Menace Of Bad Federal Roads In Anambra State              

Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Most federal roads in Anambra State are in states of total disrepair. The woeful state of Federal roads in Anambra State has come into immense focus with the deep gully erosion at Oba town that has cut into the Onitsha-Owerri highway. There is no gainsaying that this sad development is an emergency that demands the urgent attention of the Federal Government.

Even as the erosion menace developed in Anambra State, there is the clear and present danger of the Southeast and South-South geo-political zones being cut off in the days ahead. Federal intervention is needed to restore inter-state travels. The Onitsha-Owerri road erosion is a matter that calls for dire national attention. All stakeholders must stand up to be counted in tackling the menace.

The strategic importance of the road as the only link between the Southeast and South-South makes it imperative that a holistic solution must be found fast. If the road is not fixed quickly, the essence of the newly commissioned Second Niger Bridge will be hardly optimized.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should step in as a hands-on leader to stop the looming disaster. He should immediately see it as a priority project. As Anambra State is on the verge of being cut off from a substantial swathe of the old Eastern Region of our country, it is incumbent on the Federal Government to put the machinery in motion for instant repair work. The intervention work ought to start immediately because lives have been lost and a good number of vehicles have ended up in the gully. Private residences and factories on the periphery are seriously threatened by the speedily progressing landslide.

This cannot be left to linger for any moment longer. The entire road must not be allowed to cave in tragically. For crying out loud, it’s a federal highway. The disaster zone in Ọba, in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State is an open sore that has since been cordoned off from vehicular traffic and the general public.  The strategic intervention work by Anambra State Government to forestall the progression needs a buy-in by the Federal Ministry of Works.

There is the standing directive that the Federal Government will henceforth not pay any compensation to states that undertake to repair federal roads. But the state cannot stay idly by when a major artery of commerce is cut off. Something has to give, and the necessary repair work needs to be done.

In truth, no state can boast of enough resources to undertake the reconstruction of dilapidated federal roads. Anambra State is therefore in a pitiable state given the menace of erosion on many of the roads. The Federal Government needs to come to the aid of Anambra State through concerted action to rein in what may become a catastrophic disaster.

As things stand today, Anambra State has well over one thousand active erosion sites scattered all over the local governments and towns. The catastrophe in Oba town on the Onitsha-Owerri highway is just one of the many erosion points. The Anambra State Government could not but step in on emergency basis because the Onitsha-Owerri road erosion wash-off at Oba is a major devastation. The state could not afford to wait for the Federal Government even though it ought to be their responsibility.

The people bearing the hardship are those domiciled in Anambra, and as such the state government owes it as a duty to embark on the urgent intervention to arrest the situation before other measures are taken on the gaping mudslide at kilometre 8 + 100 Onitsha-Owerri road. The progression of the erosion was so high and dangerous such that it required engaging a contractor to stop it for now. It is noteworthy that the state machineries are in talks with the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to give proper attention to the problem. The matter is so menacing that it cannot wait for a long process. The state has thus far not had much of an option than to move a contractor to the site with the objective to stop further mudslides. Of course being an emergency situation, no formal contract has been awarded for the work. This can only be done pending the approval of the Federal Government.

It stands to prick the conscience of the Federal Government because the Southeast is suffering due to the unrepaired road amongst other federal roads in the zone. Already the evil portion has claimed some casualties. It was because the road suffered from lack of maintenance for so long a time that it degenerated to the level of being cut off by erosion. The Federal Government cannot afford to wait until both sides of the road are severed thus leading to the severance of the Southeast from the South-South. The food baskets in the hinterland will be equally affected. Unless something is not done fast the investment in the Second Niger Bridge will come unstuck.

At the heart of the matter is erosion control which only the federal Government has sufficient funds to handle. Such national ecological disasters cost a lot of money. It’s time the Federal Government declares a state of emergency on the erosion sites in Anambra State because Anambra is the erosion capital of Anambra. Had this been done long ago, the Onitsha-Owerri highway disaster at Oba would not have happened.

In the end, this is a sorry state of affairs that Anambra State cannot handle alone. Federal support is definitely needed.