be lost before the Federal Government re-orders its priorities? Since the return of democracy to our clime, billions, if not trillions of naira, have been earmarked for the construction and maintenance of roads all over the country, especially those that have a direct bearing on the economy. So far, nothing has really been done.

Highways that link the east to west and the north to the southern part of the country have become highways of death while successive Ministers of Work have continued to make promises that lead nowhere. If the people are powerless, what about the National Assembly and Federal Government? Who is supposed to check the non-performance or even prosecution of ministers who steal money that ought to be spent on infrastructure?

Yesterday, like every other day, several innocent Nigerians lost their lives in an accident along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Accidents involving vehicles are not strange but auto crashes caused by bad roads have become so rampant that we ought to declare a state of emergency on our roads.

Apart from the loss of man-hours occasioned by traffic snarls on these highways, many Nigerians have been killed or maimed for life in auto crashes.

The multiplier effect can better be imagined: loss of revenue as perishable foodstuffs rot on the road, and inflation as people scramble to put the little that gets into town on the table for the family, and that is just one scenario.

The movement of goods from our port cities have become a daunting task while citizens who cannot but travel across the country pray fervently to get to their destinations. A journey that would hitherto take just a few hours have become an exercise in patience as days are spent on the road.

This is why Nigerians are furious when government announces that it has earmarked some billions for repairs or construction of a highway, which will all either be abandoned halfway, shoddily executed or will not even be touched at all. Government officials smile to the bank while the people groan and gnash their teeth.

Like the question which has in the last few years become a cliche: Who will save Nigeria? Do we need to wait until more lives are lost? Can’t the National Assembly look into this?

When people say nothing works in this country, others would scoff and ask: What have you done about it? The media has relentlessly written, spoken and even shown graphic details of how bad these roads have become. If one administration failed to do something, can’t the successor try to do it differently.

If twelve years of democracy cannot translate into better roads, we wonder what would. Contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of Federal roads must be probed, concession arrangements must be looked into. The National Assembly has dozed enough. It must stand up and do something about the condition of these roads, afterall, they are supposed to be the voice of the people and we hope they will be reliable this time around.

When President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration increased petroleum products prices, he promised to use the excess funds to fix the roads but very little was done. It was the same excess funds that were later shared between all tiers of government and spent as usual on frivolities.

The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has promised the same thing and wants to remove the so-called subsidy on petroleum products, promising to fix infrastructure. When will all subterfuge stop? When will Nigerians stop enslaving fellow Nigerians?

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