Our roads now killing zones; northern motorists lament

Motorists in Kaduna, Kano and Katsina States have lamented that most roads in the states are now killing zones due to their bad state.

A cross-section of the motorists and other critical stakeholders made the lamentation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a survey on the state of roads across Nigeria.

NAN findings revealed some of the road in the state, though motorable, are potholes-ridden, hence record recurring road traffic crashes.

It was also found out that such obnoxious road accidents often resulted in colossal loss of lives and property.

In Kaduna State, Suleiman Bature, Secretary, Kaduna State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), urged the authorities concerned with road maintenance in the state to wake up from their ‘deep slumber.’

He said, “This is considering the deteriorating condition of some roads across the state and the attendant fatal consequences.”

Bature made the call on Friday in an interview with NAN in Kaduna.

He said although there were ongoing efforts by the state and federal governments to rehabilitate roads in the state, the slow pace of work made it difficult for motorists to operate.

Bature said: “One would not say the government is completely negligent but they have to wake up from their slumber.

“Before now, there used to be routine maintenance, especially after the rainy season due to potholes that emerge on the roads but now we don’t even know what is happening with FERMA.

“You should know that we have articulated vehicles that carry heavy loads and ply these roads as such, it is expected that at least FERMA should carry out maintenance every six months but that is not the case”.

Francis Bisallah, an urban and regional planning expert based in Kaduna, noted that corruption on the part of some contractors was the bane of bad roads in parts of the country.

Bisallah said, “Sometimes, the government is not to blame but some of these contractors who get mobilised yet would refuse to carry out good jobs.

“Some of the contractors who carry out the projects unfortunately use substandard material and that is why after a few months, some of the roads start giving way.

“Government should have a strong monitoring mechanism to ensure standardisation when it comes to road construction to avoid fast deterioration of new or rehabilitated roads”.

Sa’idu Gambo, a commercial driver at Kawo park on his part told NAN that the poor state of the roads had a negative impact on their vehicles as they always had to visit the mechanic after every major trip.

“One can hardly travel on our roads without having to go for one or two repairs at the mechanics due to the deteriorating nature of the roads.

“We urge the authorities to, as a matter of urgency, rehabilitate the roads to curb the high rate of road crashes and loss of lives,” he said.

A staff member of FERMA who sought anonymity told NAN that the agency was limited to commenting on projects in the state until she had permission from headquarters, adding, “We only work based on instructions from above.”

In Kafanchan, motorists and passengers alike have called for regular maintenance of roads by relevant agencies to address the deteriorating state of roads in the state.

They made this known in separate interviews with NAN in Kafanchan, headquarters of Jema’a Local Government Area.

Adamu Sambo, a commercial driver, said roads that were not adequately and regularly maintained often develop potholes and cracks, which can cause accidents.

“To me, the number one cause of bad roads in our state is lack of maintenance, because if they were being properly maintained, they wouldn’t be in bad shape.

“No matter how well you construct a road, if you don’t look after it, you are going to have issues,” he stated.

Another commercial driver, Monday Bitrus, made a case for the rehabilitation of the Kafanchan-Kwoi road, which, he said, has become a nightmare for motorists.

“That road has been in bad shape for some years now. So, I am appealing to the government of the day to fix the road as it is a major road,” he said.

On his part, Solomon Hosea, a passenger, told NAN that as the yuletide approaches, there was the need to repair bad roads to ensure the safety of passengers.

In Katsina State, some motorists and passengers have decried the bad condition of the Kafur-Zaria road, urging the Federal Government to hasten its rehabilitation to reduce crashes recorded on a daily basis.

They made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Katsina.

A motorist, Malam Muhammad Abubakar, whose vehicle got punched on the road, said in spite of the ongoing road’s rehabilitation, which he described as too slow, stressed the need for its dualisation.

Another driver, Abubakar Aliyu, said the Federal Government should do the needful, explaining that though the road is busy during the day, it is a dangerous area at night because of its condition.
“The road is a busy road and requires dualisation because at least over 1,000 vehicles, both commercial and private, ply it daily.

“Whenever I pass through this road, especially from Kafinsoli-Matazu-Musawa and from Kafur-Dabai, my vehicle must be taken to a mechanic for a checkup.

“Do we continue like this? Always going to the mechanic after passing through the road?. The road actually needs to be fixed to save people’s lives as a result of incessant crashes due to its bad condition,” he said.

A commercial vehicle driver, Aliyu Abdulsalam, said that whenever he was going to Kaduna with passengers, he always found it difficult because of the condition of the roads.

He, therefore, called for the speedy completion of the rehabilitation in order to reduce the frequent crashes on it.

He also urged the Federal Government to complete the Katsina-Kano road that linked the state and the country with the Niger Republic and other parts of the West African countries.

A passenger, Malam Dahiru Abubakar, said that the dualisation of the Katsina part of the road needs to be completed.

He explained that in some cases, criminals take advantage of the bad road conditions to block it and robb passengers, especially at night.

Abubakar said that if the road was repaired, the rate at which armed robbers attack passengers would be reduced.

He said that would also assist in easing the transportation of farm produce by farmers and other traders to other states of the federation.

In a related development, the Katsina State Safety and Road Traffic Authority (KASSAROTA) has warned the public against dumping of sand or waste on roads.

Its Director-General, retired Maj. Yahaya Garba-Rimi, made the appeal through his Public Relations Officer, Marwan Abubakar.

He said that the call was aimed at maintaining the cleanliness and safety of the state’s roads.
He emphasised the importance of safe practices and compliance with traffic laws to foster a secure road environment.

Garba-Rimi, particularly, called on individuals who wash motorcycles, tricycles, or cars on the roads to cease such practices, as that violates existing regulations.

The director-general also warned traders who place goods on roads and pedestrian walkways to immediately relocate their businesses because those pathways were meant exclusively for public passage and vehicular movements.

He called on all motorists and residents to support the authority’s initiatives by observing its guidelines.

In Kano State, motorists have also urged the authorities concerned to take urgent steps to fix the deplorable roads in and around the state.

The motorists, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano, called for the repair and completion of Gwarzo-Dayi , Kano-Maiduguri, Kano-Zaria roads and some bad township roads in the metropolis.

A driver, Isa Musa, who called for the repair and completion of some of the important roads, lamented that motorists spend several hours on bad spots.

According to him, the situation called for urgent attention to relieve motorists of the untold hardship they go through.

Another motorist, Abba Malam, said that the terrible state of some of the roads had continued to be a source of great concern to road users, especially motorists.

He added that the dilapidated roads had affected human and vehicular movements within and outside the city, thereby causing serious traffic congestion along the roads.

According to him, the failure of the Kano State Road Maintenance Agency (KARMA) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to repair the affected roads had been responsible for the increasing number of accidents being recorded in the city on a daily basis.

“You hardly drive your car within the city without going through bad portion of roads,” he said.

A resident, Lawan Shehu, said that there was an urgent need for the state government to do something about the roads, most of which, he said, were in a bad state and had become worrisome to Kano residents.

“There are some areas where a distance, which should not last for more than five minutes, now takes between 10 minutes and 15 minutes,” Shehu said.

Aminu Abdul, a trader, also appealed to the state government to renovate the roads in Dakata, Kurna, ring road, Pansheka, Kumbotso and Kawo.

“Most of the roads in the city need to be rehabbed. Indeed, most of the patched potholes have gone bad, thus making it difficult for motorists to move easily,” he said.

Isaac Aliyu, a legal practitioner, attributed the problem to the lack of maintenance, funding ,corruption and mismanagement.

He also said that over-reliance on federal government funding, climate change and weather-related damage could also be attributed to the state of the roads in the country.

Aliyu, who called for more investment in infrastructure, also advised the Federal Government to enter into Public Private Partnership (PPP) for infrastructure development in the country.

Bala Nura , a member of the Kano Civil Society Forum, called for increased funding and budget allocation for road maintenance in the country.

Nura further called for decentralisation of road management to state and local governments, regular maintenance and repair schedules and improved traffic management and enforcement.

A staff of the Kano State Road Maintenance Agency (KARMA) said that the state government had spent enormous resources on repair of township roads and interventions on federal roads.

He said that the agency rehabilitated over 30 roads and evacuated drains in the metropolis.
According to him, the roads rehabilitated include Aminu Kano Way,Lodge road,Tarauni road,Airport road and Kano Government House, among others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government had recently inaugurated “Operation Free Our Roads.”

NAN reports that the project is a joint initiative between the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA as part of the government’s efforts to put citizens first by fixing the roads.

The projects executed under the different interventions include patching of potholes, pavement strengthening, repairs of failed sections, limited rehabilitation, bridge/culvert construction and general maintenance, among others.