Users of the Owerri-Umuahia road in the south-east, especially those who ply it daily to and from their workplaces, should go into serious prayers for divine intervention into the ongoing rehabilitation project on the road, which the administration of Gov Hope Uzodimma in Imo State undertook three years ago. They should pray that this road be completed faster than it seems, or that it does not get abandoned altogether at a stage.
If I were to suggest to lovers and numerous sympathizers of that administration in Imo State as well, I’d ask that they also go into deep prayers. Their prayer point should be that the project would not rubbish the much-celebrated glowing record of the administration in the area of road infrastructure. The excitement that greeted the ground-breaking of the rehabilitation project has waned as a result of the long-lasting inconveniences the project had given the users since it began.
For the three years the project has lasted, it has been the subject of discussion among passengers in the numerous commuter buses that traverse the inter-state road, which actually links the two capital cities of Owerri, for Imo, and Umuahia, for Abia.
But more intriguing is that in more than three months today, the stretch between Obeama Enyiogugu and Azaraegbelu has become a trouble spot due to the construction work, leading to a total closure of the spot without the creation of a suitable diversion for the road users.
In an attempt to find a detour for themselves, users of the ever-busy road had combed the bush tracks in Avuvu Ikeduru and around Enyiogugu communities until the tracks were rendered impassable even to innocent villagers going to their farms. Then, the option left was to ply the Aba-Owerri Road, through Afor Enyiogugu-Imo Airport Road, an alternative route that takes its toll on time and scarce petrol. Commuters have since been compelled to pay exorbitant fares since the affairs had remained like that, thereby compounding the already bad situation in the country.
The area in question, where the Heartland FM Radio station is situated, has the tendency to be waterlogged and marshy each time it rained. Unfortunately, the construction company handling the road did not think ahead of time to fix that stretch during the dry season. By the time they began work on it, it was already in the middle of the rainy season in June and July. Laterite deposited for the reconstruction became slimy after the rains and several vehicles that used the road during this period either got stuck or broke down in the middle of the mud. Those who escaped visited their mechanics later over the huge deposit of mud on their radiators and brake systems.
Miffed at the slow pace of work on the road, commuters had wished that one part of the road was scraped while the other remained for easy passage of vehicles until the scraped portion is ready for use. However, the entire road had been scraped and rendered almost unmotorable for three months and counting.
Assuming that the motorist had scaled the Heartland Radio hurdle on his way to Owerri, he is again to meet further hurdles as areas that had once been treated around Emekuku and Egbu and assumed to have been okay for use are constantly subjected to fresh scraping and rebuilding of gutters, as if in the game of Snake and Ladder.
Central as well to the discussion among the bus commuters always is the width of the road. Every tongue is asking whether the size befits a road that falls under the schedule of the federal government, a road that handles that volume of traffic daily. Because of the demarcation at the centre of the road, overtaking is made pretty difficult. Therefore, when a slow-moving vehicle is on the road, especially trucks, every other vehicle queues up behind it for a long time until they find an escape. If the vehicle gets spoilt, that lane is automatically rendered impassable.
What may have influenced the narrowness of the road is, perhaps, the structures erected close to the road, especially around Egbu, Awaka, Emekeuku and some parts of Mbaise. This, however, has not formed a hindrance to the expansion of many other federal roads in other states where compensation is paid to owners of the structures. Will Imo be different? However, there are stretches where land is free for expansion, which were ignored.
The narrowness on the plan, apparently, led to the nearness of the gutters to the edge of the road. On a rainy day, or periods when visibility is poor, the motorists run the risk of skidding off the road right into the equally narrow gutters of irregular shapes. And if one desires to pull off the road for something urgent, there is hardly space to do so.
Many also observed that the road in question, being a federal concern, should have been directly financed by the central government. They do not understand why the state government with its small financial might should use its funds on the road when hundreds of kilometres of state roads are still derelict. Perhaps, the administration was in a hurry to develop the state. Credit must be given to the state government for deeming the road fit for rehabilitation. Kudos also for the areas that have been done, although it is noticed that some residential and institutional buildings along the road have begun to experience flooding in the compounds while feeder roads are left rough and uncomfortable to vehicles by the sometimes uncaring construction workers. However, road developments are only satisfactory when they are carried out fast enough and in elegance so as to serve the people aright rather than inconvenience them for a long period after which a shoddy job is realised.
As a matter of fact, the administration of Emeka Ihedioha which handed over to Uzodimma had done some remedial work on the road that made it passable, just before the commencement of the present rehabilitation. There was no urgency to rework the road at that moment. Had the state government left it for the federal government known to be a sole repository of huge funds in the nation, the road would not have suffered what it is suffering today.
It is on record that the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, visited Imo early this year. There were reports that he disapproved of the handling of the road. Whether there was a change in the handling, with regard to the contract awardees and the contractors, after that visit was not made known to the Imo public. In years past, large billboards were erected showing details of government projects, including names of the awardees and handlers of the project, the worth of the project in monetary terms and stuff like that. Contract usually went through the tenders’ board before they were awarded then. Not anymore, these days. Everything is shrouded in secrecy, leaving the poor masses to their respective imaginations. Can we ever return to the good old days?
The politics of roads, in the Nigerian political sense, is that they are the visible projects the helmsmen in government feel they can showcase and win the hearts of people. Romantically, they call it dividends of democracy. Unfortunately, every administration loves to work on roads and roads and roads, perhaps also because it offers an opportunity for contract kickbacks that are difficult for the probing eyes of an auditor to detect.
Works minister Umahi, during his tour of Federal Government projects in the state, was also reported to have marvelled at the quality of roads Gov. Hope Uzodimma, had initiated and completed in Imo State. The governor had secured the consent of former President Muhammadu Buhari to work on vital federal roads in the state, under the agreement that the Federal Government would refund money spent on these roads to the state government. The roads included the Owerri-Orlu and the Owerri to Okigwe roads. If these roads were well built, why won’t the Owerri-Umuahia road receive the same treatment?
Owerri, today, has become too far away from the numerous artisans and government workers who now spend hours moving from their homes in the suburbs of Emekuku, Mbaise, Obowo, and the rest to the capital city regularly to seek their daily bread. Those who believe, as I do, in the efficacy of prayers should join in praying that this project of rehabilitation on that road does not go the way of a recurring decimal – endless!
Dr. Odu can be reached through dirimrich2018@gmail.com or SMS 07016722929