Seven months later, thousands of motorists, commuters and residents of Kalajanga and Bara villages in Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State are still suffering undue hardship due to a number of collapsed sections of the busy Bauchi-Gombe Road.
Flood has damaged three different bridges including the Kalajanga Bridge, Tashan Turmi Bridge and Tashan Bara Bridge along the Bauchi-Gombe Road. In August 2023, a heavy downpour washed away the bridges in Kalajanga and Bara villages, and the same bridges have been suffering the same fate during the rainy season, disrupting the movements of people, goods and services in Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Taraba states.
Seven months after the incident, the collapsed portions have still remained a source of concern to motorists and commuters using the roads as no repairs have been undertaken by the relevant authorities.
Daily Trust reports that every day, hundreds of trailers, other trucks and buses carrying livestock, foodstuffs and people plying on the highway face challenging conditions at the points as they move to different parts of the country.
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Commuters and residents who spoke with our correspondent expressed concern over the deplorable condition, calling on the federal government to urgently repair the affected sections.
Findings also indicated that criminal elements have taken advantage of the deplorable condition of the bad portions to rob unsuspected victims plying the road.
A commuter, Akanji Adeyemi, said since the flood washed away the bridges last rainy season, nothing has been done. He said the road links all the states in the North East.
“Last year it was more devastating and the two governors of Bauchi and Gombe states came here and promised to talk to the federal government. Although we heard that a contract has been awarded to repair the bad sections, nothing has been done and soon, the rainy season will start,” he said.
A commercial driver plying Taraba–Bauchi section of the road, Kabiru Salisu, said the road has become a nightmare. “Apart from the deplorable condition which makes our vehicles breakdown, criminals have taken the opportunity to rob commuters at night. Despite the potholes along Jalingo-Numan Road, our major fear is this Kalajanga Bridge because it is too narrow and two vehicles cannot pass at once. We are really suffering on this road throughout the year and we call on the authorities to come to our aid before another rainy season sets in.”
Another commercial driver, Danjuma Yakubi, told Daily Trust that the collapsed bridges, particularly Kalajanga, have become death traps. “We are helpless about the deplorable condition of the road, especially the bridges at Bara and Kalajanga. We don’t know why they have failed to fix the road up till now,” he said.
A resident of Bara village, Alhaji Adamu Sarkin Yamma Bara, said the cutoff portion of road in Bara has become a terminal point for commuters because vehicles cannot cross bridges washed away by flood. And that some are forced to take an alternative longer route which costs more.
“We are extremely surprised with the negligence of Bauchi-Gombe Road because this road is the live wire of economic activities in Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba and Bono states.
“The most unfortunate part of the problem is that after the incident, the contractor handling reconstruction of the road filled the washed away bridges with stones and sand to enable vehicular movement and left the site and since then nothing has been done. Any heavy rainfall will wash away the temporary repairs and shut it down again. This is a federal highway and all the calls and pleas have not been responded to.
“The collapsed portions of the bridges have become armed robbery spots because vehicles must slow down. The robbers are always there at night perpetuating their ungodly act.
“We are appealing to the government to kindly sympathise with us and reconstruct the bridges and the road to alleviate the sufferings of the people.
A resident of Kalajanga village, Abdullahi Mohammed, told Daily Trust that the reconstruction of the road has been abandoned since after the construction company patched the collapsed portion.
“We don’t know why the reconstruction of the road was abandoned since then because the Kalajanga area of the bridge has been a nightmare for residents destroying their farmlands and crops almost every year. We thought after visits by the governor and other senior government officials, the government would construct a befitting bridge to end the annual disaster,” he said.
The branch Chairman of Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Bauchi-Gombe Road line, Alhaji Buhari Umar Batara, said the collapsed area, especially Kalajanga Bridge, has become a death trap due to its narrow condition which threw many of their members into untold hardship.
“We are pleading with the federal government to reconstruct the Kalajanga Bridge because we don’t want a repeat of the total cutoff of economic activities between Bauchi and Gombe states. Passengers from Adamawa, Taraba, Biu in Borno State and Gombe are stuck at the collapsed areas and many terminate their journey there.
“The entire highway between Bauchi and Gombe is dilapidated because right from Inkil in Bauchi, potholes have taken over the road due to poor maintenance of the road. Our drivers are battling with tyre bursts every day.
“We know the road is a federal highway but we are appealing to the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, to intervene and come to aid of millions of people plying the road by constructing an expressway from Bauchi town to Kangere or extend to Alkaleri just the way he dualised the Bauchi-Jos, Bauchi-Kano and Bauchi-Maiduguri roads. If the construction would not be possible, we want him to appeal to FERMA to fill in numerous potholes along the road. We are appealing to both federal and state governments to urgently intervene because Bauchi-Gombe remains the most dilapidated road and hope they’ll respond to our pleas,” Batara added.
A former Chairman of Petroleum Tankers Drivers in Bauchi, Muhammad Chindo Musa, said motorists and commuters are suffering along the Bauchi-Gombe Road but truck drivers suffer more.
He said when the incident happened last year, many spent up to five days on the spot as they could not manage the makeshift arrangements made for motorists to pass.
“You know the implications of truck drivers spending days in a location unlike small vehicles which easily find alternative roads. But the option is not good for these drivers because it may add up to 200 kilometres on their journey.
“We are appealing to the state government to come to the aid of people plying Bauchi-Gombe Road by intervening and reconstructing the road because the untold hardship is unbearable,’’ he said.
He said if nothing was done quickly, the situation would further deteriorate with the advent of another rainy season.
“We want them to act quickly and tackle the situation before another season of rainfall commences,’’ he said.
When contacted, the Deputy Director of Bridge, Federal Ministry of Works, Engineer Abubakar Hassan, in a text message said: “I have found out that the process of procuring the project is ongoing and is currently at the Federal Executive Council awaiting approval.”
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