Ilorin-Ibadan Road Dualisation Project: An Unending Jinx
A daily detour of tankers into a sleepy town The little girl escaped death by the whiskers. A little more pressure on the throttle by the harried truck driver and the girl’s gruesome demise would have been a fait accompli. However, providence and good fortune appeared to have been on the side of the girl […]
A daily detour of tankers into a sleepy town
The little girl escaped death by the whiskers. A little more pressure on the throttle by the harried truck driver and the girl’s gruesome demise would have been a fait accompli. However, providence and good fortune appeared to have been on the side of the girl on that fateful day. With a curse uttered by the driver and the release of bated breath by onlookers who were expecting the worst, the under aged hawker darted to the other side of the street and a fearful accident was again averted on the usually busy road.
Bisola Olajide, a middle aged trader in confectionaries and household provisions, at the Oyo-Ibadan motor park in the ancient town of Ogbomosho, says accidents like that are averted on a daily basis in the city, due to the mercy of God and not necessarily as a result of the carefulness of the numerous truck drivers were throng the city on a daily basis. “We are always praying that we do not record fatalities. And God has been faithful. But how long can we stretch that luck? The tanker drivers are usually careless in their manner of driving. Many of them actually get tired after getting choked up in the massive traffic jam that goes on for hours in the town. Hundreds of such tankers invade the town on a daily basis, as they try to avoid the bad portions of the road leading to Ibadan. We are praying that the road will be completed soon so that the influx of these vehicles into the town will be reduced drastically and we can have some peace,” the petty trader enthuses to Sunday Trust.
The chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ogbomosho branch, Sunday Adekoya, also appeals for same. He told Sunday Trust that the drivers are tired of crying out to the government to finally put finishing touches to the belated rehabilitation works on the Ibadan- Ilorin expressway and its dualisation, so as to put an end to the travails of the drivers plying the route on a daily basis. He says that the pressure has been transferred to the commercial activities in the town of Ogbomosho as the drivers find it increasingly difficult to even navigate the town on their way out due to the large number of tankers and trucks that constantly invade the town, causing a traffic hellhole and invariably making movement near impossible.
He enthuses: “until the government completes the Ibadan-Ilorin expressway, we will continue to experience these problems. We drivers have complained long enough but it seems that the government does not want to assist us. Or how can you explain the fact that the road has remained in this deplorable condition for so long. The Oyo-Ibadan portion is particularly deplorable and has caused so many serious accidents in the past.
That is why we drivers call it the old road because it is really old. Alao-Akala the Oyo state governor, has done a bit to improve the other portion, the Oyo-Ogbomosho highway even though some area can still be improved upon. It is only when the road is eventually completed that drivers can begin to enjoy. Most of us prefer to ply the completed portions which we call new road and shun the old road, but this means that we have to pick passengers who do not have to alight at villages or towns along the old road and you know this may affect business.
There are some important routes that we have to shun at times which include places like Jobele, Fiditi, Akinyele, Onidundu and Onirolongbogbo. Only a few drivers still regularly ply the old road.” He notes that the constant traffic snarl on the old road has forced many residents of such areas as Shasha, Sagbe, Apapa, Maku, Idi-Ose, Akingbile, Moniya, Iroko and Akinyele to relocate to Ibadan metropolis.
He equally says that the police have used the opportunity to fleece the drivers as they usually set up blockades at such bad portions of the road to demand for ‘settlement.’ The drivers have no option but to stop for such unscrupulous officers as they have to halt their vehicles to avoid hitting ubiquitous potholes along the road. He says many of the drivers have been brutalized for not complying with such entreaties. “Apart from the police who daily harass us for bribes, we also have problems with hoodlums who make use of such bad portions to deprive us and our passengers of valuables. Many of our drivers have dreadful tales to share of their travails in the hands of the police and armed robbers. We believe that if the dualisation is eventually completed and the bad road portions rehabilitated, we will not experience such consistent harassments from these people,” he notes.
Sunday Trust visited the old road which is popularly known as Oyo road in Ibadan. It is a major road that links the northern and western parts of the country. The goods coming to the West from the North are always transported with giant sized trailers through the road. Such goods include but are not limited to beans, rice, tomatoes, carrots, cattle and poultry and other farm products. Tanker drivers are among the major users of the narrow road. The tricky road is believed to have sent many people to their untimely deaths.
Ilorin drivers also complain
At the Lagos – Ibadan motor park in Ilorin, the feelings amongst the drivers concerning the issue are similar. Many say that they are considering changing their options in operations, until the government completes the dualisation project which they say is greatly affecting the drivers who ply the route. They are particularly miffed at the lethargy being infused into the project that has dragged on for years. Mutiu Badejo who daily makes runs into the town of Ogbomosho in his 10 seater bus, opines that commercial life of both towns will continue to be affected, until the project is completed. He says that many of the drivers are considering plying other routes pending the completion of the expressway. “Initially, I used to ply the Ilorin-Ibadan route constantly, but when I realized the dangers one faces doing that, I stopped. Now I prefer to just make runs into Ogbomosho which is safer than and not as difficult as going further to Oyo or Ibadan. At least, now I do not have to change spare parts of my vehicle constantly. Maybe, when the expressway is completed, I will consider returning to the route. But I think that will be years from now going by the foot dragging on the project now,” he says.
A tale of serial unfulfilled government vows
The story of the Ilorin-Ibadan expressway, for years has been one replete with tales of woes, unfulfilled promises and insincerity on the part of successive administrations. In 1979, the military head of state and erstwhile Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, listed the project as a priority in his hand over notes to the succeeding government of President Shehu Shagari. When he exited power in 1979, many thought the project would experience speedy attention. That was not to be however. Since then, Nigeria has had over six administrations and over three decades of civilian interspersed with military headship. During this period, the vital nature of the road was as influential in public discourse, just as Obasanjo posited in 1979. But none of the administrations have been able to successfully complete the project despite consistent promises.
In 2001, fate once again thrust the leadership of the nation in the hands of the chief proponent of the project, Obasanjo, and many heaved a sigh of relief in anticipation that the expressway would be completed within weeks, nay, months going by the passion he exhibited the first time he assumed power. That appeared so at first. Obasanjo had gone down memory lane while flagging off the road project a second time that, “plans for the construction of the road started in 1979 when I was military head of state. The design of the road started and we suggested it as a priority project to succeeding governments. I want to thank past governments of being kind enough to leave the work where I left it 21 years ago for me to pick it up again. I want to assure the governors of Oyo and Kwara States that the work will be completed in the shortest possible time and we will be able to move in expressway between Ibadan and Ilorin”. That promise remains largely unfulfilled even many years after the second exit of Obasanjo making many to see it as an unbreakable stronghold.
As at 2001, the Federal Government had awarded two sections of the road. For simplicity, the project had been divided into three sections to be given to three reputable construction firms. The section one takes off from Ojo in Ibadan and terminates at Irepo market in Oyo town. This section is approximately 44.5 kilometres. The section II links Oyo town with Ogbomosho, while section III starts from Ogbomosho and ends at the Gerin-Alimi round-about in Ilorin. The firms involved were promised adequate funding by government officials, a promise that has remained apparently unfulfilled. Records indicate that the Ilorin-Ogbomosho section was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company, RCC, for N12.7 billion, while Ibadan-Oyo section was given to PW Engineering Company, for N14.9 billion, leaving section II, which is the Oyo-Ogbomosho section. The Obasanjo administration had stated that section II would be awarded later on. The construction firms were given 36 months to complete and handover the road to the Federal Government. Sadly a sizeable portion of the vow has not been fulfilled till date.
A vital link road between the south and the north
The Ibadan-Ilorin road is a crucial commercial nerve in the country. This is not only restricted to the people who live in towns and villages along the road, but to the entire nation. At a time, it was the only road linking the North and the South. The road also forms part of the Trans Sahara Highway, starting from Badagry through Sokoto to Niger Republic up to Algeria. Analysts note that the quick construction of the road would contribute to the Trans Sahara trade. Currently, some of the heavy-duty vehicles move goods from the sea port in Lagos, through the Ibadan-Ilorin road to get the cargoes to other parts of the country, especially the northern areas.
Successive governments had made promises to complete the project and others across the federation, but these were largely unfulfilled. The African Development Bank (ADB) even gave the Federal Government a loan for the dualisation of the road sometime in the past. Over N299 billion is believed to have been spent by the Obasanjo administration on road construction and maintenance across the country in eight years, but to many critics, the Ilorin Ibadan case is proof enough that not much is on ground to account for the massive inflow of funds into the sector.
Meanwhile, lives are being lost almost on a daily basis on the road. The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has declared the road hazardous for travellers. According to a World Bank report published in 1992, it was said that a traveler between Ibadan and Ilorin would survive death on the average of five times and that out of every five accidents on the road, four of them would be fatal.
Thumbs up for government?
The last administration on its part, gave itself a pass mark in the area of road construction and rehabilitation. In a report issued by the federal ministry of works and reported by a national daily, titled: “Roads to glory: Legacies of the Obasanjo administration in the roads sector (May 1999-February 2007)” it stated as much as this. According to the report, out of N299.02 billion, the sum of N111.7 billion was spent on the completion of 117 roads and bridge projects covering 4,747.97 kilometers while it spent N187.4 billion on 118 continuing capital projects (covering 6,324.28 kilometers), which have attained 96.6 percent completion levels including new projects.
It also revealed that the administration awarded contracts worth N22 billion between January and February 2007 after a similar December 2006 report. It also stated that a total of 123 highway projects valued at N3.2 billion have been completed while 74 other projects which were under various stages of completion and valued at N3, 868,127,953.34 were on-going. The administration on assumption of duty in May 1999, inherited 107 road and bridge projects, out of which 70 were continuing with unsatisfactory progress and 37 were either stalled or abandoned. Contractors’ certificates for work done were not being paid. Maintenance of Federal roads were virtually absent, the report stated.
Some of the dualisation projects it laid emphasis on are Ibadan-Ife, Benin-Asaba, Mile 3, Diobu-Port Harcourt Airport road with spur to Eagle Island residential layout in Rivers State, Benin Bypass, dualisation of Kaduna refinery road, Onitsha-Owerri road, Abuja-Nyanya-Keffi, Ibadan-Ilorin, Benin-Warri, Lagos-Otta-Abeokuta and Kaduna eastern bypass.
For many who ply the crucial Ilorin-Ibadan expressway due to one business concern or the other, or simply live in one of the numerous residential areas there, it is time the incumbent government finally put to rest, the controversy surrounding the vexed issue of the south western road.