Unending promises on reconstruction of Lagos -Ore-Benin highway
Tuesday, November 27, 2012



By Jude Njoku

Exactly three years ago, the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and the then Works & Housing Minister, Dr. Hassan Muhammad Lawal, inspected the reconstruction works on the ever-busy Lagos-Ore-Benin expressway. The traffic gridlock on that day was so frightening that Governor Mimiko and Dr Hassan Lawal became emergency traffic wardens.

Speaking to newsmen after that harrowing experience, Governor Mimiko said: "We have all been witnesses to the harrowing experiences that our people go through on this road on a daily basis. We cannot run away from the fact that this road is congested hence the road has broken down completely.

The solution I see is simple: from Lagos to Benin, this road has to be reconstructed. The palliative that is going on is okay for this season but ultimately, the Federal Government must commit itself to rebuilding this road. This is a very important atrial road in this country.

We must do something about this road, people sleep here for two, three days and you know what that means in terms of loss to the economy of this nation not to talk of the psychological torture that people go through. There is no question about the fact that this road has to be rebuilt. Yes, we welcome the rehabilitation that is going on but ultimately, this road must be rebuilt".


A year before this incident, the then Minister of Transportation, Mrs Dieziani Allison Madueke reportedly wept uncontrollably after a facility tour of the road.

Mrs Madueke who empathized with the sufferings Nigerians go through on that road, gave reasons for betraying her emotions. "I weep at the sight of everything that shows failure of government in Nigeria. Lagos-Shagamu-Ore-Benin Road is a clear picture of Nigerian state abandonment of its responsibility to its citizens".

Continuing, she promised to remedy the situation by fixing the road. "The challenge for us is to act wisely in dealing with this matter. The errors have been made but I think we can still correct the problem by looking for what will ensure a renewed government relevance not for self-serving or the good of a few but the good of all". Despite the weeping and hopes raised by the Minister, nothing was done to fix the road until she was deployed to the Petroleum Ministry.

Dr. Hassan Muhammad Lawal who later took over as Minister of Works & Housing made similar pledges on the road but nothing concrete was done until he bowed out of office. Successive Works ministers after him equally promised to fix the 250 kilometres road but these promises were never actualized till date.

Indeed, traveling along the Lagos-Shagamu-Ore-Benin highway is like a journey through the biblical "valley of the shadow of death". Under normal circumstances, the journey from Lagos to Benin should be covered in two and half hours but due to the dilapidated state of the expressway, commuters spend almost the entire day on the road.

It was against this backdrop that a contributor to the last presidential media chat told President Goodluck Jonathan that whosoever fixes that road and power would be regarded as the best President Nigeria has ever produced.

In a swift response, President Jonathan said he would fix the road before the end of his current four-year term. The President who also promised to review the concession agreement with Messrs Bi-Courtney on the reconstruction of the Lagos -Ibadan expressway, matched his words with action when the following day, the concession contract was revoked. The prompt action taken by the Federal Government has since raised the hope of stakeholders that the Lagos-Shagamu -Ore-Benin Road, will also receive prompt presidential attention.

Construction experts who spoke to Vanguard Homes & Property weekend, called on the president to start by embarking upon emergency repairs of the road to enable millions of Nigerians who want to travel during the Christmas and New Years festivities, do so without much distress.

SOURCE: http://odili.net/news/source/2012/nov/27/312.html