Roads within the suburbs are just as important as the expressways, but over the years government has been known to leave them to neglect. BLESSING UKEMENA, writes on how this is affecting the residents of such areas where bad roads are a common sight and the fact that the rains are making matters even worse.
Life is all about movement. That is why good roads are a must in any society, without good roads trade, which is the bedrock of a growing society, will be difficult. Urban cities are so because they have good road networks and thus have more businesses and more infrastructural facilities than the rural areas.
This is noticeable in most city centres, and the federal government is doing what it can in terms of the Federal and State roads but one thing that is noticed is that most suburbs that surround these city centres do not have motorable roads running within them. Because these roads are within local governments/area councils, the burden of providing good roads within them fall on the local/area councils.
It may be too much to ask the government to tar every single street in the federation but those main roads within the suburbs should be worked on. Typical examples of major suburbs that do not have motorable roads can be found in Nyanya, Lugbe in the FCT and Mararaba in Nasarawa State. It is not such a bad case during the dry season, except for the cough causing dust but the situation is just terrible in the rainy season.
Some of the roads are so washed out that they have huge holes and gullies running through them. Noticeable during the morning rush hours is the holdup that builds up as drivers approach the Road Safety Office along the? Nyanya- mararaba expressway. It is caused because of huge amounts of sand that is washed up by the rains from within the road running towards the Road Safety Office.
And being that a large number of the population working within the FCT are resident in these suburbs, the morning and closing rush hours lead to a terrible traffic along the routes leading to these suburbs. Those that live within the Mararaba settlement on both sides of the expressway have tales of woes to tell.
Those with vehicles drive with extreme care and keep going to the mechanic to fix one fault or the other and the pedestrians have to contend with being extorted by Okada riders, in addition to having their shoes ruined by the mud.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY on the matter, the supervisory councilor for works AMAC, Hon. Williams Gade, said that the FCDA is responsible for those roads in the suburban areas. “It is the responsibility of the FCDA to take care of the drainages, roads and most facilities in places like Nyanya, Lugbe, Karu even part of Karishi.
It is not the duty of AMAC. I believe that some of these roads have not been contracted out by the FCT minister for construction and when this is done then it will get better”. He was of the opinion that the FCDA should do something about the matter as it is their duty. Many times the residents of these suburbs take it upon themselves to sand-fill the pot- holes in the roads to render them passable for motorists and other road users. Their only reward is the token given to them by passing motorists.
Speaking to drivers on the very busy Mararaba- Aso road, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY gathered that that particular area was causing accidents as the two lane road has been reduced to one lane for both incoming and out-going traffic. Mr. Aliu a car owner who spoke to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY said that he had been living within mararaba for the past three years and that the government ought to be doing something? about the road. “This is a major road for those of us living in Mararaba.
It is up to those in the area council to even grade this road, that is if they do not want to tar it, so that we can stop going through the stress we pass through on this road. After leaving the two hour traffic on the express you will come and face this one. If the road was better it would not be so bad.” He said.
Another driver, Mr. Denis Ekwuma, who lives in Lugbe Federal housing also expressed his opinion: “These federal housing roads are just pathetic but something has to be done either by the FCT or the area council. Imagine that I just had to replace my vehicle shaft which are just a month old yesterday because of this road.
The heavy rainfall is washing away what is left of the road and if something is not done, the road will be completely gone”, he said. A resident of the Nyanya- Dunamis road, Mr. Ikeidis Sunday, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that the road had been graded by the Dunamis Int’l. church sometime last year but that government needed to step in and do something permanent to alleviate the sufferings of those living in the suburbs.
“Not everyone can afford to live within the city centre or is it that we do not deserve to have good roads around here? If they cannot afford to do it like the highways, then they can just come and grade it and pour gravel on it, that will suffice”, he said.
Those living along the Kubwa axis have been spared the hassle of going through long hours of traffic both going from and coming into the FCT because of the roads that were recently constructed there.? It is hoped that the government will look into the matter and include these suburbs in their road construction plans just as it has been done in Kubwa and Bwari districts.