Social media pictures and videos showed road users walking in the pool of flood to get to the other side of the road
A section of Nigeria’s Kano-Maiduguri road in Bauchi, inaugurated in 2021 and constructed with no less than N51.99 billion, got split into two as a result of a heavy downpour in the state on Thursday.
In videos posted by Channels TV, the road that passes through Malori and Guskuri Villages in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State can be seen divided into two. A pool of flood also demarcated both parts of the road, which had spit into two.
A white bus was also trapped in the flood, while people stood on both sides of the road observing the damage.
Other pictures and videos showed road users walking in the pool of flood to get to the other side of the road.
Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State, who was present at the scene on Thursday, called on the federal government to repair the road and make it accessible to road users.
“This is a major highway. The northeast highway and the dual carriageways have been completely washed away,” Mohammed said.
“We are calling on the federal government to assist. We will report this issue to Abuja through the Controller of Works.”
ALLOCATION FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION DATES FAR BACK AS 2006
According to Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), the Kano-Maiduguri express, popularly referred to as the Northeast Highway, is a road linking Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states, among others.
It is divided into five sections — Kano-Wudil-Shuwarin Road, Shuwarin-Azare, Azare-Potiskum, Potiskum-Maiduguri — as well as the Maiduguri-Benishek road.
The sections of the roads that pass through Bauchi are the Shuwarin-Azare, which links Maiduguri and Bauchi, and the Azare-Potiskum, which links Bauchi and Yobe.
The construction of both roads dates far back as 2006, when the contract for the Shuwarin-Azare road was awarded to Messrs Setraco at N35.89 billion; it was expected to be completed in February 2010, FIJ reports, citing the government data history.
Billions of naira were allocated for the construction of the roads between 2016 and 2020, and were finally inaugurated by Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former president, in 2021.
Sums of N700,000,000, N300,000,000, N3,707,942,820, N1,772,046,045 and N354,720,000 were allocated for the construction of the Shuwarin-Azure road in the 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020 budgets, respectively.
For the Azare-Potiskum section of the road, N700,000,000, N350,000,000, N1,594,160,700 and N364,720,000 were allocated in the 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 budgets, respectively, as seen below”:
Although there were budgetary allocations for both roads between 2014 and 2020, there was no mention of either road in budget implementation documents in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
According to the 2019 fourth quarter and consolidated budget implementation document, out of the N1.7 billion allocated for the construction of the road, N300 million was released and utilised for the construction of the Shuari-Azure road.
Additional information from the 2019 budget implementation document reveals that N51.99 billion was committed to the project since inception, and in that year the construction was 78.63% complete.
In 2021, which marked 16 years after the contract for the roads’ construction was awarded to Messrs Setraco Nigeria Limited, the Shuwarin-Azure and Azare-Potiskum roads were finally completed and inaugurated by Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former president.
Suleiman Adamu, the former minister of water resources, who was present at the road inauguration, applauded the road construction, saying, “The roads have been built to the highest quality of design and workmanship in order to enable them to last their designed lifespan.”
Thursday’s event has, however, proved the former minister wrong.
Three years after the inauguration of both roads, which were constructed with no less than N51.99 billion, a section of the road was damaged by rain.
A common and ridiculous method the Nigerian government explores when it comes to road ‘repair’ to calm road users who decry setbacks caused by dilapidated road is by filling the road with big stones.
Nigeria is greatly endowed with large deposit of natural bitumen at Agbabu, Ondo State. The country was reported to have a proven reserve of about 42.47 billion tonnes of bitumen, a quantity which is estimated to be second largest in the world.
Foundation for Investigative Journalism contributed to this report