Ever traveled by road to the South Southern/Eastern part of Nigeria in recent times, when I say recent times, I mean from the early 2000s to this present time? If yes, then you must have experienced the wonderful ditches and gullies that puts transporters and motorists through hours of suffering in the heated portion of the road saturated with the smell of human and animal dung. If you will recall, for years now, from Minister to Minister, government to government, it's been a tale of woes surrounding the popular Ore - Benin expressway. I remember when a minister of roads and transportation visited the Oba of Benin some years back and wept bitterly saying the Government will do something quickly about the road of which till date nothing has been done. With the increasing population of street traders who hawk their wares in the traffic infested region hustling to make ends meet and I believe praying that there will always be traffic on the road so that they can sell their goods and make profits and returns to keep their families and business afloat, the following questions come to mind; is the government really doing something to rehabilitate the road? Are efforts by the government to fix the road sabotaged by these street hawkers in order to create traffic and market for their goods? We understand it's a federal road but is the Ondo state government doing anything to pressurize the FGN to rehabilitate the road or give approval to them for the same purpose just as the Edo state governor and his counterparts have done?
It's sad to note that one of the busiest roads in Western Africa is currently in this shape and hours of manpower/time are wasted on this route daily. Sometimes, transporters and motorist have to go through Okitipupa and Ore town to cut off the hold up of which the roads are not even better. We've heard stories of certain budgets drawn towards rehabilitating this road but we haven't seen anything purposeful done this road since God knows when. It's really sad that corruption has completely taken over the conscience of certain public servants appointed/elected to lead our Nation. May God continue to judges these individuals!!!
I implore the commuters and the general public to join hands to pressurize the FGN and the ONDO state government to come to the rescue of transporters and commuters by fixing the road/making the road motorable and also securing the road from possible sabotage. This should also be extended to all interstate and major roads in the country. Also, the rail system should also be rehabilitated and all possible sabotage to the growth of our rail system should be disgraced and removed totally, so as to take off a large chunk of heavyweight vehicles of our major roads. I sincerely believe that our major roads will be better managed if most of the goods being conveyed by tankers and lorries from Northern - Southern Nigerian are conveyed by trains as it's done in the Western world.
It's our country, our home, our Land, our heritage...Nigeria O NI BA JE O!!!
