Ilorin - Jebba - Mokwa - Minna Road links the South of Nigeria with the North."The alternative route is the Okene - Lokoja Road bursting out at the federal capital and then to other parts of the North.

The two major roads are busy throughout the year and that is why government has to pay attention to them.

Ordinarily, a journey from Ilorin to Jebba should take about one hour's drive if the road is good, but it takes cars between three to four hours while heavy duty vehicles spend three to four days, if not one week The experience can be agonizing.

Many years ago, it was easy to determine how many hours it would take for a journey from Minna to Ilorin and back. In fact, many commuters, especially traders, travelled to Ilorin from Minna to transact businesses and come back same day without stress. That is history.

Today, one is only sure of the time of departure but certainly not when to return home."Sunday Vanguard's trip from Minna to Ilorin, last week, was traumatizing. The road was in bad shape with huge potholes while the traffic was devoid of orderliness. There was heavy traffic at different points. No movement as vehicles stayed bumper to bumper. No respect for simple traffic regulations. Motorists drive in whatever lane of the highway that caught their fancy. No driver complained over the "recklessness or lawlessness" on the road because they were all guilty of the offence."The order of the day on the road that is "smartness" on the part of motorists desperate to get out of the "death traps and agonizing" situation.

Boldly written on the faces of motorists and passengers were discomfort, stress and frustration with no one to provide answers to the painful situation. "Law enforcement agents, especially Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), were nowhere in sight to give succour.

Some motorists, particularly truck drivers, conveying foodstuff, cows and ram from the North to the South, interviewed on the situation, described the development as very sad.

They called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on the road and embark on repairs immediately.

One of the truck drivers, Isah Muhammed, lamented that he had been stranded on the road for four days with no hope of getting out. "A female passenger, Bukola Adeoye, travelling from Ilorin to Kaduna, said," How do you want me to speak well of this country? I graduated three years ago but jobless and travelling to the North for the first time in search of job and experiencing this type of thing. How do you explain the situation?

One particular truck driver complained he had been stuck between Jebba and Mokwa axis of the road for days, and, to make matters worse, the pepper, onions and yams he was transporting from the North to Lagos were perishing. He was not sure when he would make it out of the road in one week. According to him, his fate told the stories of his fellow truck drivers.

Meanwhile, villagers on the route cashed in on the situation to sell water and food from questionable sources to the stranded commuters and drivers. Because of lack of security on the route, robbers take advantage of the situation to unleash terror on travellers.

Analysts fear the situation may take a toll on the economy as trucks carrying foodstuff from the North encounter difficulties making it to the South owing to the impassable state of the Ilorin-Jebba-Uokwa-Minna Road.

Deputy Corps Commander of the FRSC in Niger State, Nma Magana, in an interview, said the bad state of the road, coupled with impatience of motorists, was contributing to the serious traffic on the highway.

"No doubt that the road is so bad but the impatience of the motorists who want to get out of the situation, by all means, further compounds the situation and accentuates road traffic jam. We have mobilised our men from Jebba and Bode Saadu offices to bring sanity back to the road, but the drivers have made the situation to get out of control but we will continue to do our best," the Deputy Commander.

With Christmas and New Year festivities inching closer and the wind of change blowing across the nation with the Buhari regime, the prayer from Nigerians is that, even if it is to grade the worst hit areas, the President must be seen to be doing something as a first step to bringing succour to motorists plying the road."