The State of Nigerian roads

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!

Idoma Ol'Adam

The last time I was in my hometown/village long enough to observe anything was eleven years ago.

So last year, my family went back for Christmas.

Benue, the food basket of the nation

The packing? The cars had to be loaded the evening before…two families were travelling together. So we had a minibus and another car to go with. It was a long, 8 hour, but smooth drive. We set off just after 6am.

I was quite disappointed with the final stretch of the road between Otukpo and Otobi. Normally, we have to pass through Otukpo to get to Otobi. Otukpo is a local government in Benue state and the most popular Idoma town/village. It is the local government which my villages, Otobi - my mum’s village and Onyuwei - my dad’s village, fall under. I have not been to my villages many times, but the few times I have been there, the thing that has always struck my siblings and I is the red sand (as we like to say) in Otukpo. It is still the same, the roads are largely untarred. Between Otukpo and Otobi, where we spent 5 out of 6 days, the roads leave a little to be desired. Erosion has eaten deep into the roads and to make it worse, there are so many potholes. The irony is that someone represents this very constituency at the National Assembly, and has been in that position for 15 years…story for another day!