The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) confirmed that 88 people were killed and 733 others injured in 189 crashes within Kogi State between January and April of this year. FRSC Sector Commander in the state Mr. Sunday Maku, listing other routes, added that the crashes also occurred within Lokoja, Koton-Karfe, and others.
With many, many billions poured into the road, Nigerians are wondering why work is yet to be completed, as the route continues to claim lives due to its deplorable condition and mostly single-lane status. Motorists and passengers who ply the Abuja-Lokoja highway say the road is nothing short of a deathtrap. Some of them describe their experiences on the road as very nightmarish. The bad condition of the road, according to them, calls for urgent intervention by the Federal Government in order to save lives.
A driver, who identifies himself as Wale Alamu, said: “Driving on the Abuja-Lokoja road is a very great risk some of us take every day. There is no doubt that the road is in a very bad shape. It is too narrow; there are many bends and it has so many bad spots. Potholes are all over. Plying the road has become a nightmare to us, but we cannot help the situation. Because of the terrible nature of the road, many of us who are drivers try to exercise caution while plying it. It is frightening. The potholes often destroy vehicles’ tyre, and in some cases, it weakens the engine. The stress we pass through while plying the road is too much. If the road is in a good condition, we would be driving without stress.”
Mr. Johnson Abraham is another regular motorist on the Abuja-Lokoja road. According to him, he plies the road, from Lagos to Abuja and vice versa at least four times in a week. In his view, the ongoing dualization of the road is not as important as rehabilitation of the existing single lane. He describes the road as very deadly, saying that the government should not have folded its arms to see the ever busy highway degenerate to that level.
“From Okene, the headquarters of Kogi Central Senatorial District, to Abuja, the road is a deathtrap. It is unimaginable that ordinary Nigerians could be subjected to this kind of difficulty, while those at the helms of affairs of the country seem not to be concerned. It is always annoying whenever the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) blames accidents on drivers’ carelessness. It is true that when drivers minimize speed and avoid dangerous overtaking, the rate of accidents would be reduced, but we should not shy away from the fact that a good road will go a long way to help reduce accidents as well. Let the road be rehabilitated and see whether plying it would not be easier that it is now,” Mr. Abraham said.
A passenger who gave his name as Mr. Kayode Alabi, said any time he has a cause to travel to Ibadan from Abuja, he must pray fervently for journey mercy. This, he says, is due to the prevalence of accidents on the Abuja-Lokoja highway. “It is the worst road in this country. It is very unfortunate that the road that links the north and the south is in such a very horrible state. This is the same road that links to the nation’s seat of power, the Federal Capital Territory. I always go into special prayers while on this road. And any time my relations or friends are on the road, I remain fearful until they call to say they have reached their destination safely. It is a road that has wasted so many lives. We cannot continue to tolerate the delay in the dualization of the road. The government must rehabilitate the road urgently,” he said.
Mrs. Maryam Momoh, a civil servant from Okene, recalls how the vehicle with which she was travelling to Abuja last November was involved in a crash, saying that: “The accident occurred owing to the bad condition of the road. An incoming vehicle’s driver was trying to dodge a pothole, and in the process, he lost control and collided with our vehicle head-on. Two passengers in our vehicle and three others in the other vehicle died on the spot, while some of us sustained varying degrees of injuries. This road needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency.”
