Bauchi Assembly adopts motion for road rehabilitation

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Bauchi State House of Assembly on Wednesday during its plenary adopted two motions calling on the state government to urgently embark on the rehabilitation of the road that links Adamami, Disina, Jama’are, and Itas as well as address landslide and road cut-off in Sauke Village along Bauchi-Maiduguri Highway under Sade Constituency in Darazo Local Government.

The first motion was moved by the Member representing Jama’are Constituency, Hon. Mubarak Haruna calling the Executive Arm of Government to embark on urgent rehabilitation of the road that links Adamami, Disina, Jama’are, and Itas/Gaudau.

Leading a debate on the motion, Hon. Mubarak Haruna said that the road is now in such a terrible state that it is causing accidents, deaths and high transportation costs to commuters because of severe potholes on the road causing motorists to lose control of their vehicles and this leads to accidents that, many times, have caused wrongful deaths.

He added that the road during the rainy season becomes a nightmare to the people of the communities that have to pass through the area to access their farms, schools, markets, and most of the inhabitants of the area are peasant farmers who have to convey their farm produce to markets and the road has been a major obstacle to their economic endeavours.

According to him, people always find it difficult to transport their crops, especially when the water is high, even pickup vans find it impossible to cross the area whenever the water level is high and the key bridge linking Adamami, Disina, Jama’are, and Itas/Gaudau is on the verge of total collapsing and it posed danger to the lives of motorists crossing it and the residents of the areas while disrupting the business and agricultural activities of the communities.

According to him, “Road communication plays a crucial role in promoting economic, social and cultural development of a region. Improvement in road connectivity not only assures the development but also accelerates the process of development of a region.

“Thus, road is one of the greatest fundamental institutions of mankind. Its beginnings are almost instructive with man’s first quest in search of food, water, plunder or sheer adventure. In the modern world, roads have proved to yield profound economic and social significance.

“In the rural areas, agricultural development goes hand in hand with the expansion of roads. Apart from this, it breaks up the isolation of villages, helps in spreading education and creates a general sense of social awakening, promotion of health and various other social services.”

He further said that, “All in all we can say that the road connectivity in rural areas provides market access opportunities to rural people by which they can develop market linkage with other stakeholders in the economy. The development in market linkage, in other words, network development helps them diversify their income sources as they have linked with more variety and functional livelihood value chain systems.

“Mr. Speaker, Sir, distinguished hon colleagues, it is against this backdrop that, I hope and pray that this Honourable House would add its weight to this motion by intervening to save the situation from further deterioration, avert accidents and total collapse of the areas,” he explained.

Haruna, therefore, seeked the resolution of the house to come to the aid of the people of his constituency and its environs by calling the executive arm of government to as a matter of urgency, embark on rehabilitation of the road to ease the hardship being experienced by people plying it.

Responding to the motion, the Speaker, Abubakar Sulaiman recalled how people suffered plying the road last year when many roads were cut off and the road became an alternative route to Kano, saying the motion is timely and important.

While seconding the motion, Hon. Auwal Hassan representing Shira constituency commended the mover of the motion and said that since it’s a matter of urgent public importance, the house should adopt the motion. The house unanimously adopted the motion.

The second motion was moved by the member representing Sade constituency, Hon. Lawan Dauda calling on the executive arm of government to address landslide and road cut-off in Sauke Village along Bauchi-Maiduguri highway under Sade constituency in Darazo Local Government.

Leading debate on the motion, Hon. Lawan Dauda said that the lives of commuters passing through the Bauchi-Maiduguri Highway are at risk as a result of the gully erosion that washed away the road in Sauke Village of Darazo Local Government.

He explained that the damage is on one lane of the road and has been cut off by gully erosion initially not more than ten to five metres deep but now the damage has escalated and the second lane is under serious threat of imminent collapsing because proper attention was not given to address the situation.

He stressed that “Mr Speaker, my dear colleagues, the condition of the road has been causing a lot of accidents, particularly to motorists that have little or no idea of this development. If the menace is not urgently controlled, the affected place will completely collapse, thus leading to total disconnection of the highway with attendant severe consequences and cutting off of vehicular movement from Bauchi to Maiduguri.”

“It is imperative to note that when it rains, since there is no proper drainage, the water can’t be channeled properly so it flows down to the gully and worsens it. If the situation is not controlled soon, I fear it will get worse and lead to the loss of lives and many properties,” he further said.

Dauda, therefore, requested the House to plead with the state government to as a matter of urgency reach out to the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Federal Ministry of Works to rehabilitate the affected affected part of the road in order to save the lives and properties of Sauke Village all users of the road.

Also, the State Government should be advised to construct proper drainage systems and culverts in order to protect the community from all forms of erosion and continuous safety of the road.

He also requested that Sauke village be encouraged and advised to contribute their quota in addressing the problem through traditional means and other cultural practices such as the agroforestry system, planting of cover crops in their farms, planting trees along the streets as well as other local factors that can mitigate the gully erosion.

Seconding the motion, Hon. Engr. Sa’idu Suleiman Darazo representing Darazo constituency stressed the need for government quick intervention on the road so that the communities will not be disconnected.

In his contribution, Hon. Saleh Zakariyya representing Azare/Madangala constituency said that there is no doubt that the Government needs to urgently intervene because it is a serious problem.

He pleaded with the house to adopt all the prayers of the motion and communicate to the executive arm of government for implementation.

The speaker said that all the members are users of the road thus it affects all of them. He stressed the serious need for urgent intervention of government on the matter.

After putting the prayers of the motion to voice vote, the house unanimously adopted the motion.

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