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From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Residents of the Umuguma community and the World Bank Housing Estate, a suburb of Owerri Metropolis, have decried the horrible state of the roads amidst the unrelenting rains that have practically turned the road to rivers of mud.
Although the road has been under construction for several years, dating back to the Rochas Okorocha administration, the current state of the road has resulted in a significant hike in transport fares.
The Commissioner for Works, Ralph Nwosu, had identified the primary challenge as the absence of a suitable location to channel the flood as the area is fully built up, making it difficult to implement effective channelisation. He noted that this had led to persistent flooding and waterlogging on the road, causing inconvenience to residents and commuters.
Nwosu said that the state government is exploring alternative solutions, including construction of a new drainage system and expansion of existing waterways. He had assured that the government will continue to work tirelessly to address the challenges facing the Umuguma road.
However, when Daily Sun visited the area it was quite obvious that a permanent solution was needed as the entire road, which is still under construction, was heavily waterlogged. The residents wondered why the successive state governments always chose to start reconstruction works on the road during the rainy season instead of the dry season.
Some residents who spoke with Daily Sun lamented that the terrible condition of the Umuguma road, which leads to Owerri West council headquarters, the Orieokwu market, and the neighbouring community of Okuku, has caused the residents both physical and psychological stress.
Mr Chukwuma Anyanwu, who lives in the Okuku community, said he has stopped driving his car to work because of the condition of the road. He now uses public transport to and from work.
“Since the beginning of the rainy season, I have stopped driving my car to work. I now use public transport because the entire stretch of the road is always flooded whenever it rains, and since July, the rains have been torrential. To compound situations, the transporters have hiked their fares. Initially, the fare from the World Bank roundabout to Umuguma on a bus used to be N200, but it is now N500 a drop. Similarly, the commercial motorcyclists used to charge N400, but now, it is N1,000 a drop. They even increase their fares whenever it rains because the road is flooded.”
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He went on, “I don’t understand why the government chooses to undertake any repairs on this road during the rainy season, instead of during the dry season. During the time of ex-governor Ikedi Ohakim, the road was motorable and was a single lane. However, the road was dualised from the World Bank roundabout during the administration of Rochas Okorocha. But the Okorocha government abandoned the projects. Since then, there has been one contractor or the other working on this road and, yet, it has not been completed.”
Also, Oluchi Iheanyichukwu, a commercial bus driver and a resident of the community disclosed that the cost of maintenance of their vehicles have increased because of the deplorable state of the road. He called on the state government to save the residents and commercial buses by telling the contractor handling the project to expedite work on the road.
“We are spending more on maintenance of our vehicles and on fuel as you can see for yourself, how bad the road is, because driving through muddy water affects the engine and vehicle in general. Whenever it rains, which is almost every day, you cannot drive on this road to avoid running into the deep gutter in the middle of the road, which was constructed when former Governor Rochas Okorocha dualised the road. We have suffered on this road for several years,” he lamented.
It is the same for Dr Anslem Ibewuchi, who said that the condition of the Umuguma road is an indictment on the state government. The medical practitioner, who disclosed that he lives in the Okuku community, said that the Umuguma road has become a nightmare to ply on, and that he could not risk plying the Irete to the Okuku community road to avoid being waylaid by Fulani herders.
He noted that even the Irete-Okuku road is worse than the Umuguma road as the state government has not considered it as a priority, and that residents are left with no choice, but to use the Umuguma road.
“It is scandalous that a major road like this has been neglected for years by the government. I have lived in Okuku for over 10 years, which is a stone throw from Umuguma. It is less than 20 minutes drive from Okuku to the state capital Owerri, if the road is in a motorable condition. Every time you see contractors doing one thing or the other on the road, only to abandon the work.
It has been like this for years. I have stopped driving my car to work after I got stuck in the mud last month, and had to part with N20,000 to some Hausa boys to help push it out of the mud. I now use a bike every day. It is not a funny experience. Yet, we have a government.
“We used to have a functional local government council in Owerri West. But we don’t have any more, otherwise they would have carried out some palliative measures before the rainy season, then when the rains recede, which is usually around November, major construction work would be carried out. But, as the contractors are working on the road with the heavy rains, which we’ve been experiencing this year, the road becomes worse because it is waterlogged. The only road to get to my house in Okuku is Umuguma road. I can’t risk using the Okuku – Irete road which will be suicidal because you might run into the Fulani herders who are occupying the bushes and be kidnapped. Several people have ended up as victims. Besides, the road is even worse than the Umuguma road. It is a terrible situation”, he lamented.
