https://www.thecable.ng/fashola-work-no-one-talking

BY MODESTUS UMENZEKWE

I have in the last few months been travelling to my hometown of Achina in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State at a high frequency for reasons which need not be stated here. I have been going by road because the road is today much better and safer than, say, this time last year. Another reason I travel by road is to have a firsthand experience with a view to reporting to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who always solicits for such frank reports with a view to taking appropriate action.

Whereas the Onitsha-Asaba-Benin-Ore sections of the Lagos to Onitsha Highway have in the last few years been generally good, the Lagos-Shagamu-Ore sections are in a mess. One is glad to report that tremendous reconstruction work is currently taking place in the worst of all the failed sections. Reynold Construction Company (RCC) has divided the Lagos-Sagamu-Ore sections into four parts and is working on them simultaneously in a rather frenetic manner, even in the rains. In a fashion reminiscent of the mass attack principle, RCC is reconstructing what remains of the Ondo State section of the highway, the Ijebu Ode part, the Shagamu end as well as the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. When I was driving from Anambra State to Lagos two days ago, I had to stop briefly at the Ijebu Ode site because what is going on there looks more like new construction rather than rehabilitation. Rev Sister Christy Okonkwo, an impressed Catholic nun who is from Nnewi in Anambra State and works with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Congregation at Epe in Lagos State, remarked after watching the massive deployment of equipment, machines and human resources: “There is still hope for Nigeria”.

In the past, such massive reconstruction which always resulted in the closure of at least one side of the highway had invariably led to traffic gridlock. Reverend Sister Christy narrated how she and her colleagues spent three hours on one spot while going for the funeral of a colleague’s relative. Like the rest of her colleagues, she consequently developed a phobia for travelling by road to the Southeast and South-south from Lagos. But this time traffic is directed professionally not just by the RCC workers and Federal Road Safety Corps officials but also by teams of police and army personnel whose presence injects discipline and order in the heads of commercial motorists, especially those of minibuses whose irresponsible driving exacerbates traffic gridlock. What is more, the conspicuous presence of soldiers in particular has driven away armed robbers and kidnappers from the highway. Capitalizing on the failed portions which naturally forced motorists to stop, kidnappers on one occasion shot an Igbo priest with the Warri Catholic Diocese in the hand and took away a young boy with him and on another occasion took away nuns of the St Louis Congregation in Ondo State who were travelling on a bus and hid them in a thick forest for a whole 10 days. Today all this criminal nonsense on the Lagos-Onitsha Highway is history.

Lest I forget, while driving through Benin, we noticed there were two awfully failed sections of this extraordinarily busy highway. One is directly opposite the NIPCO filling station on the Benin-Agbor section of the road while the other on the Benin Bypass. Mr Fashola was contacted on his personal phone, and he quickly began to ask questions about the exact locations and extent of the failed portions. It was evident that the officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had yet to report the state of the road to him. When he was satisfied with details of the failed portions, he promised to immediately get in touch with the contractor to assess the rehabilitation and revert to him. Talk of responsive leadership. Talk of working with passion and commitment.

One thing about Fashola is that he executes every assignment as though his life depended on it. He is, to a considerable extent, the face of what the Catholic Church has in recent decades popularized as the common good. He is also a considerable representation of the concept of servant leadership. A few weeks ago when it was brought to his knowledge that the Asaba end of the Lagos-Onitsha Expressway had collapsed, he immediately directed Julius Berger which was working on another project in the neighbourhood to move to the site of the failed part. Work is going on there right now. The rainy season has always been cited by various state governments and the Federal Ministry of Works as the main justification for suspending road construction or rehabilitation by this time of the year, but this explanation cuts no ice with Fashola who, as we have seen right from his days as the Lagos State governor, works all year round.

One has not in the last few months been travelling to other parts of the country, but one understands that road reconstruction is taking place all over the federation everywhere there is a provision in the budget for it. Even the most awfully failed part of the Okija-Ihiala-Uli-Egbu-Oguta-Ahoada linking Anambra, Imo and Rivers states which is not in the captured in this year’s budget is being rehabilitated because it is considered a national emergency.

It has to be noted that RCC, Julius Berger and Integrated Services Ltd are among several companies which moved to sites before the release of the first quarter of this year’s budget. They went to work without the payment of mobilization fees in these economically hard times because of their trust in the integrity of the minister. As management experts have long noted, integrity or character is a most invaluable asset in business transactions whether in the private or public sector. In other words, as more releases are made, both the scope and intensity of road work by the Federal Government will escalate.

Fashola assumed duties as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing only last November, that is, less than a year now. Before he could settle in office, take stock of things, make his own projections and then mobilise funds, critics had gone to town, with some wondering if he could run this enlarged ministry successfully. If Fashola could excell as the Lagos State governor in a way which earned him great praise and awards from the greatest global media and think tanks, he should be expected to continue on the trajectory of high service delivery. Now that work is going on even in the rainy season on federal roads, why have even the media been shy to report it? Well, if the media fail to report these developments, frequent road users like us who feel and experience the massive work daily cannot deny the evidence of our eyes.

God bless Nigeria.

Umenzekwe (modestusokechukwu661@yahoo.com, 08037202353) is immediate past president, Odunade building materials dealers association, Lagos

Because one group of Nigerians judge Fashola by the standards he set while he was governor of Lagos and that standard is high. Higher than fixing roads, it is a standard that will need the ministry he heads to conceive, execute and complete huge plans and such must make us go "wow, this is change"

Yes the re-constructions are commendable but blow our brains uncle Fash. We know you can

The other group are people so blinded by hatred and ethno-religious madness that they are just blind and hence dont see nothing. So even if the ministry under Fash does miracles, they wont see it

They will not see it

They believe in sharing the money

We wailers are blinded by hatred and jealousy. We will never see anything good in the performance of the president and any of his Afonja ministers. The only thing we want to see is #bringbackGEJ and #BringbackCorruption.......IPOB.

Tribalists and bigoted vultures are here already to point fingers..

Instead of them to concentrate on the topic and make a resounding contribution, No.. They would rather feed their wickedness and hateful vacuum..

Mynd44 seunmsg when are you gonna grow up and don't stink up beautiful threads meant to bridge the understanding of Nigeria towards the roles of this useless administration..

Why won't you give people the chance to comment freely on the only good report on this regime for months now without polluting the front page with your obstinate views..

Ok ooo

Story for the gods.
Pictures for Nigerians.

The standard he has set for himself is so high, so people expect much more from him. He needs to hasten up and make d difference clear for all (especially d wailers) to see.

Mediocrity everywhere.

The 3 in 1 minister is working, no long story!

what can I say..
people see what they want to see.
I see progress
others see hunger.
we shall get there's...

Who is this one? Which work abeg?

dis writer get mind still dey lie for dis government

Isn't that the same sagamu to ore expressway that was reportedly constructed by Gej

egwekwe:
Isn't that the same sagamu to ore expressway that was reportedly constructed by Gej

God af messi on yhu. Constructed? The only construction by GEJ is your post.

Stop deceiving that man please because nothing has changed in the power sector

because we want him to do the magic in power not roads

mikolo80:
because we want him to do the magic in power not roads

Wailer! Power has improved nationwide in the last 30days. Some people have just decided to be negative no matter what the government does.

This government is doing the best possible to get this country out of recession which will take us a minimum of 2 years from now. You better go find something to do with your life and stop being negative.

rlauncher:


Wailer! Power has improved nationwide in the last 30days. Some people have just decided to be negative no matter what the government does.

This government is doing the best possible to get this country out of recession which will take us a minimum of 2 years from now. You better go find something to do with your life and stop being negative.

o boy me be zombie o.
Na so I hia o say na just evil propaganda say light Don improve.
But until dry season before we know whether na permanent improvement or not.
If the guy no add even if na 2gw to the generating capacity, him fall my hand.
Cos I don't see him adding 5gw

Tribalistic thread

idupaul:
Stop deceiving that man please because nothing has changed in the power sector

were are u staying in my area we have consistently recorded 18-20 hours and I don't even have any problem with them. apapa

yorubasmustprosper:
Tribalists and bigoted vultures are here already to point fingers..

Instead of them to concentrate on the topic and make a resounding contribution, No.. They would rather feed their wickedness and hateful vacuum..

Mynd44 seunmsg when are you gonna grow up and don't stink up beautiful threads meant to bridge the understanding of Nigeria towards the roles of this useless administration..

Why won't you give people the chance to comment freely on the only good report on this regime for months now without polluting the front page with your obstinate views..

What of if I tell you that they are actually lying about Fashola's achievement s if you are in doubt just ply those aforementioned roads. nonsense

Fashola is working

Pavarottii:
Who is this one? Which work abeg?

Shotraaaaaap pls.

michaelandre:
were are u staying in my area we have consistently recorded 18-20 hours and I don't even have any problem with them. apapa

I have been on generator since yesterday because we haven't had light for 2 days and my gen is currently running

The fact that some hateful and bitter people are not recognizing and talking Bout the good work Fashola is doing doesn't mean other people are not talking and appreciating his good work.


We achieved over 5000MW first time in our history under Fashola and now we have month after month sustained and improve power supply

We have hundreds of abandoned projects now back on track with many Nigerians back to their construction jobs..

Abandoned and neglected power plant projects like the 4000MW Mambilla power project is back on tract

Fashola singed agreements for the construction of 14 new solar power plans to deliver 1300MW

For the first time, live cash is on the table to construct the 2nd NB

Lagos Ibadan express construction project is back on track

For the first time we have a housing master plan for low cost housing.


16 years of PDP couldn't deliver what Fashola delivered so far in less than 1 year...

Mynd44:
Because one group of Nigerians judge Fashola by the standards he set while he was governor of Lagos and that standard is high. Higher than fixing roads, it is a standard that will need the ministry he heds to conceive, execute and complete huge plans and such must make us go "wow, this us change"

Yes the re-constructions are commendable but blow our brains uncle Fash. We know you can

The other group are people so blinded by hatred and ethno-religious madness that they are just blind and hence dont see nothing. So even if the ministry under Fash does miracles, they wont see it

You mean the group that voted us into recession

This article stinks of sycophancy... These guys should allow the man work and deliver what he can before they start these unsolicited praise singing..

egwekwe:
Isn't that the same sagamu to ore expressway that was reportedly constructed by Gej

Fixing of one extremely bad portion of a road isn't the same as fixing the whole road. The road is still horrible between Ore and Sagamu.