Motorists in Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina have lamented that many roads in the states are now killing zones due to their dire state.
A cross-section of 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 that some roads in the state, though motorable, are pothole-ridden, causing recurring road crashes.
It was also found that such road accidents often resulted in colossal loss of lives and property.
In Kaduna State, Suleiman Bature, Secretary of the Kaduna State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), urged the authorities concerned with road maintenance 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.”
Mr Bature made the call during an interview with NAN in Kaduna.
He said that although the state and federal governments were making ongoing efforts to rehabilitate roads, the slow pace of work made it difficult for motorists to operate.
Mr Bature said: “One would not say the government is entirely negligent, but they must 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 among some contractors is the bane of bad roads in parts of the country.
Mr Bisallah said: “Sometimes, the government is not to blame, but some of these contractors who get mobilised refuse to do good jobs.
“Some contractors who carry out the projects unfortunately use substandard materials, which is why, after a few months, some 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, told NAN that the poor state of the roads negatively impacted 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 streets.
“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 FERMA staff member who sought anonymity told NAN that the agency could not comment 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 deterioration of roads in the state.
They made this known in separate interviews with NAN in Kafanchan, the headquarters of Jema’a Local Government Area.
Adamu Sambo, a commercial driver, said roads that needed to be adequately maintained and regularly maintained often developed potholes and cracks, which can cause accidents.
“To me, the number one cause of bad roads in our state is lack of maintenance because they wouldn’t be in bad shape if adequately maintained.
“No matter how well you construct a road, if you don’t look after it, you will have issues,” he stated.
Another commercial driver, Monday Bitrus, advocated for rehabilitating the Kafanchan-Kwoi road, which he said has become a nightmare for motorists.
“That road has been in a 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.
For his part, Solomon Hosea, a passenger, told NAN that as the Yuletide approaches, bad roads need to be repaired to ensure the safety of passengers.
In Katsina State, some motorists and passengers have decried the lousy condition of the Kafur-Zaria road, urging the federal government to hasten its rehabilitation to reduce the number of crashes recorded daily.
They appealed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Katsina.
A motorist, Muhammad Abubakar, whose vehicle was damaged on the road, described the ongoing road rehabilitation as too slow.
Another driver, Abubakar Aliyu, said the federal government should do what is needed, explaining that though the road is busy during the day, it is a dangerous area at night because of its condition.
“The road is busy 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 check-up.
“Do we continue like this? Always going to the mechanic after passing through the road?
“The road needs to be fixed to save people’s lives due to incessant crashes due to its bad condition,” he said.
A commercial vehicle driver, Aliyu Abdulsalam, said that going to Kaduna with passengers is always tricky because of the condition of the roads.
Therefore, he called for the speedy completion of rehabilitation to reduce the number of frequent crashes.
He also urged the federal government to complete the Katsina-Kano road that linked the state and the country with Niger Republic and other West African countries.
A passenger, Dahiru Abubakar, said the dualisation of the Katsina part of the road must be completed.
He explained that in some cases, criminals take advantage of the bad road conditions to block it and rob passengers, especially at night.
Mr Abubakar said that if the road were repaired, the rate at which armed robbers attack passengers would be reduced.
He said that would also help ease the transportation of farm produce by farmers and other traders to other federation states.
In a related development, the Katsina State Safety and Road Traffic Authority (KASSAROTA) has warned the public against dumping sand or waste on roads.
Its Director-General, Yahaya Garba-Rimi, appealed 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.
Mr Garba-Rimi particularly called on individuals who wash motorcycles, tricycles, or cars on the roads to cease such practices, as they violate existing regulations.
The director-general also warned traders placing goods on roads and pedestrian walkways to immediately relocate their businesses because those pathways were meant exclusively for public passage and vehicular movements.
By observing its guidelines, he called on all motorists and residents to support the authority’s initiatives.
In Kano State, motorists have also urged the authorities 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 lousy township roads in the metropolis.
A driver, Isa Musa, who called for repairing and completing some critical roads, lamented that motorists spend several hours in bad spots.
He said the situation required urgent attention to relieve motorists of their untold hardship.
Another motorist, Abba Malam, said that the terrible state of some 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, causing severe traffic congestion along the streets.
According to him, the failure of the Kano State Road Maintenance Agency (KARMA) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to repair the affected roads was responsible for the increasing number of daily accidents in the city.
“You hardly drive your car within the city without going through bad portions of roads,” he said.
A resident, Lawan Shehu, said the state government urgently needed to take action regarding the roads, most of which were terrible.
“There are some areas where a distance, which should not last for more than five minutes, now takes between 10 and 15 minutes,” Mr 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 rehabilitated. 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 overreliance on federal government funding, climate change, and weather-related damage could be blamed for the state of the country’s roads.
Mr Aliyu called for more investment in infrastructure and advised the federal government to enter into Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development in the country.
Bala Nura, a Kano Civil Society Forum member, called for increased funding and budget allocation for road maintenance in the country.
Mr Nura further called for decentralising road management to state and local governments, regular maintenance and repair schedules, and improved traffic management and enforcement.
A Kano State Road Maintenance Agency (KARMA) staff member said that the state government had spent enormous resources repairing township roads and intervening on federal roads.
He said the agency rehabilitated over 30 roads and evacuated drains in the metropolis.
According to him, the rehabilitated roads include Aminu Kano Way, Lodge Road, Tarauni Road, Airport Road, and Kano Government House.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government 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 potholes, pavement strengthening, repairing failed sections, limited rehabilitation, bridge/culvert construction, and general maintenance.
