Disquiet in Kogi over demolition of roundabouts

The recent demolition of some major roundabouts in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on the order of the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has been generating reactions from people in the state.
Residents of Lokoja recently woke up to discover that five roundabouts in the state capital have been pulled down by men of the Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board.
First to be affected was the Lugard Roundabout situated in front of the Government House in Lokoja.
Other roundabouts destroyed include the Paparanda Square Roundabout, Kogi Circle Roundabout, NTA Roundabout and the Welcome to Lokoja Roundabout situated around Zariagi area of the state capital.
The pulling down of these roundabouts described as landmark structures has raised some concerns from stakeholders who have questioned the rationale behind the demolition. Some residents have described the move as a welcome development, while others view it as misplaced priority and waste of public funds in the face of dire financial challenges bedevilling the state.
In the wake of the demolition exercise, rumours filtered round town that the governor reportedly ordered demolition of the structures on the advice of some ‘marabouts’ who had divined that they harbor some amulets. According to the rumours, the governor was told that past governors in the state had carried out some ritual sacrifices and buried some charms at the roundabouts.
A resident of Lokoja, Jacob Lalu James, who faulted the demolition exercise, said that the governor should have focused on addressing pressing challenges, such as payment of arrears, workers’ salaries and rehabilitating the Lokoja township roads which are riddled with potholes.
Lalu expressed concern that pulling down the roundabouts portends some danger to unsuspecting road users because danger signs were not placed to keep oncoming vehicles on alert when approaching such areas. He however called on the government to begin the reconstruction of the demolished roundabouts in the interest of public safety.
A motorcyclist, Umar Mohammed, on his part blamed the government for pulling down all the roundabouts at same time, adding that government ought to have pulled down one at a time, rebuild and then move on to the next one.
Also commenting, Mr John Daniel said he believes the governor has good intention for he demolishing to enable him rebuild better ones for the people. He said the state has witnessed many years of underdevelopment under the previous administrations and that the new governor needed to start from somewhere in bringing development to the state.
“The present government is a clear departure from the past; the man is trying to bring about development in the state and I pray that God will help him. I also advise him to look into the areas of roads and water.
“He should improve on the standard of education in public schools because not many of us can afford to send our children to public schools. He should provide jobs for our youth and empower women in order to curb social vices,” he said.
On his part, Aliyu Ocheja advised that the demolished roundabouts should not be abandoned for too long before they are reconstructed as that could cause accidents, especially by impatient motorcyclists and Keke NAPEP riders.
Mr Onogwu Sule observed that the pulling down of the roundabouts was already causing a chaotic traffic situation.
On the other hand, the Audu/Faleke Political Organisation in Kogi State has faulted the demolition.
Director, Media and Publicity of the group, Duro Meseko in a statement issued in Lokoja, described the demolition exercise as an ‘ill-informed and manifestly directionless effort coming at a time when the state is reeling in the throes of cash crunch and unprecedented socio-economic crisis.’
The statement read: “In the face of the debilitating cash crunch facing Kogi right now, should our top priority be the construction of roundabouts? When civil servants are owed several months of salaries, youth unemployment is at its peak, and even basic social amenities like water within Lokoja metropolis is not available and so on and so forth. Should roundabouts be our priority now?”
According to the statement, the excuse that the roundabouts were pulled down to ‘give room for construction of beautiful and more befitting ones falls in the face of sound judgement because there are no good roads in Lokoja to complement the so-called beautification project.’
“Is the governor going to build fanciful roundabouts in the middle of dirty pothole ridden roads dotting the capital city? Should he not consider building a good road network in Lokoja first before demolishing the roundabouts or better still handle the road project along with the roundabouts simultaneously? What the governor has done is a sheer case of building a castle on a dunghill” Meseko stated.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state equally joined its voice. PDP Spokesman, Mr Bode Ogunmola urged Bello to focus on providing purposeful leadership for the people instead of decimating energy and resources on things that would not impact on lives of the people.
But reacting to the development, Special Adviser to Governor Bello on Media and Strategy, Mr Abdulmalik Abdulkarim debunked the insinuations that the governor ordered the demolition of the roundabouts on the advice of some marabouts as being alleged. He said it was done to give room for construction of modern and better ones in line with Bello’s quest of giving Lokoja town an aura of beautification and aesthetics befitting of a state capital.
“Everybody has his or her own opinion, when he (Bello) was sworn in on January 27; he didn’t mince words when he declared that Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, looked like a glorified local government council headquarters.
“The roads are bad, heaps of refuse here and there, the roads around the so-called roundabouts are very narrow and untidy, so, when you want to start the beautification of the environment, you have to start from somewhere. So the idea that he is starting on a wrong note or whatever is subjective,” he said, adding that the move will also help in reducing traffic congestion in the state capital, pointing out that most of the demolished roundabouts were too large for the roads they were meant to serve.
Abdulkarim, who urged those who are in the habit of criticizing every step taken by the governor in repositioning the state to sheathe their swords, noted that Bello is committed to putting Kogi on the path of development and would remain undaunted in the midst of opposition.
Also, a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, defended the demolition exercise, saying it was the beginning of a process to make Lokoja more attractive.
“The nodal status of Lokoja as the gateway to the North, East and West is supposed to be an attractive state capital in order to meet the expectations of potential tourists,’’ the statement said.
According to Fanwo, the new administration was poised to give the city a face-lift by removing sub-standard roundabouts.
Commenting on the development, the Director, Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board, Mr Akin Ajagbe said the demolition was carried out on the directive of the governor to correct some anomalies.
According to him, the demolished roundabouts were not only poorly constructed but were obstructions on the road.