NSCDC nabs 6-man car snatching syndicate in Abuja

Residents of Kanzo, Yaba, Zhigba, Gurufufu and Gumanyi communities in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to urgently intervene in fixing the deplorable road network linking the rural communities. The residents, who spoke with Abuja Metro on Saturday, described the condition of the roads […]

Residents of Kanzo, Yaba, Zhigba, Gurufufu and Gumanyi communities in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to urgently intervene in fixing the deplorable road network linking the rural communities.

The residents, who spoke with Abuja Metro on Saturday, described the condition of the roads as terrible, especially during the rainy season when many of the communities are cut off from neighbouring villages and major towns.

They lamented that the poor state of the roads has continued to affect economic and social activities in the area, particularly farming, which remains the major occupation of the people.

According to them, more than 95 per cent of residents are peasant farmers who cultivate various crops, but transporting farm produce to markets during harvest periods has become a major challenge due to the bad roads.

A farmer and resident of Kanzo community, Yakubu Musa, said villagers often mobilise themselves to repair portions of the road before transporting their produce to markets in Kuje, Rubochi and Abaji.

He explained that community members, including youths and elders from neighbouring villages, usually contribute effort and resources to make the roads passable during the harvest season.

“Whenever harvest season approaches, we fix a date when villagers from neighbouring communities come together to repair some portions of the road before transporting crops to markets in Kuje, Rubochi or Abaji,” he said.

Another resident and farmer from Gurufufu community, Iliya Ayuba, said the deplorable road had continued to deny residents access to social and economic opportunities.

He also identified poor telecommunications services as another major challenge confronting residents of the area.
Ayuba noted that kidnappers had, over the years, taken advantage of the difficult terrain, valleys and hills along the road to establish hideouts and attack residents.

He, however, acknowledged that security had improved significantly following the efforts of the current FCT Minister and the deployment of security operatives and vigilantes to the area.

“Unlike four or five years ago, nobody could travel between Gumanyi and Gwargwada because of the activities of kidnappers who used the bad terrain as hideouts. But we thank God that with the coming of the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, incidents of kidnapping around the axis have reduced,” he said.

He appealed to the minister to rehabilitate and possibly dualise the road to improve access between the communities and Kuje town.

According to him, many civil servants from the communities face difficulties commuting daily because they are forced to take longer routes through Abaji and Gwagwalada before reaching Abuja city or Kuje.

A community leader, Yohana Madaki, also lamented the lack of basic infrastructure in the area, especially good roads and telecommunications services.

He accused politicians of abandoning the communities after making promises during election campaigns.

“That has been the trend over the years. During campaigns, politicians come and promise to fix the roads or liaise with the FCT Administration to intervene, but after winning elections, we don’t hear from them again,” he said.

Madaki noted that Kuje Area Council has more than 200 villages, many of which lack access roads, making them vulnerable to criminal activities.

He added that most of the communities also lack access to healthcare facilities, forcing residents to transport sick persons and pregnant women on motorcycles through the bad roads to hospitals in Rubochi or Kuje.

“Even pregnant women are transported on motorcycles because vehicles cannot use the road, except during the dry season when villagers manage to repair some parts of it,” he said.

The residents appealed to the FCT Administration to urgently rehabilitate the roads to boost economic activities, improve security and ease the suffering of rural dwellers in the area.