Many accidents have been recorded on the Oyigbo road in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State. Precious Dikewoha reports that the road on the outskirts of Port Harcourt has become an eyesore to visitors coming into the state through Abia State.
Oyigbo community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State is at the boundary between Rivers and Abia states. For those who are coming from Abia State through Aba road, the community is the gateway to Rivers State.
The Oyigbo road has gone from bad to worse and what now greets the visitors and commuters as they enter the state can best be best described as a journey to hell.
The worst part of the road is the major entry lane into Rivers State and it stretches from a river called Imo River, which is the boundary between Rivers and Abia states, down to a popular junction known as Oyigbo Express junction.
The entry lane is now abandoned due to the accidents being recorded on it regularly. Only one-lane is now used by those coming into Rivers or going into Abia. This further inflicts pains on commuters as traffic jam has become an every minute experience. The situation is worse on weekends.
Some of the commuters and residence of the area who spoke to Niger Delta Report said the road started getting bad some five years ago.
“Look at me! Our vehicle broke down here (pointing at their trapped bus); that is why we are stuck here. I am going to Aba to buy goods and return to Port Harcourt. Because of this, it often takes more time than necessary, we are suffering,” Mr. Sunday Simeon said.
The worse of it all, according to the residents in the area, is that operatives of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency, stopped coming to dispose the refuse deposited on the road by residents. The refuse has since decomposed and now smelling.
Mr. Titus Onyekuru, whose wife runs a small restaurant close to a popular junction called Umuebelle Junction, said: “Apart from what ordeal commuters go through as they ply the road, more woes are now being heard as the economic activities of the people living and doing business within the area are being grounded, thereby crippling the livelihood of the people. Businesses are folding up as patronage drops. The flood is continually rising and the smelly nature of the place makes it more blight. Even motorcycle riders also complain that passengers no longer cross from the other side to them; instead, they seek alternative routes.”
Onyekuru urged the Federal Ministry of Works to intervene. “Different types of vehicles ply this road to enter Port Harcourt; heavy trucks load premium motor spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products, also ply the road. It to say that more than half a million vehicles pass here every day; I don’t know why this place has been neglected. FERMA is a Federal Government agency which is supposed to have reported to the Federal Ministry of Works, which is in charge of roads. One problem facing Rivers State metropolis and its suburbs is the dearth of a good drainage system which makes many roads in the state to depreciate faster than expected.
“Customers no longer come to my wife’s business environment because of the oozing of the odour from the refuse dumped on the bad road. Those who come from far and near to patronise my wife do not have place to pass and pack their vehicles. In short, the business had almost crumbled, but since it is something she has special interest in, she keeps it on. Also, our revenue has declined and we have to adjust our living standard from the way we lived before to a lower income.”
Hope Obioma, a motorcycle rider, said: “Because of this, we wear rain boots whether or not it is raining, because the flood here is a disease. It prevents people from entering my bike (motorcycle). Most people cannot cross the road to this side where we are and we cannot cross over. So they look for alternative routes from the other side.
“Because of the condition of the road, we cannot cross with passengers and their loads to the other side of their destination, so we stop them here (at the junction), while they hire wheel barrow to carry their loads. This affects our pay,” he added.
Another resident of the area, Mr. Paul Ike, who runs a small motor spare part shop close to Umuebelle Junction, called for the complete rehabilitation of the road.
“It all started two years ago with a pothole that was not managed early enough. And now the road has gone beyond management. It needs rehabilitation. Any company that is coming to work on it now must start with drainage and the water must be channel to the river. The road is beyond patching. The negative effects of the situation are not limited to the immediate bearing they have on the economic life of the people within. There are traces of high effect on the state and federal economy. Rivers State is one of the commercial hubs of Nigeria and contributes a lot to the national account. Since the road is the primary access route to Rivers State, further delay in its reconstruction is tantamount to devastating the economy of Rivers State and by extension, Nigeria.”