For civil servants, private sector employees, traders, labourers and artisans who live in the Nyanya-Mararaba axis of Abuja but have their workplaces in different locations at the federal capital, commuting to and fro daily has become a nightmare, writes GBENGA OMOKHUNU
The traffic snarl on the Mararaba road has become a daily occurrence over the years; Saturdays and Sundays are no exemption. The road is the only link to neighbouring Nasarawa State. Mararaba, where hundreds of workers in Abuja live, is in Nasarawa State. There are no signs to show that one is on Nasarawa soil a few metres away from Nyanya as the two communities have practically fused into each other. It’s a replica of what obtains in Lagos where people live in places like Abule Egba-Agbado-Ijaiye axis in Ogun State but commute to different parts of Lagos daily to work. And so the bedlam that is the traffic situation along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway leading to Abule-Egba-Agbado-Ijaiye, is replicated on the Abuja-Keffi road that leads to Nyanya-Mararaba-Masaka axis. And just like the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, the Abuja-Keffi road also has just about two lanes on both sides.
With the traffic gridlock comes psychological trauma, stress, anger, anxiety and frustration among motorists and commuters alike. Often, the traffic build-up results in missed appointments and shattered expectations as consequences.
The heavy traffic situation along that road has become a source of worry to the residents, as motorists and commuters moving to join the road from adjoining locations like Karu, Jikwoyi, Karshi, Orozo, Kurudu, Gbegi, Gbagalape and other places are also caught up in the heavy traffic. This has forced many residents to ply the route to leave their homes as early as 4 am. The hold- upstarts to build up as early as about 5.30 am, snaking up to Aso Rock Villa junction in Asokoro, a distance of about 10 kilometres. Even at that, some people do not get to work until 10. And they are always apprehensive about the homeward journey at the close of work, as they are subjected to the same experience on the way home.
Some commuters who spoke with THE NATION said they spend hours on the road that ordinarily, should have taken them less than 30 minutes. Incidentally, that is the only access road to the city. The situation usually gets more chaotic during the rainy season, worsened by the absence of traffic policemen, traffic wardens or Road Safety officers at such periods. Many residents of these areas who could not stand the hassles have since relocated to other satellite towns outside the city centre.
The commuters blame the situation on the government, which they say, did not take into consideration this menace while planning the road network in the city. Others blame the development of the daily influx of people into the capital city. But to some others, the demolition exercise in the city and the suburbs by a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai a few years ago had worsened the situation. Also, the sale of government-owned houses in the city by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, forced many people out of the city to the satellite towns and environs. These, they say, have compounded the traffic situation on the road. Many civil servants who could not afford to buy the houses they occupied in the city, or who were not even allowed to benefit from the policy, had no alternative than to relocate out of the city.
The problem is also compounded by hawkers and traders selling their goods by the roadsides and who present their unique problems as they struggle daily with motorists for the right of way.
A civil servant, Mrs. Joy Omoba who lives in the axis told our correspondent of her experience as a pregnant woman in the hold-up.
She narrated how she boarded a bus going to the city from Mararaba and was stocked for over an hour on the road. According to her, “I became very uncomfortable, sweated profusely in the bus that was choked up with people and with the petrol and clutch odour. I felt like vomiting. I hadn’t gone even halfway into my journey before I told the driver to drop me because I could no longer bear the inconveniences.
“Shortly after Nyanya, at Kugbo, I was forced to tell the driver to drop me. When I got down, I had to look for a place to sit down, bought a bottle of coke with biscuits from hawkers at the roadside to resuscitate myself. And since the hold-up was still very heavy, I began to trek slowly not minding my condition until I got through.”
Apart from pregnant women suffering these inconveniences which could result in a forced abortion sometimes, she said it has created problems in some marriages arising from suspicions between couples. Some spouse, particularly men, often suspect infidelity in their partners’ claims when they attribute the long delay in homecoming to the traffic snarl. Mrs Omoba also pointed out that the situation has affected night fellowship among family members as most of the times they return late while others may have gone to bed, preventing them from having dinner together.
On the side of motorists, they observed that the situation is not often very healthy for vehicles as some of them suffer from overheating, breakdowns, dents from reckless drivers, and even serious accidents resulting from break failures and loss of control by drivers with serious consequences.
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Succour in the offing
It was gathered that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and government of Nasarawa State have begun moves for the establishment of a joint development commission that would focus on areas of common interests.
The move is expected to eradicate the persistent gridlock along the congested road.
FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello and Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, were said to have recently deliberated on this issue at a meeting in Abuja.
According to the Minister, the joint commission would enable the two territories to harmonize their plans, work towards joint spending, development and accruing revenue sharing.
The Minister had said, “Relationship between the FCT and Nasarawa State is very close because the boundary between us is only imaginary. If you go there, you will find it difficult to see any difference. There is a need for us to see how we can improve the linkages. The founding fathers of the FCT envisaged that the surrounding territories would become greater Abuja.
We hope that the Apo-Karshi road, when completed, will ease traffic on the Nyanya-Mararaba axis, but it will not be enough because of the many communities that will spring up there.”
Bello assured that he would not allow illegal parks to appear on the side of the FCT, even as he was said to have urged the governor to do the same on the side of his state.
The minister also disclosed that the FCTA was seriously working on commencing construction of the rail line that connects the two places. He called on Nasarawa State to also collaborate with the FCT if the state has a rail development plan.
The Nasarawa State Governor, who spoke earlier, said that his visit was to seek partnership with the FCT Administration for the construction of a modern bus terminal on the side of the state to remove all illegal parks along the road to help solve the protracted traffic situation in that axis. Governor Sule also suggested the building of roadside barriers that would prevent roadside trading and promised to clear all illegal activities on the road shoulders, even as he said he has been able to move traders into the state-owned international market.
Work in progress
The Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Umar Jibrin, in his presentation on the proposed ONEX-Mpape-Ado/Gurku-Nyanya by-pass, said the ongoing construction of the 40-kilometre road linking the FCT with Nasarawa State would help in decongesting traffic in the area. Jibrin also revealed that the future road project composed of 18 kilometres for the FCT and 22 kilometres for Nasarawa State, adding that the FCTA has undertaken to do the contract design. He listed traffic decongestion, socio-economic growth and provision of job opportunities to both professionals and artisans as major benefits of the project.
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