Opinions

Return of toll plazas on Nigerian highways

It is an accepted norm that governments across the world are put in place to make life more meaningful for the people that are placed under their care. Apart from securing the people via effective mechanisms that would guarantee their safety, the welfare of the people is even one of the core mandates of the government. By this, the government must at all-time pursue the welfare of its people.

Globally, it is true that one platform that governments across the globe utilise for making life more abundant to its people is via the provision of world class infrastructure to their people. One key component of the infrastructural needs of the people is the quality of road connectivity that has been made available to them by the government to facilitate movement of people and goods from one corner of the country to the other.

Over the years, successive governments in the country have ensured that Nigeria is well connected from one end to the other. In all, Nigeria can boast of having about 34,000 kilometres of roads all classified into trunks A, B and C.

The task of managing and maintaining these roads have become somewhat very daunting to the government who has had to devise many policies and initiatives to make them more useful to the users whom they are meant to serve.

To effectively pool resources together to effectively manage the roads, the Federal Governments in the 1970s introduced tolling on major roads across the country. A review of the policy was carried out by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo who in 2003 abrogated the policy citing low amount of money being remitted into government coffers by the managers of these toll plazas.

The Federal Government is also tinkering with the idea of re-introducing the toll plaza as a means of utilising revenue generated to maintain the roads but the proposal seems to be causing some debates regarding the desirability or otherwise of the move.

Those opposed to the proposal argue that there is nothing that has been put in place yet that will warrant the government to toll the highways. They argue that the current deplorable state of the roads does not warrant the government to contemplate the move.

So intense was the debate in the media and other public forums that officials of state had to come out to douse the tension generated. Pointedly, the officials told Nigerians in plain terms that there are not going to be toll gates in all our major highways just yet.

As a Nigerian who had in the past enjoyed the privilege of commuting on good roads in the past, I will not object to the re-introduction of the toll plazas provided the proceeds from such is well utilised properly for maintenance of the roads.

Let me take your mind back to a few years ago when we had the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, we all enjoyed that road because it was easy for us to say I want to go and visit my friend in Ibadan, let me just drive down because the journey cannot be more than one hour. We commuted to and from Lagos without any fear of encountering bad road even in the dead of night but sadly, we don’t enjoy such privilege any more.

Flowing from feelers we are getting from official quarters, I am beginning to harbor the optimism that those good old days are coming back. When I say those days are coming back those days will come back.

I am, however, of the opinion that though the good old days will eventually come, when the government implements the policy to bring back the toll gates but from the look of things, there is no toll gate that is coming, at least not in the nearest future.

For tolling to happen, the needed infrastructure would have to be put in place. What I mean for instance is that we have to have a road where you can drive from Lagos to Ibadan without potholes, without this, it will be difficult for government to toll roads that are terribly bad.

It would be a recipe for disaster if the government insists on tolling without turning the roads into world class facilities for the people to use. I am very sure that you will be willing to pay a toll when the roads are good.

It is gratifying to note that the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola recently stated that there won’t be tolling of the major highways until the roads are put into proper shape.

There has to be a policy on road usage and maintenance but as I speak to you now, there is no such policy in place. When the policy is even in place, there has to be a lot of sensitization of the people on the desirability of the policy and why it is good for the people.

The good news now is that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Works and Housing has expressed its desire to concession 12 major highways through Public/Private Partnership initiative.

The initiative is coming under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) domicile in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

The ministry, in partnership with the various contracting firms in the PPP is set to put in place world class road infrastructures across the country to facilitate movement of Nigerians from one part to the other.

The government agency responsible for carrying out the task is the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

The Federal Government has identified some firms that would be utilised for the initiative. From the findings many of these firms are established engineering firms whose contributions would be invaluable to the country in the long run.

Conscious efforts must be made by the government to ensure that its policy with regards to the re-introduction of the tolling plazas must endeavor to explain the policy to the people in plain terms.

All components relating to the policy must be well understood by the people whom it meant for as a way of not only removing the ambiguity that might be associated with it but to avoid the needless controversies that it might throw up in the process of implementation.

The Federal Government must also ensure that it deploys all its media and information disseminations assets to get the people to buy-in into the policy.

All road users particularly commercial drivers as well as common road users must be properly briefed and carried along to make the programme and policy a success that it is intended to be.

Bakare sent this piece via omoetiri@gmail.com

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