inister of Works,
Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe was reported last week as saying that the rehabilitation
of the Onitsha-Owerri express way, among some other roads, will be completed
within a year.
The statement came as a relief of sorts, considering that the
same minister had earlier reportedly made a statement which seemed to have
consigned the Onitsha-Owerri road to the realm of hopelessness. In the earlier
statement, Chief Ogunlewe had reportedly said emphatically that work on the
Onitsha-Owerri road would require all of ten years to complete. For any one who
knows the present condition of that road as well as its central role in the
economic and all round existence of a major section of the country, the ten
years time frame statement was at best a nice way of saying that government is
not interested in working on the road.
There is nothing really contradictory in the two statements
by Chief Ogunlewe. Clearly his first statement referred to substantive work on
the important road. His later promise that work on the same road will be
completed in twelve months obviously referred to some patch works or what is
more glamorously termed rehabilitation work. According to the minister who gave
hint of the promise of a new lease of life for the Onitsha-Owerri road at a
recent public forum in Lagos, the project was temporarily halted due to the
rainy season.
For a road whose lot has been an unjustifiable neglect by
successive governments, its critical importance to the economy of the country
not withstanding, half bread will always be better than none. But God knows that
what the Onitsha-Owerri road needs and deserves is not some patch work. That
road requires serious, committed reconstruction. That was what President
Olusegun Obasanjo promised on the road. Indeed, the President underscored his
realization of the importance of this road when he launched his campaign for
re-election for a second term with the flagging off of reconstruction work on
the road.
At the time the Federal Government awarded the contract for
the road, the development served to counter allegations of gross neglect of the
region by the Obasanjo administration. The President however, stressed that his
government had out of N300 billion earmarked for road maintenance nationwide,
awarded a total of N60 billion worth of contracts for roads in the South-East
zone. Onitsha-Owerri road counted among that figure.
What noble reason can there ever be for not according the
reclamation of this almost totally collapsed artery a national priority?
Considering the incontrovertible central importance of the Onitsha-Owerri road
as a major gateway into the heart of the eastern part of the country and indeed
onward to various other parts, the continued neglect of this road speaks of what
is wrong with Nigeria.
It has become extremely difficult to miss the political
underpinning in the unconscionable neglect of the Onitsha-Owerri road. By its
antecedents and posture on this road, government leaves us with no option than
to believe that it is not committed to any serious work on this road. Even the
patch work within twelve months that Chief Ogunleye now promises may go the way
of earlier ones.
The Onitsha-Owerri road ought to be a national embarrassment,
considering its strategic importance to the country.
There is virtually no part of the 90.3 kilometre highway,
which stretches from Onitsha to Owerri and onward to the South-South region,
which is bereft of menacing potholes and gullies. The Owerri end has virtually
collapsed now, forcing the heavy vehicle traffic on the route to divert to the
Owerri-Orlu-Onitsha road. The new and added weight on this other road which it
was not prepared for is already exerting a tragic impact on the escape route.
The prospect of a looming blockade is real.
In making his promise of rehabilitation of the Onitsha-Owerri
road within twelve months, Chief Ogunlewe did not provide any update on the N25
billion contract for the road awarded to the Greek construction firm, CCC almost
two years ago. As at the time CCC won the contract, it’s quoted cost of N25
billion was far below what other better known construction companies bidded. In
awarding the contract to the Greek firm, government not only went for the
cheapest bid, but profusely explained that CCC was a world class and capable
firm. It is one of those testimonies of the ways of government in this land that
the government could not even keep its side of a bargain it struck to suit its
purposes.
After a long delay reportedly occasioned by non release of
funds, CCC eventually commenced preliminary work on the road. It did seem that
the company was determined to execute the contract. Of course, it had something
to prove. Now; the company has virtually packed up at the site. Reason; failure
of government to release fund to match the schedule of work. This is the
background against which Chief Ogunlewe came forward with his recent assurance
that rehabilitation work on this very road will be completed within twelve
months.
It is unimaginable that any other road of such importance
will be subjected to this kind of treatment.
The attitude of the Federal Government on this issue continues to emphasize
the general feeling of neglect amongst the people of the area. The Minister’s
announcement of the imminent rehabilitation of the road cannot but be received
as another bout of bad joke which the Onitsha-Owerri road has been subjected to.
The onus lies on Chief Ogunlewe to prove this belief wrong, even if it involves
meaningful patch work.
