Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala road deserves urgent attention

For decades, the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road served as one of the most vital arteries in Nigeria’s northeastern economy. Stretching from the Borno State capital to the border town of Gamboru Ngala, this route once pulsed with life—supporting trade, agriculture, social connection, and humanitarian response. Today, it is largely forgotten, neglected, and broken. The irony is […]

For decades, the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road served as one of the most vital arteries in Nigeria’s northeastern economy. Stretching from the Borno State capital to the border town of Gamboru Ngala, this route once pulsed with life—supporting trade, agriculture, social connection, and humanitarian response. Today, it is largely forgotten, neglected, and broken.

The irony is painful: a road so critical to both commerce and security is also one of the most abandoned. Anyone who has dared to travel that axis recently will tell stories of potholes so deep they resemble trenches, checkpoints so many they feel like barriers, and security threats so constant that the journey becomes a gamble with one’s life.

This is not just a matter of transportation. It is a matter of survival—for border communities like Dikwa, Mafa, Logomani, and Ngala, whose access to food, medical supplies, education, and development depends heavily on this single road.

Before Boko Haram’s insurgency turned the northeast into a battlefield, the Maiduguri–Gamboru road was a trade route that linked Nigeria to Central Africa. It connected us with Cameroon, Chad, and beyond. Livestock, onions, grains, and textiles moved freely. Local farmers found buyers. Businesses thrived. But all that is a distant memory.

Now, humanitarian agencies operating in Borno rely heavily on this road to reach millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Yet, every aid delivery is delayed or rerouted because the road has become a logistical nightmare. Trucks get stuck. Convoys move in fear. And communities wait days or weeks for the help they desperately need.

A functional, well-maintained road doesn’t just serve civilians—it helps military and law enforcement patrol effectively, respond to threats quickly, and build presence in once-isolated regions. Bad roads give terrorists the upper hand; good roads give the state a fighting chance.

There are also economic costs to this negligence. Traders from Gamboru Ngala and surrounding LGAs now pay exorbitant transport fees just to get their goods to Maiduguri. Many vehicles refuse to ply the route. Others break down and are abandoned mid-journey. These costs are passed down to already struggling consumers.

And yet, not once in the last two years has the federal government listed the Maiduguri–Gamboru road among its priority reconstruction projects.

Community leaders, youth groups, traditional rulers, and civil society organizations in Borno have consistently called for this road to be fixed. But they have been met with silence, bureaucracy, or vague promises. How much longer should these communities wait?

The Ministry of Works, North East Development Commission, and federal legislators representing Borno have a duty to speak out and act now. The 2026 budget should not pass without a clear allocation for the Maiduguri–Gamboru road. Not just penciled in for future planning—but funded, contracted, and monitored.

Abraham Yakubu Wabas is a 300 level student, Department of Mass Communication Department, University of Maiduguri