Over the years, citizens have been subjected to gruesome experiences plying these roads: many have lost loved ones, valuables among other things to accidents that regularly occur due to the decaying state of the roads.
Bad road networks are highly characteristic of the Nigerian state.
Over the years, citizens have been subjected to gruesome experiences plying these roads: many have lost loved ones, valuables among other things to accidents that regularly occur due to the decaying state of the roads.
However, it has now become a lifestyle for Nigerian drivers to learn how to manoeuvre their vehicle steering when driving on these bad roads.
In a report by Nigeria Abroad, the worst roads in seven states across the country were showcased. The roads featured notorious potholes, car-eating craters, and deadly ditches.
BELOW IS A LIST OF STATES WITH THE WORST ROAD NETWORKS IN NIGERIA:
- ABIA STATE.
Despite its slogan, ‘God’s Own State’, road networks in the state have suffered neglect from various government ruling, who have refused to do the ‘work of God’ in the state.
The state is often called Nigeria’s own China for its unmatchable enterprise. Aba market in Abia state has gained popularity for its booming industrialisation.
Traders in the Aba market produce lots of Nigerian-made clothes, shoes, textile materials alongside some industrial products that most times match international standards.
The top-notch imitation skills of the makers popular have brought about the name ‘Aba-made’.
However, Abia State represents a contradiction. With Abia’s trade impact on Nigeria, one would expect that the government would consider the basic—good roads for ease of transporting manufactured products, but that’s not the case.
Abia state roads have degenerated so badly that when it rains, it is almost impossible to drive. Flooding has been normalised, and sometimes, it is worsened by overflowing street refuse. Citizens have so lost confidence in the state that many no longer complain about poor governance.
Meanwhile, after six years of leading the people of the State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu proudly lists the presence of fast food outlets; Dominos Pizza and the Chicken Republic as some of his achievements in the state.
- EDO STATE.
Bad road networks in Edo state have become a normal lifestyle for the people. Corporate workers have made rubber slippers part of their office outfits as this makes waddling through rainfall puddles easier.
Benin City has it worse, with potholes so bad that it is hard to tell if they hadn’t always been like that.
It also doesn’t help that one of Edo’s most plied roads, the Benin Bypass, has become a death trap.
The writer described his travel on Edo roads in these words, “The feeling from surviving a fall from maybe 200 flights of stairs is akin to what you get every time you travel by road through Edo State.”
- IMO STATE.
Formerly known as Land of Hope, and with a governor whose first name is Hope and a surname which, when translated, vaguely means ‘the road is good’, the road networks in Imo state represents a situational irony.
The state of the roads in Owerri, the state capital is so deplorable that citizens have begun coming up with alternative narrow routes in places that normally wouldn’t be treaded.
- ANAMBRA STATE.
The Ekwulobia, Oko, Isuofia and Igboukwu roads in Anambra State have been eaten up by deep erosion, with marks that look like aftermaths of earthquakes, this is even as the state benefits from Nigeria’s Ecological Fund.
Anambra is among the biggest commercial centres in Nigeria. It houses one of West Africa’s biggest markets—the Onitsha Main Market.
Also, Nigeria’s first self-made vehicle line, Innoson Motors started in Nnewi.
The aforementioned achievements could have been good enough reasons to make journeying to and fro the state a smooth venture.
Governor Willie Obiano always claims he is working but this is not evident in the uneven roads across the state.
- LAGOS STATE.
Lagos state is popularly known as ‘centre of excellence’ and home to an estimated 20 million people. In spite of this, Lagos State probably has Nigeria’s worst road network. This could be attributed to the constant traffic jam and events at the Apapa ports.
Lagos residents have normalised sitting in traffic for hours or trekking long distances to meet up with important appointments. A drop of rain is all it takes to shut down the state and keep everyone outside for hours.
Media portrayals of Lagos suggest excellent infrastructure, but the story recycled at each transition is on how each governor has “transformed” Lagos amid explosive revenue and rising debt, yet the state remains impassable.
- RIVERS STATE.
In the state capital, Port Harcourt, residents have found a way to adapt to the off-road situation with the use of trucks and Sports Utility Vehicles.
Small cars are mostly used by private drivers and cab-hailing service drivers who know how to maintain their vehicles in the city.
The roads are so bad that some potholes appear like they were dug while residents slept. And smaller towns have it worse.
- BENUE STATE.
Most of the federal roads in Benue State have deteriorated beyond what can be managed by citizens due to years of lack of maintenance.
The roads have been left in pitiful conditions for a long time. Roads in the state capital, Makurdi, Otukpo and the rest are beyond broken, washed away to the point that it becomes hard to tell if they were ever tarred.
With the rate of insecurity in the state, it was stated that Governor Samuel Ortom’s robust engagement in tackling insecurity in his state may have shielded him from criticism over poor road infrastructure.