Residents of Unguwar Madaki, Unguwar Hardo, Yala, Wuro Jiban and Tamajira communities in Bula ward of Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi State have embarked on the rehabilitation of the major road that has been allegedly neglected by the government.
The road, which links Doka in Dass local government area to Tamajira in Tafawa Balewa council, has become almost impassable, especially during the rainy season. This has forced the residents to embark on the manual repair using locally sourced materials.
During the exercise, Malam Hussaini Adamu from Tamajira explained that the communities decided to take action after years of waiting for government support, which yielded no results.
“We came out in numbers to embark on this communal labour because if we do not make the effort ourselves, no one will fix this road for us. This initiative involves people from Doka, Unguwar Madaki, Yala, Wuro Jiban, and Tamajira. We have been working on this for about seven days now. We are appealing to the chairman of Tafawa Balewa local government to support us with the necessary tools and materials so that we can continue the work,” he said.
Similarly, Umaru Ibrahim from the Yala community lamented the difficulties residents face during the rainy season, noting that the road often gets washed away by floodwaters.
“During the rainy season, the road becomes completely impassable. Sometimes, one has to trek almost five kilometres before getting out to the main road. We are using vehicles to fetch stones and sand, while some community members use motorcycles to transport gravel for filling. This shows our collective sacrifice, but we need government assistance to find a lasting solution,” he explained.
The village head of Wuro Jiban, Malam Sa’idu Magaji, emphasised the economic hardship caused by the bad road, particularly for farmers.
“This road connects our communities, yet movement in and out is extremely difficult. Many of our farmers have reduced their farming activities because of the challenges of transporting farm produce. Farming is our mainstay, and without good access roads, our livelihoods are threatened,” the traditional leader said.
He revealed that several appeals had earlier been made to the Tafawa Balewa Local Government Council, but without tangible results.
While pledging to continue with the self-help efforts, the communities called on the local and state governments to urgently intervene and provide a long-lasting solution to the road challenge, which they described as a lifeline for their survival and development.
