IT is no more a secret that many hapless Nigerians, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic inclinations, across the country, are increasingly having sleepless nights over the worrisome rate at which their fellow citizens are being consumed unnecessarily by Nigeria's destructive killer-roads.All over the world, due to the increasing populations and number of vehicles, the rate of road traffic accidents has risen considerably. In this regard, Nigeria has not been an exception.Over the years, the number of road traffic accidents has increased in Nigeria to the extent that road traffic management experts have observed that road traffic-related problems in the country now claim more lives even than serious health problems such as malaria, typhoid, diabetes or HIV/AIDS.One of the major problems causing road traffic accidents in Nigeria is the network of bad roads across the country. The entire network of roads has virtually collapsed and this is responsible for the increasing number of innocent Nigerians, including babies, dying in road traffic accidents.Almost on a daily basis, road traffic accidents are claiming lives on major roads among which are the Enugu-Port Harcourt road, Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway, Okene-Abuja expressway and Lagos-Ibadan expressway which is regarded as the busiest in the country.It is unfortunate that despite the billions of Naira expended on construction and rehabilitation of roads across the country by successive administrations over the years, these roads have become death traps that continue to claim precious lives.Several years back, a former Minister of Works, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, wept profusely and uncontrollably, when she noticed the extent of decay on the Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway and promised to fix the road. She never did before she was redeployed. And despite the fact that she has since been succeeded by about three ministers in the Ministry, this particular road is still in a deteriorating state leading to more road traffic accidents.The various tiers of government continue to pay lip service to the construction and rehabilitation of roads across the country. There is nothing to show for the whopping funds injected into construction and rehabilitation of roads.Whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated, they do not last due to the deliberate use of poor quality materials by incompetent contractors engaged by dishonest and corrupt government officials.Just recently, President Goodluck Jonathan directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate an unnamed Chinese construction company that allegedly connived with some directors in the Federal Ministry of Transport to submit fake documents to secure a N2.2 billion contract for the construction of the 1.6 kilometres Apapa Ports Internal Roads.Apart from bad roads, other problems causing road traffic accidents include motorists' bad driving habits, insecurity on the roads posed by armed robbers, menace of trailers, tankers and other articulated vehicles, irregular maintenance of vehicles, dangers posed by drunk-drivers and inexperienced drivers, excessive pressure on the roads due to heavy vehicular traffic, as well as the rising number of vehicles that are not roadworthy.Road traffic accidents are caused by motorists that fail to obey traffic rules, including those that drive against traffic thereby posing incalculable danger to other motorists and pedestrians. Procedure for issuance of driving licence is corruption-ridden and this is why since anybody can procure such licence without necessarily undergoing normal test, the number of inexperienced drivers maiming and killing other road users across the country has steadily increased.The relevant law enforcement agencies responsible for maintaining sanity, safety and security on the roads have failed to live up to expectations. If they had been alive to their responsibilities, there would not have been the current increase in the number of road traffic accidents across the country.For instance, officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Office (V.I.O.), Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), amongst others, usually choose to look the other way having extorted money from motorists, when they see them breaking traffic laws.This is why inexperienced drivers, drunk-drivers, those disobeying traffic lights, those driving rickety vehicles, reckless tanker and trailer drivers, as well as drivers of articulated vehicles carrying unlatched containers posing danger to lives of innocent citizens are not penalised to serve as a deterrent to others.Government at various tiers have virtually abandoned their responsibilities concerning road-related issues to ensure drastic reduction in the rate of road traffic accidents in the country whereas it is the sacred duty of any responsible and caring government to ensure the safety and security of road users anywhere in the country.Road transportation is a very important sector which apart from ensuring hitch-free transportation of persons, also contributes to the economic development of the country through the transportation of goods and services, including industrial and agricultural products.The Federal Government should come up without delay, with a workable national road policy to combat the existing hydra-headed road traffic challenges facing the country. The current rising carnage claiming precious lives of innocent citizens on Nigerian roads, should not be allowed to continue.Officials responsible for road maintenance and the enforcement of road traffic rules should be more alive to their responsibilities. The bad eggs among them should be fished out and penalised to serve as a deterrent to others.Officials that have mismanaged funds allocated for road construction over the years, no matter how highly placed, should be penalised. They should be made to refund to the coffers of government funds misappropriated.Due to the increasing pressure on the roads especially by articulated vehicles, the railway system which had since collapsed due to neglect and endemic corruption, should be resuscitated.It is hoped that when the railway system fully comes back to life, a large number of people would be transported at once while heavy industrial machineries and agricultural produce will also be conveyed at reasonable prices from one part of the country to the other for rapid socio-economic and industrial development of the country.The on-going unnecessary heavy pressure on major roads across the country should seriously be addressed urgently in order to reduce to the barest minimum the increasing number of Nigerians from various walks of life who are being continuously maimed or killed through avoidable road traffic accidents.
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