Senators and our sudden bad roads

A common belief among the Igbo is that ‘if while climbing a tree you insist on going beyond the top, the earth will be waiting for you.’ That came to mind when Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recently cried out that roads across the country are bad and in utter state of disrepair. They passed a resolution that the Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on roads. Our distinguished senators also called on the government, that’s the executive, to release funds it is owing the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). When funds statutorily meant for FERMA are made available to the agency, our roads would be maintained and our distinguished senators can ply them. Before now, they climbed a tree and went beyond the top. Now they are back to the earth.

Why are our representatives back to the waiting earth? As always, àkù fechaa o daara awo… the flying termite alate will always land for the waiting frog. Our senators have realised that air fares have gone so high that even they ‘their distinguished selves’ are affected. No, don’t get it wrong, our senators can afford the air tickets. Why not? They truthfully can afford it from their legitimate earnings. But what about their aides, their associates and, well… their wives and mots? That’s financially enervating now. Imagine the cost of air fares in the case of that lawmaker who brought his wives to the House of Representatives. The current cost of air tickets would leave a gashing injury to the purse of the senators, the purse of the senate and the purse of the state. So, that’s not good enough. It’s simply unacceptable.

It might appear not to be altruistic on the face value, but our senators appear to mean well. Elections are approaching we might reason. But we still have to thank our distinguished senators, especially Senator Gershom Bassey from Cross River South. The resolution that the federal government should declare an emergency on our (federal) roads is appreciated and the demand is supported. It’s just that we appear to be back to square one as a country. We are back to those things we had ignored.

By resorting to demanding for a declaration of a state of emergency on Nigerian roads, it has become clear to our senior lawmakers that there is no shortcut to the top of the palm tree. We are indeed back to the basics. If we had put infrastructure in place – electricity, good roads; provide security – Nigerians (and Nigeria) will excel. The current outcry by our distinguished senators is a pointer to a Twi saying that “if an arrow has not entered deeply, then its removal is not hard.” Consider how far the country has come in the neglect of basic infrastructure. Check out the condition of roads in the country’s 36 states and find out how many of the decrepit roads are owned by the federal government. Most of the worst roads in the country are classified as Trunks A and B roads.

A presidential action committee on infrastructure led to the setting up of FERMA. When FERMA came, it was to serve as a body to save us all the things distinguished Senator Bassey and his colleagues from Niger and Kogi states decried in before their resolution. The Cross River senator is the chairman of the Senate Committee on FERMA. He has been shouting that the federal government is heavily indebted to FERMA. Since 2019, he has always spoken against the poor funding of FERMA so much that, for instance, only about 18 per cent of its budgetary allocation for 2021 was released. Perhaps that amount was meant for the salary of the many professionals employed as workers and consultants at the agency for that year. They are to just stretch their hands, collect their salaries and return their hands in-between their laps. That seems to be the only duty carried out by FERMA employees these days.

From observation, it is obvious that the fire of FERMA began to dance backwards shortly after the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. The agency began its recession into Nigerians’ memory after the change of government in May 2015. It will not be far from the truth if some Nigerians contend vigorously that the once vibrant FERMA was seen on many roads doing their “patch-patch work to keep us moving.” This has become yesterday’s memory.

The senators are unhappy that things have gone south for many aspects of the Nigerian economy, excerbated by bad roads. Their call on the government to make the roads passable shows that “the rich also cry.” The cry about bad roads now shows that their àkù has finished its flight. “Sometimes, rich people also eat bad food.” Perhaps, this might be the beginning of steps to restoring some form of sustainable road rehabilitation and maintenance processes in the frame of relegated FERMA in Nigeria. FERMA should be a functional and standard road maintenance agency indeed.

Bassey said: “The deplorable state of the federal roads in Nigeria has become a national embarrassment. Scores of innocent people are kidnapped by bandits, robbed, mutilated and killed daily in avoidable accidents on account of bad federal roads. The rise in airfare has pegged the minimum Economy Class ticket at around N80,000 for travellers buying one-hour, one-way economy tickets. The increase in airfares will increase the pressure on the neglected and dilapidated Nigerian roads and will further worsen the state of the roads. The sum of about N850Billion that is to accrue to FERMA by virtue of the 5% user charge on pump price of petrol, diesel and international vehicle transit charges provided for in Section 14 of FERMA (AMENDMENT) Act No.18 of 2007 is still being owed FERMA by the Federal Government.”

“The Federal Government should immediately make good its indebtedness to FERMA in order to enable the agency carry out its primary responsibility of rehabilitating federal roads, especially in the face of the astronomical increase in airfares.”

The senator has been saying this since 2019. It’s not new to the ears. Perhaps, the new thing is to reduce the 17 percent or so roads under federal government and return the Trunk B roads to the states. The senators can do this and end the trouble.