- 9th mile/Opi/Nsukka/Markurdi road collapses
- Residents, motorists recount ordeals as the road worsens
- Okey Ezea says the road rehabilitation is underway
Deprivation, frustration and hopelessness can only describe the mood of road users at 9th Mile/Nsukka/Opi/Makurdi road as the road continued to worsen on daily basis.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the road which is the gateway to all the motorists from South East zone to the Northern part of the country has become a death trap since four years without both Federal and state
government attention.
According some of the road users, the road which stretched from 9th Mile, Enugu metropolis to Amalla, Udenu local government has claimed over fifty life within two years as a result of incessant road mishap
occasioned by bad state of the road.
However, when WITHIN NIGERIA reporter visited the road over the week to ascertain the state of the deterioration of the road, there was dilapidation written on the state of the road.
In any case, some drivers especially lorry drivers plying the road could not hide their feelings about the ordeal, nightmare and suffering they pass through in conveying their goods from South East to Northern part of the country and vice versa.
One of the drivers who gave his name as Nnakee Emezie told our reporter that it has been a terrible situation for all the commercial drivers plying the road.
According to Mr. Emezie, “the road is indeed very terrible. More often than not, we sleep on the road because of bad road.”
Narrating further, Emezie said that “ this is a journey that is not supposed to take more than a day. But as I speak with you here, I left Onitsha since three days ago and I am yet to reach Nsukka, my
destination.”
Mr. Emezie who is a lorry popularly known as 911 driver told our reporter that “sometimes, some hoodlums hijack and snatch our vehicle, offload and sell all the goods therein. But if we have smooth road here, such a thing wouldn’t happen. We also sleep for about six days in this road especially at the peak of rainy season. It is lack of maintenance culture by the government that put the road in this sorry situation. We appeal to the government to come to aid and repair this road so that we have easy and smooth ride.”
Another trapped driver at Ohodo, one of the host communities of the dilapidated road who gave his name as Abdulrashed Usman told WITHIN NIGERIA that he has slept on the road for four consecutive days.
“I loaded from Aba since four days now. I got to ninth mile since three days, then I had to spend three days and three nights here because of bad road. This is a journey that is not supposed to last for four hours if we have good road. I am headed to Kaduna with building materials.”
According to Jos-born driver, his lorry tyre burst when it hit a big stone on the road. He was so much grateful that the lorry didn’t fall like the one behind him few metres away.
Speaking to our reporter, another driver, Chukwuemeka Ebubechukwu narrated that the situation is getting worse every day.
“This road is very critical. Our vehicles fall here every day. You can imagine that I have spent five days from ninth mile to here for a journey that is not supposed to last for one hour. This is because four vehicles fell at Ukehe community.”
Narrating further, Mr. Ebubechukwu who is Leventis driver stated that “you can imagine that I am going to Markurdi from Enugu and I am sure I will be back in the next two weeks.
“Before, it took us about three days to go to Markurdi and come back. But today, it can more two weeks. That is if your vehicle didn’t fall on the road. It is very terrible my brother.”
However, a resident of the community, Deacon Geofrey Asogwa told our reporter that the situation is daily becoming worse as both the state and Federal government have abandoned the road.
According to Deacon Asogwa, “we have been managing the road for the past one decade now until it turned to this ugly state some four years ago, making it impossible for both trailer and lorry to pass through.”
When our reporter got to the gate of Federal Polytechnic, Ohodo, a trailer loaded with motorcycle parts was seen lying on the dilapidated road on its right wing. The two conductors who couldn’t communicate with any language other than their native Hausa told our reporter that couldn’t speak to the press.
However, one of the two persons seen beside the fallen lorry who described themselves as the
owners of the goods told our reporter that the driver of the fallen vehicle broke his waist in accident and has been admitted in an undisclosed hospital at Obollo-Afor, Udenu local government area of
the state.
Few metres away from the gate of the Polytechnic, some men were seen filling some bad spots were many vehicles were said to have been trapped some days before.
One of the men who gave his name as Ejike Ugwu told WITHIN NIGERIA that the situation is very much unbearable.
“We came here to sand fill this place so as to enable the motorists pass without trouble. We work for Federal Polytechnic, Ohodo but as you can see that this is Sunday, we came here because we don’t have work today. When we came here around 6am today, no vehicle was able to pass this road. But after we sand filled some portions, they were able
to pass.
“Drivers appreciate us by giving us N100, N50 and even some gift items. When any vehicle falls here, it takes like five days to a week before it is pulled out. During such situation, many vehicles will equally be stuck especially if the fallen one took better portion of the road.”
One of the indigenes, Mr. Alphonsus Nwagu who spoke to our reporter expressed his deep concern over the ugly development.
According to Mr, Nwagu, “we have been in this ugly situation for over five years now. We pass through a lot of hellish moment to access this road. It is not easy for both vehicles and even pedestrians to pass through this road. You can see that there is no car passing through this road. No car or Keke can ply this road any more. This is Federal road and it has totally collapsed. Our sons and daughters who have cars can’t back with their cars any more.”
Another indigene who gave her name as Mrs. Joy Ugwu also relived her bad experience on the road.
According to Mrs. Ugwu “ two days ago, many people were here crying and lamenting because their vehicle fell along this road. Going to 9th mile that should take more than one hour now takes up to five hours or more. Again, because of this bad state of our road, commercial motorists plying the road charge an exorbitant fare.”
Appealing to the government, Mrs. Ugwu stressed that “ we are appealing to the government to come to our aid and help us repair this before it finally cuts us out from the rest of the other towns.”
Nevertheless, Senator Okey Ezea, the current senator representing the Enugu North Senatorial zone where the road is worst affected in a chat in a recent chat with news men in Nsukka explained the road will soon receive government’s attention.
In his words, “graciously, the interventions of the current legislators from the Enugu North Senatorial district including my passionate appeal to the current minister of works, Mr. Dave Umahi has led to the Federal Government awarding the contract for the rehabilitation of the Markurdi-Otukpo-Obollo Afor-9th mile road which is currently in decrepit condition.”