Jega to Kontagora: 8 hours of dangerous journey on 300km road
The Jega-Kontagora road is one of the oldest roads in the northern part of the country. It was constructed many years before Kebbi State was carved out of the old Sokoto State in 1991. It is the major road that links the state to the southern part of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja […]
The Jega-Kontagora road is one of the oldest roads in the northern part of the country. It was constructed many years before Kebbi State was carved out of the old Sokoto State in 1991. It is the major road that links the state to the southern part of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja through Kontagora in Niger State. Most goods from other states are brought into Kebbi through this road. The 300 kilometre road stretches through seven local government areas: Jega, Mayanma, Koko/Besse, Shanga and Yauri in Kebbi State, Kuchi in Sokoto and terminates at Kontagora in Niger State.
As discussion on the bad condition, accidents and armed robbery incidents that are often recorded on the road came up among passengers en-route Yauri from Birnin Kebbi, the driver sensing our correspondent’s anxiety said “Oga is this your first time on this road” When I sought to know why he asked he said “If you have not gone through it before please pray for us to reach Yauri without experiencing any of the incidents that we usually face on this road every day. On Monday, a Toyota Corolla car (First Lady) was coming from Yauri, it ran into that pot-hole and somersaulted. Four out of its five occupants died on the spot. That same day in the evening another Toyota Corolla, (Fish Eye) while avoiding a ditch that is on the road around Giron-Masa village at Shanga also lost control, somersaulted several times and killed its sole occupant. At Tashan-Rogo, Shanga, a Toyota car ran into a ditch, veered off the road and ran over a man and his wife where they were fixing their motorcycle in the morning. This road has become so dangerous to those of us plying it every day and other travellers. I don’t know what our offence is, we don’t know why government should forget that such an important road like this exists here. If you know the number of people that have died while travelling on this road, you will understand what I meant when I said it is a dangerous road.”
Jega to Kongora is not more than a three hours journey, but given the terrible pot holes and other dangerous conditions of the road, it may take about eight to nine hours to drive or journey through it in pain and fear of any eventuality- accident and armed robbery incidents that are common on the road in recent times.
The sorry-state of the road is a source of concern to drivers, traders, travellers and farmers, particularly those from the five local government areas of Kebbi along the road. They told our correspondent that they were particularly worried that its bad state might affect their agricultural activities, especially at this period that the state government is embarking on massive cultivation of rice and wheat under the Anchor Borrowers programme in Shanga and Yauri, two of the badly affected local government areas.
Due to many years of neglect there are several pot holes and other dangerous ditches in virtually every section of the road, as it stretches from Jega to Kontagora. Because of this, it has become a sort of haven for armed robbers and other bandits who often lurk along it ,and have a field day dispossessing travellers and motorists of their belongings and valuable items. Few years ago, The Sun newspaper’s correspondent in Sokoto State, Alhaji Ahmed Oyerinde was killed by armed robbers on the road around Kontagora two days to Sallah while he was travelling to Offa, in Kwara State. Many others have suffered similar fate while travelling on the road due to its bad conditions.
Few months into the first term of the former governor, Usman Saidu Dakingari some members of the National Assembly led by the then Senate Committee Chairman on Works, Senator Umar Dahiru Tambuwal came to Kebbi State to assess the condition of the road. They said it has been included in that year’s budget for rehabilitation, but almost 10 years after nothing has been done on the road.
Last year some members of the National Assembly from Kebbi State also came to inspect the road. They told journalists they were making effort for it to be presented in the budget. That was the last time anything was heard from them about the road.
The Emir of Yauri Dr. Zayyanu Abdullahi has at different times made appeal for the rehabilitation of the road. Few days ago when Governor Bagudu paid a courtesy visit to him at his palace during an inspection tour of the rice farms in the area, the emir said “We contributed about 80 percent of our land to the Hydro HYPADEC yet we have no good road. This road that comes from Jega, passing through Yauri to Kontagora has been neglected for many years now, yet it is the road that connects Kebbi State with the rest of the states in the country. He said the federal government should take urgent action on the road because its poor condition is affecting the economy of the State, as well as endangering lives of the people. “Its reconstruction will end the plight of people in the seven local government areas along the road, and those of other users.”
Another driver who spoke on the condition of the road, Hayatu Salihu said “When we buy cars for commercial purpose here, we don’t use them for more than eight months before we sell them out and buy other ones. No one can maintain a car on this road for a year because the road would have damaged it beyond imagination. This is the dilemma we are facing on this road. Because the road is bad, armed robbers often come out at any time of the day and we are helpless. Since government has refused to repair it despite repeated call by our emirs and others, we would continue to pray that one day Allah will touch their hearts and they will remember this important road.”
At Keri village, the bridge between the border of Shanga and Koko is on the verge of collapse, yet motorists have no alternative than to drive through it. The driver said “What can we do in this circumstance? We would continue to pray to Allah to spare us. We know the bridge could collapse anytime but we must pass through it to get to our destinations. May Allah continue to be with us as we pass through it every day.”
A few kilometers away from the bridge at Tandi village some volunteers were seen patching pot-holes on the road to make it a bit easier for motorists to navigate. It was gathered that the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) few years ago started rehabilitation and patching works at some sections of the road around Koko, Shanga and Kuchi areas. They also did repair work of about 13 kilometres of it near Yauri, but the agency appears to have abandoned its rehabilitation work on the road, as there was nothing on the ground to suggest any repair work is still going on there.
A top official of Kebbi State Ministry of Works who spoke to Daily Trust under condition of anonymity said Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu is at present making effort to draw the attention of the federal government to the road. “He is in talks with the Federal Ministry of Works on the issue of the road. He is even determined to use the state resources to put it in shape if there is need for that. That road is of economic importance to the state and it is very strategic.”