I travelled to my village
in Benue state at the end of last year and one major observation, is
that I would put the state of the roads on top of my list, before any other
factor if I were in the position to give a report on what the likely causes of accidents might be, which is at an astoundingly high rate.
We got into Benue state and went through
Makurdi, but after Makurdi, some parts of the road were in a worse state than I
can remember. The road from Gwer local government area (LGA) to Aliade LGA and
Taraku LGA were horrible. If we were talking only about pot holes, that might have been less
grave, but I am talking about deep pot holes that have also eroded.
Certain parts of the road were not motorable and drivers on that side would have to swerve into the other lane of oncoming vehicles to avoid any tragedy. This in itself is extremely risky but drivers are left with no choice.
That brings me to another point…I am yet to understand why some federal roads are not dualised! It’s just one strip, so people going in both directions know to be on their side of the road. No dividers, nothing. This makes it pretty easy for countless accidents to happen. Between Otukpo and Otobi (where there is a Federal Government College), the erosion is epic, a part of the road has been eroded into one lane!
Certain parts of the road were not motorable and drivers on that side would have to swerve into the other lane of oncoming vehicles to avoid any tragedy. This in itself is extremely risky but drivers are left with no choice.
That brings me to another point…I am yet to understand why some federal roads are not dualised! It’s just one strip, so people going in both directions know to be on their side of the road. No dividers, nothing. This makes it pretty easy for countless accidents to happen. Between Otukpo and Otobi (where there is a Federal Government College), the erosion is epic, a part of the road has been eroded into one lane!
