A member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Representative Bamidele Salam, has strongly criticised the deplorable state of road infrastructure across the country, warning that the current approach to road development lacks vision, fiscal discipline, and genuine leadership commitment.
In a post shared on his official Facebook page, Rep. Salam responded to recent comments by former Kano State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who lamented the state of roads in Northern Nigeria and accused the current administration of lopsided infrastructural priorities.
The post reads,
“I read Sen. Kwankwaso’s allegations on the lopsided roads infrastructure in the current administration and his lamentation about the deplorable state of roads in Northern Nigeria.
Truth is that there is no road anywhere in Nigera! From the East to the West, North to South, our roads are in extremely terrible state and that has nothing directly to do with Tinubu who has only been President for two years. Though the current President shares part of the blame like all of us in Leadership position in Nigeria, truth is that the unmotorable state of our roads is a depiction of our lack of vision, Fiscal indiscipline, and selfishness as leaders.
I recall a few years ago as a member of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria committee on Works, the then Minister Raji Fashola brought a proposal that we should all agree to suspend having new roads projects and rather concentrate on completing/ rehabilitating ongoing ones for the next 5-10 years. Almost everyone in the meeting objected in spite of the facts presented about hundreds of roads projects started many years ago which had not reached 30% completion.
I am certain that the tale of woes on Osogbo to Ibadan, Ibadan to Ile-Ife, Ilesa to Osogbo, Uyo to Calabar, Owerri to Umuahia are not less than the ones in the North referred to by the former Kano Governor.
The confession by Kwankwaso that his flight postponement helped him know the true state of the road from Abuja to Kano lay credence to an extreme suggestion I once made about shutting down our local flight operations for six months to force all of us to travel by roads and experience the horrors things daily faced by the average citizen!
Maybe if that happens, we will see a wisdom in agreeing that the trillions of Naira being currently committed to the Lagos- Calabar coastal road and the Sokoto-Badagry road should rather be spent on fixing all interstate roads in Nigeria. That will certainly create more jobs, promote inclusive development and improve trade and commerce, and enhance security across the country!,” he concluded.
His comments drew wide engagement on social media, with many Nigerians echoing his concerns.
One respondent, Adetunji Samuel Kolawole, commented: “I can’t agree less with this, sir, despite the fact that I believed in PBAT’s vision. But you are very much right… the Lagos-Calabar road, despite the opportunities it would bring, seems almost impossible for the next 20 years to come. The government needs to focus on rehabilitating all existing roads across the federation.”
Another user, Olanipekun Oladotun Adeleye, criticized the structural foundation of road ownership and maintenance in Nigeria. “The problem of Nigeria began with sharing of roads… Until we realise that true federalism is the solution, we will continue to move in circles. If we stop this madness of FAAC and allow states to create their own wealth… then and only then will we see real development.”
Echoing these sentiments, Afolabi Faramade added: “Existing roads are in very deplorable conditions and totally abandoned. Meanwhile, the FG is pumping trillions of naira (including external loans) into the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project. Sadly, the National Assembly, which has oversight function, has become a mere rubber stamp… We cannot continue like this!”
