The declaration of a state of emergency on various dilapidated highways and carriages within Lagos State by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last Monday was long overdue.
For residents of the state, many major roads have become so bad that moving around either in private or public transport has become very harrowing as they spend hours in traffic largely caused by failed portions.
The continuous downpour has further damaged what is left of some tarred roads that have been washed away.
Like someone jocularly noted, but it is indeed the reality, Lagos drivers can no longer avoid potholes, they have to choose which one they will drive through and how they would. Consequently, vehicles are repeatedly damaged and costing owners lots of money for repairs.
The declaration of the emergency is therefore a timely response to the cries of residents who are worried that the Sanwo-Olu administration is not giving due attention to the deplorable situation.
Though the new administration is just over 100 days in office of its four-year term, the level of infrastructural decay has become very unbearable that any further delay in taking a firm action would cost it lots of goodwill.
While it is understandable that the rainy season may not allow for comprehensive repairs, quality palliative repairs ordered by the governor will go a long way in providing temporary relief.
The contractors assigned the reconstruction jobs have a good record of building good roads and should be adequately mobilised to approach this crucial task with the urgency it deserves. One of the reasons for the frequent damage of the roads is lack of drainages.
It is necessary to ensure that standard roads are built for a megacity like Lagos with its heavy vehicular carriage to avoid having to repair them almost every year despite the huge amount said to have been spent on them.
Some of the roads that now need urgent repairs were part of those the last administration worked on and it is surprising that they have become so bad quickly.
Officials of Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) in charge of repairs of 116 inner roads across the state should also be more diligent in their assignment instead of doing shoddy jobs that may not even last the remaining of the rainy season.
The corporation should be well-equipped to carry out its task which should be as often as required instead of having to wait till when the roads become impassable. The old concept of Public Works Department is that the officials are always on standby to fix damaged portions of roads. This does not seem to be the case again at state and federal levels.
For federal roads in Lagos and other states, the federal government may also need to declare an emergency as residents don’t care who owns what road. Across the country, the state of the dilapidation of major roads is alarming. It is nightmarish travelling around the country and the federal government cannot continue to watch the situation deteriorate.
The Lagos-Abeokuta road and the Otta –Idi-Iroko roads are good examples of how bad many federal roads have become. If monies spent by state governments to repair federal roads in the past have not been refunded, they will be no more willing take up the additional burden of fixing the bad roads in their states.
Except it is absolutely necessary to build new roads, the federal and state government should spend more on fixing the bad ones instead of embarking on projects that may end up abandoned.
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