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I am sure the following question is one that has nagged many Nigerians for many years. It is; what do Nigerian politicians have against good roads? What do they have against well tarred roads, beautiful streets and effective drainage systems? This problem with roads has existed through various political comings and goings. It is like a Relapsing Fever, one minute you think it's getting better, the next it's back with a vengeance. I know Nigerian politics is afflicted with many ills, but if there is one thing nearly all Nigerian politicians have in common, it is their collective disdain for good roads. Good roads seem to hold a special place of discontent for the Nigerian politician.
This 'Bad Road Syndrome' has been a thorn in the side of every Nigerian commuter for as long as I can remember. It is quite beyond imagination that such malady has been sustained for this long, in spite of all the endless complaints and terrible calamities that have occurred directly as a result of this infrastructural deficiency. Our politicians just seem to look away, like a callous man refusing to listen to the complaints of his down-trodden wife.
Recently, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo experienced first hand what many Nigerians regularly go through, when he was trapped in traffic for over 2 hours between Lagos and Abeokuta. I am very sure he didn't find it amusing at all. But that's what you get when you make enemies with roads. I believe the city of Lagos is the headmaster when it comes to terrible roads, although other cities may not be that far behind. The deplorable road conditions in many parts of the country defy logic and common sense. It is beyond understanding, that a nation with such array of talented individuals in the fields of construction, building and engineering cannot once-and-for-all bring its cities and environment into the 21st century. Most of the roads built by the British during the colonial days held up for decades. They probably make up most of the good roads still seen in parts of Lagos, like Ikoyi, Ikeja GRA and the Railway Compound. It pains me to say this, but if they were still in charge I would not be writing this here article.
The irony of the whole thing is that these same politicians love the most beautiful and expensive cars, partly why they voraciously steal public money. One would have thought they would have at least ensured the construction of the most impeccable roads just so they can arrogantly ride such cars on them. Fat chance. Strangely and dumbly enough, they don't seem to mind driving their expensive cars on the most treacherous cavity ridden roads anywhere in the world. It truly beggars belief the sort of mindset these people have. Whilst many nations are making advancements in road transportion, developing various technological gadgets, like the Traffic Master or Road Navigator, we are still struggling to have decent roads with street names and signs.
As if things are not bad enough during the day, come 7pm the whole place is launched into the pitchest of darkness due to our non-existent street lighting. Now vehicle drivers have to use all the gift of vision and dexterity they've been blessed with to determine where the bumps and the potholes are. Night time also brings a different kind of nightmare to commuters in the shape of all the shady characters that come out to play when the sun goes down. Shady characters who seize the opportunities these bad roads present to terrorise and fleece people off their hard earned money, properties and sometimes life.
Then every year the rains come to up the ante just a little more, adding further misery to the plight of poor commuters who must get from A to B to make ends meet. When it rains in Nigeria, it is like a minor Tsunami in many parts, especially in a city like Lagos. You see cars floating side by side with rubbish left behind by the numerous street hawkers who now govern almost every major city road. Vehicles become casualties of the flood, with stranded drivers and commuters looking up to the heavens as if to say, 'God, why so much water?' In truth, rain is not necessarily a bad thing at all. There are many places in the world where the inhabitants are literarily dying for rain to fall. It's just that our politicians and some unenlightened citizens have managed to turn rain from a blessing into a curse. The raining season exposes our inability to build and maintain durable road infrastructure. It is also reveals the long-standing misappropriation of public funds where road construction contracts are concerned. This has been the tragic legacy of most of our politicians.
Nigeria does not have an exclusivity on corruption. It exists throughout the world, from the developing to the developed nations. We just take things to a different dimension by our politicians' collective dislike for good roads. Look at the other countries who share the very corrupt tag with Nigeria, and you will find that, in spite of their corrupt status, they still have good workable roads and electricity supply. Visit Eastern European countries like Romania and Albania, reputed to be the poor economies of Europe, and you will find good roads. Visit Cuba, which through America's unhealthy and victimising foreign policies has been deprived of much wealth and development, and you will find good roads there. What about here in Africa, countries like Mozambique, Malawi and Cote D'Ivoire described as some of the poorest nations in the world, can boast of better roads than we can. And our North African neighbours, well they are in a different class altogether.
It just seems to be a general reasoning in all sane nations, that certain infrastructures like roads, electricity and pipe-borne water must exist. My brother often remarked that even Iraq had far better roads than Nigeria, and there has been a deadly war going on there for the last few years. Palestine, which is not officially a state and is constantly bombarded by Israeli artillery, has workable roads. Is it not time that our politicians stop their shameful enmity with Nigerian roads and make friends with the idea that they too would benefit from well-constructed, durable roads! Is it not time they realise that good roads equal less stress, better flow of business, higher productivity and better standard of living! And most importantly they will bring about a drastic reduction in the number of unnecessary road accidents and deaths that occur every year.
The whole idea of interstate roads or carriageways anywhere in the world is to make for quicker and more efficient transportation of people, goods and services. So why in Nigeria do we work against something that will serve us well in so many different respects - social, economic and political! Why are many of our roads in such states of disrepair! Why do our politicians and local authorities fail to see the huge importance roads are to the nation's economy, defence and security! Travelling from state to state at night is no activity for the faint hearted. And even the brave or foolhardy who do, must engage in serious bouts of prayers before embarking on such journeys, for if the craters on the roads don't get you, the armed robbers who prowl them at night might.
In Lagos, bridges have become a favourite spot for armed robbers to (excuse the pun) make a killing, as all the traffic and congestion create just the right environment for Nigeria's ever inventive and brazen criminals to make people's lives a misery. Is this any surprise, when authorities lack the vision or will to dissuade all the illegal street hawkers and commercial transporters who converge on these bridges.
I must say that some states have faired better than others. Whilst driving in places like Lagos, Aba, Ore-Benin road are nightmarish, I found the journey to Abeokuta simply breathtaking and inspiring. Gbenga Daniel's governorship has to be credited for turning what used to be hectic single carriage way to a now beautiful dual carriage express way, with, would you believe it, streetlights from Shagamu all the way to Abeokuta city. I was mightily impressed indeed.
The Nigerian society has greatly benefited from the endless influx of foreign second-hand vehicles (Tokunbos as they are popularly called). But let's stop to think why these cars, though second-hand, are in such good nick. Well, it is because they've been driven on good roads in their original home countries, just what the cars were built to do. Then we acquire these vehicles and drive them into ditches as big as the Grand Canyon, certainly what they weren't built for. Those who wish to test their rugged driving skills in rough road conditions take part in planned car safaris, and even many of those roads seem in better conditions than most of the roads Nigerians are forced to use every day.
As I have stated before, most of our politicians have had the privilege of having lived, holidayed or studied in developed countries, particularly Western Europe and the USA. I am certain they loved the beautiful road networks and working infrastructure they saw in these places and know what it feels like to travel on such roads. So why oh why on their return are they not inspired to emulate or replicate the worthy achievements of their foreign counterparts. I am only aware of governors like Adamu Mu'azu (Bauchi State), Chris Ingige (former Anambra Governor) Donald Duke (Cross Rivers), Gbenga Daniels (Ogun State) and perhaps a few others who've made strides in this area. And even though he is not a governor, I certainly can't leave out the outstanding job Mallam El Rufai has done to the roads and landscape of Abuja. I gather things in Abuja have even improved since my last visit in 2005.
There were some notable grumbling when the nation's capital was moved from Lagos to Abuja. However, this has proven to be one of the best political moves ever made in Nigeria, even though Ibrahim Babangida had other motives for the hasty relocation. Nevertheless it has turned out well. Lagos remains a complete eyesore, a real commuter's nightmare, and had it remained the capital, Nigeria would not have made one fifth of the progress it has made to date. Abuja has been a source of pride to Nigerians and a much better welcoming face to the outside world. A great deal of credit must go to El Rufai's tenacity and determination that it will not be left to deteriorate into the dire state Lagos is today. His appointment was just the perfect prescription and antidote to all those shameless scoundrels, who would have turned Abuja to just another slum city with their avarice and grubby ways.
It is time our politicians rise from the politics of filth and start building the much needed roads and infrastructure the nation's been denied. It is time to start issuing contracts to the right contractors so that the right job is done using the right materials. Nigerians deserve to experience what most people in other parts of the world have enjoyed for years. Those in authority must realise that it is the only way we can achieve this dream of being the economic giant we want Nigeria to be. Nigerian towns and cities could begin to look like those we admire, with good roads, street lights and signs, proper drainage systems, beautified with plants and lovely landscapes. Free from filth, open gutters, murky standing water, sharp unbearable odours, beggars, and street traders with their never ending heaps of refuse. This is no rocket science, it is very doable.
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Posted by Robot| 27.06.2007 16:15