The renewal of Nasarawa towns

Project Shovel, as the two-year old project is known by many, was flagged off in Lafia in the late days of 2011 with the construction of urban roads which first phase was commissioned by General Muhammadu Buhari when he visited to participate in the first anniversary of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura on May 29, 2012. […]

Project Shovel, as the two-year old project is known by many, was flagged off in Lafia in the late days of 2011 with the construction of urban roads which first phase was commissioned by General Muhammadu Buhari when he visited to participate in the first anniversary of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura on May 29, 2012. That same year, the project hit Akwanga, with the provision of the first ever asphalt-coated roads the state has ever seen since creation in 1996.
Keffi followed much later, as headquarters of other local government areas including Wamba, Nasarawa-Eggon, Doma, Awe, Karu and Nasarawa townships respectively.
Project Shovel is an initiative of Nasarawa Development Platform (NDP), a habitat project which has set the foundation for the regeneration of the state urban areas, first providing Nasarawa Geographic Information Service (NAGIS). NDP is an initiation of Siraj Consulting Engineers, Aeroprecisa Limited, and GIS Transport, and Nasarawa State Ministry of Lands, on which shoulders have been added Urban Development – partners in the totality of a habitat project which execution is expected to phase out slums, and in their place, build liveable and sustainable cities. The 24-month period project to execute Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Digital Aerial Mapping, as well as create cadastral zones; all expected to recover the state and create a twin city to Abuja, has already created the roadmap to achieving a miniature Singapore dreamt by Governor Al-Makura.
 More than 17 years after creation, the state was still wearing the old infrastructure including roads and drainages it inherited from the mother state, the old Plateau State. The founding fathers of the young state, who led the agitation to go a separate ways from the mother state, cited structural imbalance, saying the Upper Plateau shut the doors of development against Lower Plateau (as Nasarawa was called then), denying the area infrastructural, economic and political development.
But 17 years later, the only infrastructure that appeared new, especially in Lafia, is what the pioneer military administrations provided, before they handed over to indigenes at the return of democracy in 1999.
Al-Makura repeated his lamentations during the last two anniversaries of state creation, making comparism between Nasarawa and the other five states created on the same sheet of paper. “Ours is, perhaps, the least developed state in the country. Even the states created on the same day as us have made tremendous strides.
“While one equally poor northern state built over 300 kilometres of good roads in the past four years, Nasarawa State has failed to build a single kilometre of asphalt road in 15 years since its creation. Lafia, our state capital, is a sorry spectacle, the result of myopic and gross irresponsibility on the part of some rulers. There just can be no excuses for the appalling state of affairs”, he added.
This project has opened up many locations which were hitherto un-accessed, a development which property owners are taking advantage of, by changing price tags over and over again on their property.           
The roads that have come up are: Stanbic-Kurikyo Road with a distance of 4kms, Alkali Street, and 1km Ministry of Information (Ado Muazu)-Kurikyo Road. The scope of work is surface dressing and side drainages.
There is 900m Abdul Shitu/Ministry of Information-Kurikyo Road Junction, with the scope of surface dressing and side drainages; and 530km Abdul Kura Street with the scope of stone base and asphalt layout as well as side drainages.
There is Lafia-East-Government House-NADP Quarters with spur towards Makon Giji Shendam Road Junction at the distance of 4.8kms; and People’s Bank-New Market Road Junction running into 1.2kms. The scope is asphalt laying and side drainages construction.
Agwai Junction-Angwar Nungu Junction at the distance of 1.5kms, with the scope of asphalt laying and side drainages also came up.
Seventeen years after, the state is also having its first two dual carriage ways being provided by the state government. They are running from Lubona Junction off Makurdi Road, to Lafia-East Primary School through Lafia Modern Market, in the Lafia East section of the metropolis, and from Post Office Junction along Makurdi Road through the Timber Market, to Railway, in the UAC section of the metropolis, respectively.
No section of the metropolis is not touched by Project Shovel, urban authorities have said. The new infrastructure on ground so far, has more than tripled the quantum of infrastructure provided in the entire state, 17 years on.  
A real estate consultant, Musa Adam said, “It’s the first time, ever, that Lafia and the whole of Nasarawa will be witnessing this kind of development. Nasarawa now looks like a construction site, with work happening at every corner. The ongoing construction work has improved the value of property in the state capital.
More new roads have also been proposed: 2.2kms Governor Isah-Tudun Kauri and Old GSM Network Road, 4kms Bukan Sidi-Kurikyo-Government House Road, 1.5kms Lubona Junction-Angwan Jaba-Wadata-Palace Road, rehabilitation of Emir’s Palace Road of 2kms, Stadium Road dualization, as well as construction of channels of about 5kms to empty storm waters out of the stadium area.
There are also the 1.3 Jos Road-GSS Lafia-Kwandere Road, 1.3kms Kwandere Road-16 Mangos-Prison Yard Road, 650 metres UAC-GSS Lafia Road, 1.1kms GSS Lafia-Shinge Road, and 1.35kms Shinge Road rehabilitation.  
Managing Director of Nasarawa State Urban Development Board (NUDB), Mr Adamu Sule told Daily Trust that the jobs are all for completion before June.
A tough talking reformist and supervisor of the project, Sonny Agassi, who is also the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development said NDP will lead to actualization of the birth of this baby – liveable cities project, where urban regeneration and renewal will feature in the overall plan to actualize the development control agenda of the administration.