Date: 2015-10-22

It is a tale of agony, woes and losses for vehicle owners, business owners and residents of Jebba in the Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State as the deplorable condition of Ilorin-Jebba Road remains a serious concern. The road which is the only major road that links the Northern part of the country to the Southwest is said to have been in a dilapidated state for many years. According to residents of the area, lives are lost on a daily basis while criminals use the opportunity of the bad condition of the road to commit atrocities.

Many businessmen and women, dealing in cattle, beans, pepper, onions who daily ply the road, have harrowing experiences to tell as vehicles transporting their goods had at different times been involved in accidents due to the deplorable condition of the road, while daylight armed robbery operations are usual occurrence.

Another road begging for the attention of the government is the Ajase Ipo-Offa-Erin Ile Road in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State. Interestingly, all these roads are Federal Government roads, and that is why those who ply them are calling on the Federal Government to urgently come to their assistance by rehabilitating the roads for improved socio-economic life in the communities.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, a community leader and district head of Lanwa community, Bode Saadu in the Moro Local Government Area of the state, Alhaji Saad Gambari, expressed deep concern over the deplorable condition of Bode Saadu-Jebba Road traversing the state, saying it had gone intolerably bad. Alhaji Gambari said that many lives were lost on a daily basis, adding that criminal activities were on a high level.

During the visit to the road traversing such communities as Bode Saadu, Iyana Oloko, Ayekale, Sabo-n-gida, Araro, Lakanla, Kanbi, and Jebba, a cross section of motorists and community leaders lamented on their experience and plights on the road.

The people also appealed to the Federal Government to fix the deplorable road in order to make life meaningful for them.

"The situation of the road is terrible and government has not showed concern despite our frequent request and plea to the Federal Government. The road is causing a lot of problems to all the communities affected including problems like frequent armed robbery, losses incurred due to damaged vehicles and accidents. Asthmatic patients that live by the side of the road are also affected by the dust especially during the dry season. A number of people have lost their lives as a result of these developments. We are using this period to call on the Federal Government to come to our rescue as a matter of urgency," he said. Also speaking, the president of Jebba Descendants Union, Alhaji Yusuf Abdulkareem, who said that Jebba-Bode Saadu Road is a Federal Government road, urged the Kwara State government to intervene with palliative measures that could help the condition of the road.

Alhaji Abdulkareem, who said that the condition of the road got worse three years ago, added that, "A construction firm brought equipment to the road last year to work on it and to our surprise they could not do anything and they disappeared with their equipment immediately after the general election," he said. Also speaking, the representative of the communities in the state House of Assembly, Mathew Okedara, representing Lanwa-Ejidongari constituency said that he brought a grader to work on the road when the condition was becoming unbearable, adding that he had informed the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) both in Ilorin and Abuja without any response yet.

"If not for the assistance of the local government which put laterite sand on the potholes, it would have been worse than the present condition, because the potholes are just too many and they are increasing by the day and if nothing is done urgently, the road may soon be filled with ponds. And if the road completely becomes impassable the economy of Nigeria will be affected. And I pray that the Federal Government will come to the rescue of the communities and motorists plying the road, in no distant time," he said.

Speaking on the Offa-Ajase Ipo-Erin Ile road, the Offa Descendants' Union (ODU), a socio-cultural organisation of indigenes of Offa town in Kwara State, has cried out over the deplorable condition of roads leading to the ancient town. While speaking with journalists in Offa during activities marking the 80th anniversary of the ODU, the Secretary-General of the group, Chief Wosilat Mccarthy, urged the Federal Government to release funds for the rehabilitation of the road to ameliorate suffering of the vehicle owners plying the road. The ODU chieftain, who said that the people were concerned about the present condition of road, added that business owners had suffered losses resulting from damage and destruction of their goods and vehicles, especially when rain falls. The organisation, which commended efforts of the state government at rehabilitating the road in the past, said that several letters of appeal had been written to the concerned authorities over the nagging problem. Speaking on the high level of insecurity situation in the ancient town, characterised by armed robbery and kidnapping, Mrs McCarthy blamed the situation on the bad road and growth in modernity in the ancient town. Meanwhile, the Kwara State House of Assembly has called on the state government to liaise with the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to include Oloru-Bode Saadu-Jebba section of Ilorin-Kaduna Highway in the 2016 budget to put an end to the untold hardship being experienced by users of the road. This is part of the resolutions reached by the State House of Assembly following a motion on notice on the terrible conditions of Federal roads in the state especially Oloru-Bode Saadu-Jebba highway raised by the Deputy Speaker Dr. Mattew Okedare and co-seconded by the leader of the House. Alhaji Hassan Oyeleke and a member representing Owode-Onire constituency Alhaji AbdulRasheed Taiwo. The legislator also urged the Federal Government to mobilise the contractor handling the rehabilitation of the section of the highway back to site, pointing out that the deplorable state of the road had adversely affected the socio-economic well-being of the people of the state as movement of heavy trucks and vehicles had been totally crippled.

The House also called on National Assembly members from the state to assist in ensuring the completion of Oloru- Bode Saadu -Jebba highway to restore the socio-economic viability of the area and check the menace of armed bandits along the highway.

The legislators according to the Speaker equally resolved to visit the road with a view to drawing national attention to the deplorable condition of the high way and later directed the Clerk to the House to notify the State Government, and the National Assembly on the resolutions of the House within one week.

Members had while speaking on the motion, expressed sadness on the state of Federal highways in the state especially Oloru-Jebba axis and Ajase-Ipo-Offa-Osogbo Road, noting that the contractors handling the rehabilitation of the two road projects had done greater damage to the people of the state by abandoning the projects midway.

The House also directed the House Committee on Energy, Works and Transport to have a comprehensive data of abandoned ongoing projects in the state to enable the House take a definite action following a Matter of Public importance raised by a Member representing Kaiama, Wajibe, Kemanji Constituency on the abandoned electrification project in Kaiama Local Government and report to the House within the next three weeks.