S Nigeria’s capital, one would not expect people living in Abuja to be in want of basic amenities like good roads, portable water, stable electricity and other essential services, but this is the case for residents of Ibwa community, a suburb in Gwagwalada Area Council, where the state of the road is a constant nightmare. Residents are either smeared by mud or covered by dust, Adedokun Theophilus reports.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFqfoBNU5bg

Things almost fell apart for Idris Adam, a dark-skinned commercial farmer and a resident of Ibwa, in December 2022 when his wife developed a complication which required urgent specialist attention during the birth of their first child.

In excruciating pain after birth, the medical staff did not hesitate to transfer Zainab, Adam’s wife, to another health facility which could get the required medical attention.

Sadly, there was another hurdle for the unconscious mother and new father to cross – the 15km road the links to the next community, This road, known as Ibwa Road, which connects the predominantly farming community to other parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is barely motorable.

It’s a hurdle to ply that road during rainy or dry seasons, much less with a woman in need of medical attention in tow.

Recounting his experience during the birth of his child Adam, who is in his mid-thirties, described it as “terrible”.

“She had given birth successfully” he told The ICIR “but there was a complication because she had lost a lot of blood and needed urgent attention. Unfortunately, she could not access emergency medical service because of the delay we experienced on the road”.

“The road was bad, she was bleeding and unconscious at the same time. I could not bear seeing her suffer as we journeyed through the road but there was nothing I could do”, he recalls.

“She had given birth successfully” he told The ICIR “but there was a complication because she had lost a lot of blood and needed urgent attention. Unfortunately, she could not access emergency medical service because of the delay we experienced on the road”.

“The road was bad, she was bleeding and unconscious at the same time. I could not bear seeing her suffer as we journeyed through the road but there was nothing I could do”, he recalls.

After a laborious day, exhausted Bawala was in a hurry to get home and relax from work.

Noticing the cloudy sky and impending rain, he rode his motorcycle as fast as he could to beat the rain.

Unfortunately, he lost control of his bike and galloped into a ditch.

“I fainted when I lost balance, and I could not recall anything.”

Visible lines appearing as wrinkles sustained from the accident were still on his face when he spoke with The ICIR. He had a bone fracture on his right hand which made him bedridden for a while.

“I could not work for a month because the bone on my right hand broke,” he said.

He stressed that he now depends on menial work and members of his family to make ends meet.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/mud-smeared-dust-covered-an-abuja-communitys-daily-commute-struggle/

Is this Abuja?