Motorists are having a hard time negotiating the failed sections of the Bida to Lapai part of Suleja-Bida-Mokwa road as the entire road is blocked, with traffic diverted from Lokoja to Abuja road worsening the situation.
The Federal Road Safety Corp had on Thursday diverted traffic from the Lokoja-Abuja road to alternative routes in Niger, Nasarawa or Benue due to floods that has left motorists stranded in Lokoja.
LEADERSHIP Newspapers yesterday deployed drones to locations in Lokoja, Kogi State where effects of the flood has been most devastating to both residents of the towns and travellers along the Lokoja-Abuja highway.
The aerial images, which LEADERSHIP will publish on Monday, will give our readers visuals laying out the extent of the damage caused by the floods and what stranded motorists have had to endure in the past few days.
Due to the impact of the current flooding, residents, motorists, and commuters are facing a tough time. So far, the sad occurrence has led to human and material losses with thousands of persons displaced.
On the Bida-Lapai-Suleja road, some articulated vehicles have blocked the it, stalling traffic as at the time LEADERSHIP Sunday visited the road yesterday.
Some drivers told LEADERSHIP Sunday that they had spent over three days on the road as articulated vehicles have blocked and taken over both sides of the road.
The assistant corps marshal, public education, of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC ) headquarters, Bisi Kazeem, had last week advised motorists traveling to the South-West region of the country through Lokoja to take the Suleja-Bida-Mokwa road.
LEADERSHIP Sunday, however, observed that most parts of the road are in bad shape and may not be able to serve the purpose of the diversion from Lokoja..
It was observed that from Lapai to Bida, most parts of the road have failed, and motorists from both sides of the road are finding it difficult to pass through, thereby causing gridlock and total blockage in some areas.
An articulated vehicle driver, Ismail Mohammed, said he had spent three days on the road and that ten of the cattle he was transporting to the South West had died.
He said, “The road was bad before, but with the diversion, the situation has become worse. You can see me slaughtering one of my cows; this is the tenth in three days.”
Another motorist, Malam Garba Nura, said he arrived at a bad spot of the road on Thursday and had been in the same spot since then, with no help in sight.
“I learnt that the same thing is happening around Jebba-Mokwa axis; for the authorities that diverted the traffic to this road, they are not fair, they should have known that this road is bad, and the diversion is not properly thought out,” he declared.
Already, residents of the major towns and villages along Suleja-Bida-Mokwa road are worried and afraid that the latest developments will cause them more hardship in connecting with other towns and villages.
A resident of Bida Saidu Abdullahi told LEADERSHIP Sunday: “You can see Bida to Baddeggi road linking Suleja Road is blocked by trailers and tankers, there is no way for small cars and buses to pass; it is as good as if we are caged in here.”
Also, at Lapai, a community leader, Nuhu Tanko, said: “We cannot go to nearby villages because the roads are blocked. We learnt that the traffic from Lokoja is diverted to this road that is already in bad shape.”
On what the authorities are doing to open the blocked road, the spokesman of the state command of FRSC, Raji Egigogo, said the command “is trying to ensure that there is gradual movement of the traffic instead all the vehicles being stationed in a place.”
He confirmed that parts of the road had failed but that “our men are in Lambata, Lapai, Agaie, and Bida to ensure that no matter how slow the traffic is, it should continue to move.
Raji said some may be diverted to Bida-Minna Road to link Bida or Suleja to ensure the free flow of traffic but said articulated vehicles are the cause of the gridlock.
Flood: Passengers, Commuters Lament, Say Diversion Extends Travel Time
Travellers and motorists have bemoaned the discomforts associated with plying the alternative routes advised by the Federal Road Safety Commission as a result of the heavy flooding of the Koton-Karfe part of the Abuja-Lokoja Highway.
The FRSC had stated that flooding had impeded the free movement of travellers on the Lokoja-Abuja expressway since last week and advised motorists travelling to the Southwest region of the country from Abuja to take the Suleja-Bida-Mokwa road, while those travelling to the South-South/South-East regions should go through the Nasarawa-Oweto bridge-Adoka-Otupka axis.
Transporters have now said the diversion is seriously slowing down their journey and they cannot continue with the same pattern while some are of the opinion that the long journey is safer compared to the risk associated with crossing the flooded road with the ferry.
Both the passengers and transporters are at the receiving end. While passengers are paying more than what they used to pay on the Abuja-Lokoja, transporters are also paying more to fuel and maintain the vehicles.
LEADERSHIP Sunday visited the arrival and departure terminal of the Lokoja Mega Park and the facial expressions of the transport operators indicate that the diversion is more of a burden.
Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Haruna Salami, said drivers are experiencing delays as a result of the long distance.
He said, “It is not an easy thing to go to Abuja through the Loko-Oweto bridge. When the Road Safety Commission announced that we should go through Nasarawa, my team went to Abuja through that road but the report they came back with is not satisfactory.”
According to Salami, going through the route had doubled the travel time as a result of the bad spots that stall movement on the road.
The NURTW chairman added: “The route is safe but our people are not finding it funny because the road after Ankpa to Otupka is very bad and some other parts after the new Oweto bridge, but I advised our members to continue using the road till the flood recedes.”
Daniel Asukwo, a middle-aged driver that made a stopover said, “We used to spend less than three hours to Lokoja from Abuja using the normal route but now we spend about seven hours because the road is too long and it’s not even good”.
He faulted the decision of the FRSC to divert motorists to the route without accessing the road.
He said, “Imagine, I am going to Auchi but I have to follow Benue because the flood has taken over the road, and that road too is long and very bad. Have they forgotten that the Ganaja road is also flooded and we have to enter the estate to cross to Ajaokuta meanwhile the roads are not as good as the Abuja Road.”
Similarly, passengers have expressed their frustrations at the delay caused by the diversion.
A trader named Abu Danlami narrated his ordeal in the hands of drivers who charged him exorbitant prices because of his luggage.
He said, “I came to Obajana from Abuja but they collected about N8,000 from me because of my load and I cannot cross water because I’m afraid.”
LEADERSHIP Sunday learned that some commuters are crossing the flooded Koton-Karfe road using the ferries, but stakeholders have raised an alarm with the way the operators load passengers and ferry them without safety precautions.
While describing the nonchalant attitudes towards safety measures as another impending disaster, Olaleye Oluwatoyin, a safety officer with Kogi State Civil Service, condemned the way drivers and ferry operators use the waterways without putting the recommended safety measures in palace.
Oluwatoyin said, “Before you will put a vehicle on the ferry, all the passengers on board the vehicle are supposed to be kitted with life jackets and the operators are supposed to ensure that they do not exceed the required load capacity before taking off, but they just put vehicles on the ferry without following the procedures.”
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