The road to Arochukwu does great injustice to the larger-than-life image of this historic town in Abia State.
The town is known for many things. One cannot say it is the most important community in the state. But it is indisputably the most important as far as tourism is concerned, and not only in Abia State but the entire Igbo land.
This is because of the role the town played during and after the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The Aro, then, were the sole organisers of the trade in Southeast of Nigeria which then stretched from Idoma land down to the Niger Delta.
Their influence was felt all over these areas as they were the major suppliers of the “product”. They were in constant contact with the Potokiri (Portuguese) who were the real slave dealers.
But the people and the town were subjugated by the British after a large-scale war that was fought throughout Igbo land and beyond between 1902 and 1904. It was tagged The Aro Expedition of 1902. The influence of the Aro throughout Igbo land and beyond; which spanned over 500 years, came to abrupt end after that subjugation.
The Aro had to turn to other means of livelihood. They embraced Christianity and western education. And they have excelled in all aspects of life. The first Igbo graduate, the late Dr. Alvan Ikoku hailed from Arochukwu.
Ikoku was also the first President of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT). The first Igbo Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Nwakanma Okoro hailed from Arochukwu. Okoro was also the first man east of the Niger to lead the Nigerian Bar Association and the first Nigerian to have a PhD in Law. There was Christian Nwafor, the first architect east of the Niger. These are just the first known at the time of writing this report.
Arochukwu has notable Nigerians present and past who have contributed in all aspects of national life–politics, government, business, medicine, journalism and sports, among others.
The roll-call include Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Mazi Ukpabi Ukpabi, Mazi Alex Oti, MD Diamond Bank, Prof. Mark Chijioke founder of Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Kanu Nwankwo the football prodigy and Chidi Imoh the 100 metres champion.
It produced the likes of late Mazi Sam Ikoku, the late Sir Alex Onyeador who is the first Nigerian to be a manager with Shell, the late John Onyeador who was the first captain of the national football team after independence.
Arochukwu is the ancestral home of the crusader of boycott all the boycottables, the late Mazi Mbonu Ojike, the timber and caliber politician, the late Dr. K. O. Mbadiwe, the palm produce merchant, the late Chief L. N. Obioha, the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the renowned author and human rights activist, Dr. Arthur Nwankwo, Prof. Anezi Okoro and Prof. Pita Nwanna, among others.
But today, as important as the town Arochukwu is to Igbo land and Nigeria in terms of tourism, there is no passable road to it. The road that leads to the town from the Abia State capital, Umuahia, ended at Ohafia.
Described as the worst road in Africa by road users, the Ohafia-Arochukwu Federal Road cannot be less described. The road has suffered neglect since the end of the Nigerian civil war 44 years ago. The road, stretching about 40 kilometres covers five communities of Arochukwu, the historical town hosting many tourists centres; Ututu, Ihechiowa, Isu and Abam, all of which are agrarian communities in Abia State.
In normal circumstances, the journey from Ohafia to Arochukwu will not be more than 30 minutes. But, with the present deplorable condition of the road, there is no way a vehicle can make it in less than two hours.
The plight of the communities was almost under check before the advent of Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 1999. Before then, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) had awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the road from Umuahia to cover the stretch to Arochukwu and Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State.
Work started in earnest and progressed from Umuahia to Ohafia, a stretch of about 70 kilometres when Obasanjo assumed office. Obasanjo scrapped the PTF and all its responsibilities transferred to the Federal Ministry of Works.
That singular action brought an end to the construction of that road up till this day. And 12 years after, the remaining section of the road from Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Army Barracks, Ohafia to Arochukwu and Ikot-Ekpene has remained untouched. The road caves in to the crushing weight of floodgates of every rainy season.
To be fair to Obasanjo’s administration, the rehabilitation of the remaining portion of the road was re-awarded to Julius Berger Construction Company. At a time, the company started moving in their equipment to the area. There were jubilations by members of the communities. These equipment remained there unused for years. And after sometime, the company retrieved their equipment from the site.
What went wrong remains a matter of speculation. The road was consistently included in the budgets of 2002 to 2007. It was learnt from a reliable source that mobilisation fee of N1.4 billion was released for commencement of work.
The total cost of work on the road was put at N4.8 billion. But that money never got to the construction company. The company tried as much to get the money but all to no avail. Hence, it pulled out of the site.
Nobody could give hint of what happened to the mobilisation fee up till this day. The representatives of the area at the National Assembly at the time were Comrade Uche Chukwumerije of Abia North Senatorial zone and Mazi M. A. O. Ohuabunwa who represented Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency.
While Ohuabunwa is no longer there, Chukwumerije is still at the Senate. It is on record that Ohuabunwa tried as much to see that the road was fixed, but his lone efforts could not yield any result.
The current representative of the area in the Federal House of Representatives, Prince Arua Arunsi, our correspondent learnt, is on the neck of the contractors. He had expressed displeasure over the “virtually abandoned work on the road.”
The Abia State government had wanted to fix the road, but was prevented by the Federal Ministry of Works. The government had, indeed, mounted its sign post and started work but were “driven” away by the Federal Ministry of Works.
Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji once told this reporter that “I cannot imagine why a town as important as Arochukwu will not have a road to access it. This is disturbing. I have begged the Federal Ministry of Works to allow us enter the road, they refused. I don’t know why. They say they have awarded it to a company but there is no progress at all.”
Actually, the contract for the rehabilitation of the road has been re-awarded to a construction company. But the snag there is the capability of the company to handle the road reconstruction effectively.
For the past two years the company started work on the road, it has not done up to three kilometres. It had blamed the rainy season for the slow pace of work. But since the rain subsided, the story remains the same.
When South-East Report visited the site, no work was going on. But there were some equipment lying idle while motorists struggle to find their way through the rough road. The road is expected to be completed by June this year. Although the construction company has formally apologised to the people of Arochukwu for its lackluster approach, it promised to complete work on the road as scheduled. It is doubtful that it can fulfill their promise going by what is on ground.
An official of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had told this reporter that they cannot intervene on the road because it is still under “reconstruction” by the contractors of the Federal Ministry of Works.
He said: “It is only when they complete work on it that we will take over for maintenance.” But the baffling thing is that the signpost of FERMA is mounted at various points on the road.
A community leader of the area who wouldn’t want his name in print said: “Our representatives in the National Assembly should explain to us what is happening to that road since 1999. They gave us hope that they would tackle the issue of the road head-on. But, up till now, nothing has been done about it.”
As a result of the incredible condition of the road, transporters charge as much as N700 from Ohafia to Arochukwu. This would have normally cost N100. Commercial farmers in the area no longer produce enough for export to the cities as vehicles that would convey them are no longer willing to ply the road. They have now resorted to subsistence farming to sustain their families.
