BY GODFREY UBAKA
THE Christmas season and end of year festivities are here with us again. Apart from the alluring colours of home and street decorations and the cooking whose aroma send out messages of splendour and candour, ending up as treats for feasts, the holiday seasons are generally seen as incomplete without travels to communities and places of recreation to
reconnect with roots and share affection with loved ones. The travels should provide the thrills and frills of the season but because of the state of the roads across the country they have turned to purgatorial drills and asphyxiating death traps. Many would rather fly or remain in their locations to avoid the nightmarish experience our journeys on the roads have turned out to be .
A number of States across the country provide ready alibi of some of the roads in question falling into the category of federal roads. There is however growing concern about these federal roads that have turned into death traps. The poor State of the roads is the primary reason many are scared of traveling on our highways.
The Federal Road Safety Corps has within the period under review embarked on a nationwide operation aimed at reducing the rate of road crashes and enforcing strict compliance with traffic laws during the yuletide and end-of-year travel season. There is however a limit to what can be achieved through this interventionist effort when our network of roads across the country largely remain in a state of regretable dismal disrepair.
The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed had ordered the total deployment of personnel and operational assets across the country under the 2025 Operation Zero Tolerance Exercise. While this FRSC initiative remain largely commendable, reality checks show that the target of zero carnage cannot be achieved with the present state of our roads nationwide. The FRSC initiative
is designed to be an intelligence-driven initiative focused on round-the-clock patrols, rapid rescue services, and aggressive enforcement of traffic regulations to curb reckless driving and prevent avoidable crashes that leave many maimed and many more dead.
To put this situation under control,Commanding officers of FRSC have therefore been instructed to lead from the front and ensure the optimal use of patrol vehicles, ambulances, speed-limiting devices, and other safety equipment.
Beyond enforcement, the ongoing operation includes massive public enlightenment campaigns. FRSC personnel have also been directed to intensify safety advocacy at motor parks, markets, religious centres, and other public spaces.
Motorists are therefore being reminded that speeding, drunk driving, dangerous overtaking, overloading, and disregard for road signs remain major causes of fatal crashes. No commuter deserves to die on our highways. Nigerians deserve better and safer road network.
A friend once said with a high level of conviction and I had every reason to believe that one striking feature that marks a gulf of difference between developed societies , developing and the underdeveloped is the priority placed on the state of their road network . Roads as key development infrastructure make a whole world of difference between cities that are planned and communities still awaiting centralized efforts at layout, planning and design initiatives.
Some informed opinions have insisted that good motorable road is not just a critical signpost to development, it is a vital determinant of development itself with lot of multiplier effects. Roads are therefore the purveyors for the functional and practical realization of the set goals of the other sectors of the economy for the overall development of society. The poor state of our road network remains a critical reason for the poor performance of the economy. So much controversy has been generated concerning whose responsibility it is to fix or maintain roads across the country. In Nigeria, Federal roads are constructed and maintained by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency. Roads are usually categorized as federal when they are connecting one State with another especially when their initial construction was done by the federal government.
These roads currently measuring about 36,000km stretch , pass through States connecting other States but are duly considered the responsibility of the Federal government. Their repairs and maintenance remain statutorily the responsibility of the federal ministry of Works through the federal roads maintenance agency, FERMA. Budgetary provisions are therefore made annually, sometimes in trillions of Naira towards ensuring that this responsibility is carried out . However one major issue confronting Nigerians today is the failure of the Federal government in this regards resulting in the harrowing experiences by commuters and parts of the country being literally cut off from the rest.
The road network in Nigeria can be classified into three : Trunk ‘A’ roads, Trunk ‘B’ roads and the minor roads . The trunk A roads are constructed and maintained by the federal government. The point need to be clarified that federal highways are essentially designed for national connectivity and therefore are subject to federal standards and funding, while state highways cater to local and regional traffic needs, governed by state regulations and funding sources. Private sector initiatives should be encouraged for construction and regular maintenance of some of these roads even if this will require tolling of some of these roads for viability and sustainability.
The Benin-Warri Expressway as well as Asaba- Benin highway have long turned death traps. , marred by potholes and gullies. Long distance travellers have since resolved to be diverting through towns and communities as a way of avoiding the dilapidated federal roads.Federal roads in Delta State critically begging for repairs cut across Effurun-Agbarho-Ughelli-Ughwerun-Patani-Bayelsa East West; Benin-Agbor-Asaba-Onitsha; Warri-Effurun-Sapele-Oghara-Benin; Sapele-Amukpe-Eku-Abraka-Obiaruku-Agbor; and the DSC-Aladja-Ovwian-Mofor-Effurun-NPA roads.
The Benin-Warri Expressway which is less than 100-kilometre long, a strategic commercial route linking the two oil-bearing states with others and plied regularly by heavy-duty trucks has remained almost impassable as the journey of less than one hour could drag on for the entire day. Because of the terrible state of the federal roads, many unscrupulous persons often lay siege, day and night, at the many failed portions to rob, maim, and abduct innocent travellers. Besides, the poor state of the roads hampers economic activities as agricultural produce cannot be transported easily to areas where they are needed.
Incidentally, the Warri-Benin Expressway is part of the East-West Road connecting the states in the Niger Delta . Many cannot make sense out of a system which allows the Federal Government to be in Abuja and own roads in Delta State. Under an agreed system of repair and refund mechanism, every state government should be allowed to maintain the roads in their states as the current state of these roads are constituting major hindrance to development.
The failure of federal roads has become a national tragedy that calls for the declaration of state of emergency. Journeys that are supposed last for a few hours now take the whole day.
Making Nigeria’s highways safer is a multifaceted effort that requires a combination of government action, technological solutions, and responsible behavior from all road users. The primary agency responsible is the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), which works with partners like the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
Government and Agency Actions
Enforcement and Patrols: The FRSC deploys operatives across major highways to enforce compliance with safety standards and traffic rules, utilizing penalties such as fines and mandatory driving school sessions for violators.
Infrastructure Improvement: FERMA needs to be more actively engaged in systematic road maintenance, including patching of potholes, clearing of drainages and restoring of damaged sections to ensure smoother and safer travels. The government also need to focus on safer road designs, high-quality road markings, adequate signage, and improved lighting at junctions.
Emergency Response: Efforts are ongoing to strengthen emergency response systems, including ambulance services and medical facilities, to provide prompt attention and care to accident victims .
Regulation and Policy: The government implements and enforces a range of regulations, including mandatory annual roadworthiness testing for vehicles, speed limits (50 km/h in urban areas, 80 km/h on rural roads, 100 km/h on expressways), and rules against drunk driving and phone use while driving. The FRSC also work more closely with international partners like the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) to adopt global best practices.
Technology Adoption: There is a push for the nationwide rollout of automated enforcement technologies, such as speed cameras and number plate recognition systems, to monitor and manage traffic flow effectively.
Individual and Public Responsibility Road safety is a shared responsibility, and individual actions are crucial. Responsibilities for road users include:
Adhering to Traffic Laws: Always obey speed limits, traffic signals, and signs.
Vehicle Maintenance: Ensure your vehicle is in good, roadworthy condition before any journey, checking brakes, tyres, and lights.
Avoiding Distractions and Impairment: Refrain from using mobile phones while driving and never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The myths about the Ember months should be disabused even as road safety tips be better communicated amongst our people.
All occupants of a vehicle must wear seatbelts, and motorcyclists and their passengers must wear helmets.
We should also discourage night travels where possible, plan journeys ahead, and maintain a heightened awareness of our surroundings. We need to drive to be alive and not to end up in the hospital or worst still in the morgue.
