I had an appointment to keep in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State a few days ago. The invitation came on short notice. Considering the cost of taking two flights from Enugu to Yola, I opted to travel by road. Since there is no direct flight from Enugu to Yola, an air traveler on this route would first of all, fly from Enugu to Abuja, before connecting another flight to Yola.

Having ruled out the possibility of travelling by air, I left my residence in Enugu for the bus terminal at Old Park Enugu to board a vehicle to Yola. On getting to the bus terminal around 4p.m., I was told that all the vehicles going to my destination for the day had departed. The park operators advised me to go to the Ninth Mile Corner, near Enugu, which is a hub for commercial vehicles going to the North.

I got to Ninth Mile before 6p.m. and waited until 8p.m., but there was no Yola vehicle available. I was again advised to take a bus to Obollo Afor, near Nsukka, a major gateway for vehicles going to Northern Nigeria from the South East region. Joining the bus to Obollo Afor was the beginning of my very long tortuous and tormenting journey to Yola.

The distance between Ninth Mile and Obollo Afor is about 63 kilometres. The contract for the reconstruction of the road was awarded alongside the Makurdi-Lafia-Abuja highway by the Federal Government in 2019 under the administration of the late President, Muhammadu Buhari with Babatunde Fashola (SAN) as Minister of Works.

In January 2024, the current Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, said the Federal Government had commenced the dualisation of the Ninth Mile Enugu-Markurdi Highway. Almost two years after this announcement, the Enugu axis awarded to Arab Contractors Limited, remains in a decrepit state.

Ordinarily a trip from Ninth Mile to Obollo Afor should take approximately one hour, 30 minutes. Because of the very bad condition of the road, the journey took us nearly four hours. I will not advise a pregnant woman to travel through that road because of the likely consequences, which is a miscarriage.

By the time I got to Obollo Afor around 12 pm, all the vehicles going to Yola had departed. I had no option but to wait until the morning to continue my journey.

I eventually boarded a vehicle to my destination the next day. Among the other passengers was a woman with her two little children. I was the first person given the manifest to fill. I completed the manifest and as I was about handing it over to the woman, her five-year old son told me that he could write his name on the manifest. Doubtful, I told the boy to spell his name. With ease, confidence and pride, the boy spelt Chidiogo David Onah.

The journey began on a bumpy note from Obolo Afor in Udenu Local Government of Enugu State to the boundary communities in Ogadigbo Local Government Area of Benue State, namely Orokam and Otukpa. We had some respite after Otukpa junction, since the Makurdi-Lafia section of the road awarded to China Civil Engineering Company (CCECC) had been substantially done by the previous administration before the current administration added a flyover to it at the place called Wukurum in Benue State.

When we eventually got to Otukpo, the journey became bumpy again. The potholes on the road from Otukpo to Gboko were uncountable. The bad condition of the road drastically prolonged the travel time and made the journey a harrowing experience. It was approaching nightfall when we got to the River Buruku where I got my first shocker.

The driver announced to us that the vehicle and passengers would be transported across the Buruku River by a boat. We were asked to disembark from the vehicle, and we all complied. Our vehicle was immediately driven into a locally fabricated wooden boat anchored in the eastern bank of the river. We were asked to enter the boat and hold the vehicle to support ourselves.

As we entered the boat, the little David came and held my hand. As soon as the engine was on, the boat started moving slowly and slowly. Being one who has phobia for travelling by water, I was frightened but had to contain my fears because of the little boy holding my hand. Nobody in the boat was putting on a life jacket.

Since I don’t know how to swim, I imagined what would happen if the boat capsised. I remembered that several people died in major boat mishaps at the Buruku crossing point in 2013, 2018 and 2021. I asked myself why the Nigeria government should risk the lives of her citizens crossing the river, including innocent children like David, the namesake of the Works Minister, when it has the capacity to construct the Buruku Bridge so that people could cross without endangering their lives.

If the government could afford N7.5 billion for constructing a kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road where not even one life is in danger, I do not see the reason a 600-metre bridge cannot be funded to stop the incessant loss of lives at the Buruku crossing point, joining Logo and Buruku LGAs of Benue State. Besides, the completion of the bridge will lessen the difficulties experienced by motorists travelling from Southern Nigeria to Northern Nigeria, particularly the Northeastern States of Taraba and Adamawa.

Thankfully, we safely made it across River Buruku before nightfall and continued our trip along the pothole ridden highway, traversing several communities’ in Benue State, including Ugba and Zaki Ibiam. Intermittently, our vehicle stopped at the numerous security checkpoints along the stretch of the dilapidated highway until we got to Wukari town, the headquarters of Wukari LGA in Taraba State, Northeast Nigeria.

Wukari turned out not to be the end of the story, but the beginning of another chapter. Deep potholes trailed the stretch of the road from Wukari to Gasol LGA, where I got my second shocker at Nanmai River. We could not see the water because darkness pervaded the entire area. The driver announced to us again that we would be conveyed across the river by a boat.

The Nanmai Bridge was said to have collapsed a year ago.

Our vehicle was again driven into a locally fabricated wooden boat anchored in the banks of the river, with only the middle-aged woman and her children remaining inside. The passengers were asked to enter the boat. Just like in River Buruku, as soon as the engine was on, the boat started moving slowly and slowly. Nobody in the boat was putting on life jacket.

By the grace of God, we crossed River Nanmai safely. Some passengers travelling with an Adamawa Express Bus a few weeks ago were not lucky. According to a report in The Punch newspaper, their vehicle lost balance on the broken portion of the bridge and tumbled into the river. Many precious lives were wasted.

Having crossed the second river, we continued our journey until we got to Jalingo around 4.am. At Jalingo, the driver said he was tired and transferred those going to Yola, including my humble self, to another vehicle. The potholes in the road from Taraba to Adamawa, especially the stretch linking boundary communities of Zing LGA and Jere LGA, look like trenches.

The distance between Jalingo and Yola is 128 kilometres. Ordinarily a journey from Jalingo to Yola should take approximately two hours, but it took us four hours because of the very bad condition of the road.

By the grace of God, I got to my destination safely and on time to meet my appointment. Not all Nigerians are lucky. According to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), five, 421 people were killed in road crashes in Nigeria in 2024. The bad condition of roads in Nigeria has been identified as one of the major causes of road accidents in the country.

This article is not a mere travelogue but a clarion call on Dave Umahi to prove that he is truly a professor in practice of civil engineering, not just on television, but in the field, by reversing as quickly as possible the decay in the country’s road infrastructure. This will help, not only to save lives, but to open up economic activities everywhere. All roads, whether coastal or inland, deserve equal attention.

After seeing the state of the roads, I started wondering whether the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Works, is still in existence. I expect Umahi to balance the distribution of resources accruing to his Ministry, like most of his predecessors did.

To conclude, I see no reason the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road connecting only two regions of the country should get N15 trillion, whilst roads connecting three regions or even more, get little or nothing.

Last year, the government also unveiled the Sokoto-Badagry highway, awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited, the same company handling the overpriced Lagos-Calabar Coastal road project. None of these roads passed through any state in the South East and North East regions.

Umahi! please balance the equation for the sake of equity, fairness and justice, balanced development and progress of the nation.

Dr Nzomiwu is the Director of Media and Publicity, Development Communication Research Association of Nigeria (DECRAN). He can be reached via: [email protected] or 08037752672.