The Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa highway remains a vital link between the southern and northern parts of the country, but KAYODE OLAITAN in this report, writes that the road is a nightmare for motorists

The use of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road became more imperative recently, as motorists were forced to use it because of the flooding of Lokoja, which prevented many road users from using the Lagos-Lokoja-Abuja road, another vital thoroughfare.

As a result of the Lokoja flooding, motorists travelling to Lagos from Abuja were advised to take the Mokwa-Jebba-Ilorin road, while those travelling to the eastern parts of the country and some places in the North were diverted to Ajaokuta-Ankpa-Makurdi road.

Prior to the sudden increase in vehicular traffic on the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road, statistics indicate that more than 40 per cent of articulated vehicles moving from the South to the North ply this road, which also serves as a by-pass to some motorists travelling across the country.

In spite of the highway's relevance, many concerned citizens bemoan the road's neglect over the years and call for urgent actions to rehabilitate it.

Mr. Joseph Adelola, an evangelist whose car developed some problems in Mokwa during a recent trip to Ibadan, confessed that travelling on the road was certainly a traumatic experience because of its deplorable state and the menace of highway robbers.

The cleric, who was initially travelling from Abuja to Ibadan via the Lokoja route, was advised at Lokoja to make a detour because of the flood, which had largely made the road impassable.

Adelola said he soon recalled that there was an alternative route from Suleja, Niger State, to Ilorin, where he could proceed to Ibadan.

He lamented that he was not even able to get to Jebba before his car developed some engine problems, owing to the bad state of the road.

Narrating his experience, Adelola said, "I had to sleep in Mokwa and continued the trip the following morning. The journey from Mokwa to Ilorin which, under normal conditions should not take more than four hours, took me over eight hours because of the road's condition.

"I have not used this road for quite some time; the flooding in Lokoja compelled me to use the road; I didn't know that it had gone really bad."

Automedics columnist, Mr. Kunle Sonaike, explains says, "The effects of bad roads on our vehicles are dangerous to both the vehicle and the owner/driver. They can cause devastating consequences.

"Potholes cause premature damage to suspension and steering components. Tyres and rims can also be damaged by potholes. Shocks and struts are mostly affected. The bump is transferred to the vehicle; and the extent of the bump travels from the tyre and wheel directly to the shock absorber.

"Large potholes can cause the shock or strut to bottom out within itself. The shock is then transferred to the coil or leaf-spring of the vehicle. In addition to these suspension components, control arms, ball joints, tie rods, idler arms, wheel bearings, axle shafts and several others are all susceptible to pothole damage. The steering and suspension components are also compromised under duress.

"Potholes are the leading contributors to vehicles needing alignment. Under- or over-inflated tyres can be more easily damaged than one with proper inflation. Rims can dent or crack from severe pothole strikes. Long-term effects of damaged suspension or steering components can lead to premature tyre wear and poor handling of the vehicle. In severe cases of pothole damage, even lower engine and under-carriage components such as the exhaust system can be damaged."

Adelola experienced virtually all of this. As he relates, "Travelling from Bida to Mokwa was a terrible experience. My car's brake-fluid pipe got broken, the brake pads were damaged by the potholes and the car developed a lot of mechanical problems."

Worse still is the problem of armed robbery that travellers have to contend with on this highway. Adelola attests to this, "I had to lodge in a guest house in Mokwa because some motorists warned me against driving on the road at night so as not to fall into the hands of armed robbers."

The deplorable condition of the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa highway has elicited the concern of prominent citizens, including that of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar.

The sultan, who was in Ilorin recently for a meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, expressed concern about the traumatic experience road users are subjected to and the effects of the road condition on the area's economy.

He said, "It is important to make the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road motorable; thousands of travellers have suffered on the road. I learnt that a contract was given by the last administration for the road's reconstruction but up till now, nothing has happened."

Analysts underscore the need for the government to pay attention to the conditions of major thoroughfares across the country because of the importance of road transport to the economy.

They say transporting people and goods by road will increase exponentially if the state of the roads is good.

Corroborating this view, Mr. Kab Lawal, a zonal commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, noted that reports of accidents arising from bad roads across the country had somehow scared away potential tourists and investors.

At a retreat on road safety in Lagos, Lawal underlined the link between national development and road safety, adding that in 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for increased safety on the road.

He recalled that during a debate on the resolution, UN member states, including Nigeria, agreed that road traffic injuries had been causing serious health and development crises across the world and called for urgent national and international strategies to tackle the problem.

Apparently, in response to the growing concern about the state of the country's roads, the Federal Government recently announced its intention to reconstruct some roads, including the Ilorin-Mokwa-Kotangora-Kaduna road, into dual carriageways.

The Minister of State for Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, announced the government plans when a delegation of construction experts from India paid him a courtesy call. He pledged that the government was eager to collaborate with construction firms in an effort to rehabilitate the roads, saying that the measure was part of the government's policy to attract foreign investors.

Similarly, the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, said the ministry had spent more than N44bn, representing 93 per cent of the N47. 5bn that was released to it for the second quarter of this year on road projects alone.

He, however, noted that inadequate funding, among other challenges, accounted for the delayed implementation of road projects.

Onolememen pledged that the ministry's allocation in the 2013 budget would be used to complete ongoing projects, which were critical to the socio-economic wellbeing of the citizens.

As regards roads' rehabilitation, the Managing Director of Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Mr. Gabriel Amuchi, said the agency had started the rehabilitation of federal roads across the country, beginning with the 200-km Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway.

In a comment after inspecting the road, Amuchi said the project was in fulfillment of the government's directive to make federal roads motorable before the end of the year.

Such assurances notwithstanding, road users call for the establishment of an independent road management agency to undertake maintenance of all existing roads across the country in a more efficient way.

A businessman, Mr. Rotimi Iyunade, urged government to look for alternative means of financing road maintenance projects on a regular basis, rather than waiting for citizens' complaints on the state of the roads before taking action.

However, observers stress the need to strengthen FERMA to enable it do an aggressive road maintenance programme aimed at keeping all the federal roads in good condition at all times.

They also underscore the need for citizens to adopt good maintenance culture, insisting that the roads' maintenance is also a responsibility of all road users.