Another big tragedy on Nyanya-Keffi road
The latest of such auto crashes occurred last Tuesday when a truck driver lost control of his truck while descending the hill leading the death of eight people. Lamenting the consistent rate of accidents on the road, a resident of Karu, Kelechi Obiora told this medium that “the rate at which people lose their lives […]
The latest of such auto crashes occurred last Tuesday when a truck driver lost control of his truck while descending the hill leading the death of eight people.
Lamenting the consistent rate of accidents on the road, a resident of Karu, Kelechi Obiora told this medium that “the rate at which people lose their lives on this road is really very alarming. Almost on a daily basis, you see one accident or the other on this same road. I don’t know what can be done; a lot of people have died while plying this road. Every day before I leave my house, I offer prayers to God to keep me while I pass that portion of the road.”
A trader who sells furniture at the Kugbo furniture market however attributed the high rate of accident on the road to the recklessness of the drivers and other road users. According to the trader who identified himself as Kalu Idika explained that “I don’t think there is anything wrong with this road. I will blame the drivers and other road users for the accidents. Every day, I see people race along this road as if they are in a race tramp, the road is wide, smooth and curvy which is enough reason why any sensible driver should slow down and be more careful but the reverse is what we see here every day.
People blame some spirits or gods for the accidents but the truth is that we are our own enemies. Drivers plying this road should learn to driver carefully and slow down whenever they approach this bend. The bend is a very dangerous spot, and most people that fall victim are the cause of their own problems. Most drivers drive without care and end up falling victim to this bend. The road signs are there for them to see. So I see no reason why an accident should occur if the drivers obey the rules given to them.”
While drivers and motorists have been castigated for their recklessness on the road, others prefer to heap the blame on the Federal Capital Territory Administration for what they referred to as the consistent neglect of the road. For instance, Abdulahi Mohammed, a civil servant who resides in Mararaba told this medium that “I am surprised that the FCTA has not done anything to reduce the accidents on the road considering the number of terrible accidents that happen here every day. The bends on this road are too sharp and ordinarily, one would have expected the government to correct the defects on this road but because, no minister lives on this road, they all can afford to neglect it”
While sharing Mohammed’s opinion that the road has suffered neglect from the government, Bimpe Adebayo, a civil engineer with one of the construction firms in Abuja explained that “one of the major reasons why accidents happen on this road especially, at night is because there are not street lights on the road. I driver, on this road on a daily basis and I had to be extra careful when I drive in the night because everywhere is always pitch black and to make matters worse, trailers and other heavy duty vehicles break down on the road and the drivers will abandon them without any sign to warn other drivers of the obstruction, so a lot of people have actually died in the process of trying to avoid these vehicles. So I will appeal to the FCDA to come to our rescue by providing street lights to brighten up the road. At least that will reduce the number of accidents that happen. What people do not realize is that this road also serves as exit and entrance point from Abuja to the Northern States, beginning from Nasarawa. So, the rate of vehicular traffic is high. So I will urge the government to install streets lights there. They are more needed there than those put inside the main town. Lives are being lost unnecessarily”.
Similarly, Musa Ibrahim, a commercial bus driver, noted that most of the accidents happen at night and that if lights are provided; a lot of the accidents would be avoided.
“You know that during evenings, people returning from work are tired and rushing to get home, coupled with the dark, bending road; so any small mistake, they will crash,” he said.
While reacting to the worrisome rate of accidents on the roads, the Nyayan unit commander of the Federal Road Safety commission, FRSC, Godwin Apochi explained that majority of the road traffic accidents on the route are all as a result of human errors. While noting that there are no technical defects with the road, he appealed to motorists to display a high sense of responsibility and caution whenever they ply the road. According to him, “I will advise motorists to obey traffic rules, repair their faulty vehicles and ensure that their brakes are working very well, before they put their vehicles on the road.” He said.