- Agency Report
Residents of Gwagwalada Area Council have decried the deplorable state of access roads to some rural communities in the area and called for urgent government intervention.
The residents, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, said they had continued to endure hardship due to the dilapidated condition of the roads.
They said the situation becomes worse during the rainy season, when some communities are cut off from the main town because the access routes become almost impassable.
A NAN correspondent, who visited communities such as Kaida Tsoho, Kutunku and Ibwa, reports that several roads linking rural communities to Gwagwalada town are characterised by potholes, making movement difficult for residents and motorists.
Mr Suleiman Yakubu, a resident of Kaida Tsoho, said the bad road in the community had become a long-standing challenge for residents.
Yakubu said the community urgently needed government intervention, appealing to the Area Council and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to come to their aid.
“During campaigns and elections, politicians always find their way to these areas and make promises to get our votes, but after that we hardly see them again.
“This community has been abandoned for too long. We have no good roads, no potable water and other basic amenities. We are just trying to survive amid the economic hardship in the country.
“We are appealing to the government to come to our aid,” he said.
Similarly, Mrs Blessing Ocholi, a trader, said the poor road network posed serious challenges to her business.
According to her, transporting farm produce to the main market has become difficult due to the poor condition of the roads.
Ocholi said the situation had increased transportation costs and limited her ability to take her produce to the market, which is her main source of livelihood.
“Most times, I have no choice but to sell my produce at very low prices because there is no means of taking it to the market.
“When vehicles are available, transportation is very expensive because of the poor road network.
“If the government can at least grade the road to make it motorable, it may not solve all the problems, but it will ease our suffering,” she said.
She added that the poor road network had virtually cut them off from the town centre, as if they were not part of the area council.
Ocholi called on the authorities to look into their plight and provide lasting solutions.
Mr Mukhtar Lawal, a commercial motorcyclist, said that although the roads were slightly better during the dry season, they became almost impassable during the rainy season.
Lawal said that during the rainy season, many rural communities in Gwagwalada Area Council were cut off from the main town.
He added that even motorcycles found it difficult to access some of the communities.
According to him, the situation has persisted for too long and could pose serious risks during medical emergencies.
Mrs Peace Adewale, a public servant, said the poor condition of roads in some rural communities had become a major challenge for students, especially during the rainy season when linking bridges were often submerged.
According to her, the situation poses dangers to the children and sometimes forces them to miss classes when conditions become too risky.
She said residents in the rural communities faced daily struggles that reflected wider social inequalities, adding that they were also part of the council and should be treated with respect.
The residents, however, urged the council and relevant authorities to prioritise rural infrastructure, noting that improved roads would boost socio-economic activities in the district.
Responding, the Director of Works, Gwagwalada Area Council, Mr Suleiman Yunusa, told NAN in a telephone interview that some road projects within the township were ongoing.
Yunusa said the projects were aimed at linking some communities to the township.
He, however, noted that the council intended to rehabilitate rural roads but was constrained by paucity of funds.
“We intend to move outside the township to rural communities, but we are constrained by limited funds.
“Since the present administration is almost coming to an end, we are not embarking on new projects but focusing on completing ongoing ones.
“It is our prayer that when the next administration takes over by July, we shall visit some of these rural roads,” he said. NAN