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Let me do two explanations before before we delve into the meat of today’s discourse. These have to do with the concept of country and nations. I have undertaken this exercise severally on this page and it is very crucial we keep at it because of their importance in achieving sustainable development in our clime.
Societies don’t just move from society into country and finally to become a nation state. It is not a destination, but rather a long journey. They evolve through the outcomes of sensible, deliberate visions and actions. There must be pathways and accompanying hard work tied to it. Countries are creations of men. It would not matter if the people that made up the association are homogeneous or heterogeneous.
The basic take off point must be consultations to gather vision and get a buy in, meeting to achieve “ownership” in which case the fear of sabotage would be reduced to the minimum, aberrant behavior is seen as affront to the collective whole and finally agreement stage which political scholars like to describe as “consensus.” The constitution of a country when properly processed is the consensus of all in it. This is why it is seen as the grundnorm towering far above any other legislation that may be made in the process of development.
Where there is consensus, path to metamorphosing from society is made quite easier. Members know in advance what is due them and the responsibilities attached to any gain so the biggest outcome is cooperation and unity under one purpose. Where bonding arising from consensus is lacking, rudderlessness becomes the vogue. Sense of ownership is dealt a fatal blow and a major consequence is privatization of public patrimony. If anyone is still wondering why corruption is high and projects remain largely undone, that is the root or foundation to it.
Take a look at what we term a country and it would not take rigour to see evidences to the fact we don’t have a country more than 63 years after independence. We got out of the hold of British colonialism, which is a fact but the truth is we are yet to be independent. Nothing about an independent country are we able to do. We have schools but we hardly can manufacture even the simplest article. Our colleges churn out engineers in large numbers yet a walk on our roads will show foreign technicians, including many from Arab countries handling our major road projects. One sees that and begins to wonder of what use is the trend of putting aside huge public funds to build tertiary institutions.
To add insult to injury, the road projects are either not completely done or they are poorly executed making them go very bad few months after the supposed construction. This writer had cause to ply the Aba-Rumukrushe junction which is part of the popular East/West Road and then to get into the wharf in the Eleme area of Rivers State. One lacks words to describe the state of that portion of the road.
The road is not just bad, it is in terrible bad shape. It continues until one finds himself in the port. There is nothing pleasant about the internal roads of the seaport. A few more inquiries confirm that the strategic East/West is also in a similar state of great disrepair. The Aba end of Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt expressway we had already observed is bad. If we add to these the Enugu-Otukpo-Ayingba Road and Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, which too is in a very sorry state, not excluding other such very strategic roads left to rot across the country, one has no choice but to begin to wonder what vision drives the development of the country.
What kind of a country do we intend to create and what actually is the mechanism for getting it done? For the life of this writer every government on assumption of office tells us the citizens they know the importance of infrastructure in bringing about the kind of country we envisage. They promise to tackle the challenge of infrastructure, especially roads which is the focus of our today’s outing. They even borrow to pursue activities in the sector but in the end it is as if nothing got started. These misplacements and accompanying leave the citizens worse and the country prostrate.
If part of our ambition is is to build a nation that would be self sufficient and self-sustaining, then a road like Aba to Port Harcourt ought to in the same very condition all year round. Aba is both an economic and inventive hub, if our leaders have vision the goal would have been to position Aba and have it deeply entrenched to compete in those areas of comparative advantage. Having a sure linkage to the sea through Rivers State would have been one of the many propelling forces. But where we are it would seem nobody is thinking let alone to see a vision, and to talk of passion and pursuit.
So Aba remains cut off. Of course the rich Port Harcourt city environment can’t spill out the cash in its bowel because economic reticulation is greatly hindered. Residents, especially expatriates, doing oil related businesses earn money to go elsewhere to spend. The same way it will amount to sacrilege to allow a road leading to her wharf to remain in perpetual poor state. No gathering of sane people will allow that to happen. But it has happened and is still very much. If anyone doubts this account, a journey to the Onne pPort will open your eyes to the destruction of the country by our citizens masquerading as leaders.
What on earth would make a government not take very seriously the condition of the highway that takes three zones of a country into and out of their federal capital. What is communication, mobility, economic development and buoyancy about after all? One is really amazed to see that governments of Abia, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states are mute over the sorry state of Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road. The governors of Akwa Ibom and Cross River states ought to be speak loudly on the need to have the stretch repaired because of the impact it has on the economic activities of people of the area.
After everything, the big questions remain and they include: How do we view our union? What is the picture of our destination say in the next twenty years. A great country can emerge within the time frame. Is that what we want? If the picture is clear, what are the pathways? What and what should constitute the major? And what stays on the side of the minor. If per chance we fail to catch a vision, the future promises to be far more terrible and traumatic. In the next 20 years oil, which is the main source of free money would have been obsolete. Then and then what we failed to do will turn round to hurt us very badly.
