From Ahmed Tahir Ajobe, Minna
The N1.2billion Baro port in Niger State was said to have been completed early last year and awaiting commissioning. But work on the only access road to the ancient town, which is expected to kick-start the much anticipated economic activities there has been subject of intense politics, and therefore, far from completion.
The ancient town of Baro in Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State is struggling to come back to life again.
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the town early last month, it was discovered that the enthusiasm which initially heralded the dredging of its river and eventual reconstruction of its port for renewed economic activities by the last administration at the centre had died down. Even the newly completed warehouse, which is expected to house the many cargos brought to the port before onward transportation to their respective destinations across northern cities by road worn a forlorn look. Its interior, it seemed, would gather cobwebs for a while until further interventions come its way.
Lizards and rats cohabit in the vast spaces. The job of Mohammed Yahaya Gulu, the prospective storekeeper in the new arrangement, was also on the line, as well as that of the man employed temporarily to keep watch on the facilities. The duo had moved in with their families when work on the project commenced. As it were, they were abandoned alongside the project. But it appears they now have something to live for as hope has risen again for them.
Lilian and Hanetu, who came from Benue and Plateau states respectively, with high expectations, were as disappointed as the ancient community and its people.
Although the indigenes had seemingly shrugged off the initial euphoria which heralded the new efforts, Lillian and Hanetu hoped the facility would soon become a beehive of activities.
When our correspondent visited the facility, the duo came with smiles, but retreated when they discovered the purpose of the visit. They had come out of their abode, an abandoned Nigeria Railway Corporation’s office, which was renovated for the use of Chinese construction workers who built the new port.
Lukman Balarabe, 65, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the new project had raised the hope of the community. “When the workers came, we rallied round them, offering our services, with the expectation that the town’s lost glory was finally here,” he said. He could only imagine the glorious old days, which disappeared with the reality on ground.
Also, the Dagacin Baro, Alhaji Shaba Woshin, who was eight years old during the glorious days of the community, said the progress of work on both the dredging and construction of the port reinforced the assurances that the federal government had realized the strategic importance of the port, especially to the North. “We learnt that the port had been completed and ready for commissioning,” he recalled.
The community had waited for the day they would host the crème de la crème of the nation who would kick-start activities at the port. But that day was not to come as the people expected because the construction of an access road, which is critical to the project, has been quite slow.
It was learnt that Lord Frederick Lugard had the first colonial administrative capital at Baro. The founder of modern Nigeria came into the area through the waterways. It was from there that he administered northern Nigeria before he relocated to Zungeru, also in Niger State.
It was learnt that the construction of the port led to an economic boom in the ancient city as the road connecting Baro to other northern cities was constructed and maintained by Lugard and his team. Agaie Local Government Area was the stopping point.
The iron bridges the colonialists built across many streams linking Baro to the outside world still exist. It was through this road that trucks came into Baro port from various locations across the country for goods imported from abroad. It was also through the same route that raw materials were transported from different locations within the country for onward movement overseas.
However, when Lugard relocated to Zungeru, the road started deteriorating as a result of negligence by various administrations.
The road from Baro to Katcha town, the headquarters of Katcha Local Government Area, is hardly motorable during the rainy season. Even during the dry season, the 22-kilometer road is a travellers’ nightmare. Two vehicles can hardly pass side-by-side, let alone overtaking. During the dry season, the road is sandy and vehicles get stuck in the process. From time to time, communities along the only road mobilise members to intervene by clearing the sand. During the rainy season, water ponds located at some points on the road make movement difficult.
From Agaie to Katcha is better, but deep gully exists at some points near Katcha. Water pond is also characteristics of the road during the rainy season. A former minister of transport in the last administration and his entourage, it was learnt, had to turn back at a point after Agaie, on their way to assess the level of work on the port due to the condition of the road. The said minister, our reporter reliably gathered, had to access the port through the waterways from Lokoja.
Many had expressed reservations when the contract for the construction of the port was awarded by the federal government without consideration for the road.
“It was imperative for the power that be to have constructed the road before awarding the contract for the port,” a civil engineer, Mr. Mustapha Madaki observed.
Like some of such projects initiated by the federal government, the construction of the access road to Baro was mired in politics. Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the contract for the road was earlier awarded in 2009 but was revoked in 2012. The federal government then pointed at the failure of the contractor to deliver the job on time as the main motivation for its revocation.
At a point, the responsibility of constructing the road was shifted to the state government. Hajiya Ina Ciroma, the then chairman of the Governing Board of the Inland Waterways Authority had, early in 2014, appealed to former Governor Muazu Babaginda Aliyu to intervene by constructing the road, stressing that the completion of the port would be meaningless unless the road linking Baro to its main entry point is constructed.
“At the moment, there is no access road to Baro port. I want to appeal to the governor to assist in the construction of the only road leading to the port,” she had said.
However, as the 2015 general elections closed in, the federal government re-awarded the contract for the construction of the 28.7km road to an Indian firm at the sum of N17.5 billion, with a 12-month completion period. The then minister of works, Arch. Mike Onolememen, said during the flag-off of the road in March 2015, that the federal government was determined to opening up the economy of the North through Baro port. The minister said the road was one of the roads the federal government had planned to experiment with rigid pavement because it is the gateway from Baro inland port to other parts of the country. The minister confirmed that the contract for the road was earlier revoked in 2012 because the contractor “was not delivering on the work” as the then administration said it had “zero tolerance” for non-performing contractors.
The contracting firm commenced the grading of the road from a point in Agaie towards Katcha but stopped few kilometers into the work. However, with the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, the hope of the people of the area has again been rekindled. It is now believed that the project would see the light of day. Recently, the contractor returned to site, but there are still worries that the road may not be completed any time soon to pave way for the eventual commissioning of the port.
Speaking on the importance of the road in an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, the Etsu Agaie, Alhaji Muhammadu Yusuf Nuhu said: “That road is very important to the port. That is the only access road for the haulage of goods from the port at Baro to the hinterland, and from Baro to ports in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, and vice versa.” He also spoke of the strategic importance of the port to northerners and Nigeria in general.
With nostalgia, he spoke of the role the port played during the colonial period in Nigeria. “Baro used to be boisterous in the past, when ships would come and get transported to hinterland. The port was used to transport groundnuts, cotton and some other goods from the North,” he recalled.
Before the new initiative was conceived, Baro had become a relic of its past glory. The infrastructure that heralded that era deteriorated and withered away. Despite the tourism and vibrant economic potential of the port, there were no conscious efforts to revive the lost glory of the facility.
There is also no electricity, no potable water in the town. The major signs of civilisation there are colonial relics, including the Empire Hill, which was strategic to Lugard. It was on the hill that Lugard built his residence. The hill still keeps watch on the ancient town, decades on. The Lugard residence is also standing due to maintenance overtime. So also is the administrative building which serves as the headquarters of the colonial administration. Other colonial structures have also weathered the storm. The Saint Paul Anglican Church, where the colonialists used to worship, still stands. Also standing is the old warehouse which served the purpose of international companies such as John Holt and the UAC. Furthermore, there are reminders of the railway segment of Baro, such as its loading bay platform, offices and the rail line, which exit till today. It is hoped that such relics, which are of historical significant, would attract tourists to the ancient community.
There is also the structure that housed the only bank in the ancient community.
Economic activities in the town have also been reduced to fishing and farming. In the centre of the town is a weekly market patronised by cattle herders and community members, as well as people from neighbouring villages. Water transportation also exists on the nearby river.
Despite the delay in commissioning the port, the Etsu Agaie is optimistic that better days are ahead. “We are waiting with anticipation that the project would come to fruition soon,” he said.
