James Ojo, Abuja
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, have expressed grave concern over the deplorable state of roads across the country and called on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency.
While SSANU said the call became imperatives after the lamentations of its members who congregated for its 37th National Executive Council meeting in Ondo State, Adams argued that there was a nexus between deplorable state of the roads and crimes like kidnapping and armed banditry.
Their observation, however, contradicted Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Fashola, who said last week that reports on the conditions of roads in the country were mere hype.
A communiqué from the non-academic lecturers’ meeting signed by its president, Samson Ugwoke and the Public Relations Officer, Abdulsobur Salaam, in Abuja, stated that members who came for the meeting from across the country complained about bad roads they passed through.
The communique read: “NEC in Session noted with great disappointment that the state of Nigerian roads are getting worse and more dangerous to traverse by the day.
“Coming from various parts of the country, members narrated the hazardous experiences they had on roads which have become death traps filled with potholes, gullies and craters.
“NEC observed that it is indeed shameful that a country which has realised billions of dollars in crude oil revenue for years, cannot maintain its roads, no thanks to endemic corruption which has eaten into the fabric of the nation.
“NEC, therefore, appeals to the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on Nigerian roads to save Nigerians from avoidable loss of lives through road accidents and other mishaps.”
Speaking at the quarterly meeting of the 15th Aare Onakakanfo-in-Council in Lagos, yesterday, Adams urged the Federal Government to treat the deplorable road networks as a national emergency to reduce insecurity in the country.
He also advised all the 36 state governors to do the same, arguing that there was a nexus between the deplorable state of the roads and crimes like kidnapping and armed banditry, among others.
The Aare Onakakanfo noted that fixing the roads was a sure way of impeding the activities of criminals who had turned their evil enterprise to mega business across the country.
Adams also urged the South-West governors to intensify efforts on the zone’s flagship security initiative, code-named ‘Amotekun’ for the preservation of lives and property in the region.
He said: “I urged the Yoruba to support the governors of South-West to ensure total emancipation of the region as a way of achieving peace, security and stability.
“I implore them to invest heavily in agriculture, including livestock production and strategic storage.
“They should also ensure concerted exploitation of the region’s fertile soil and clement climate to feed the teeming populace in the zone and gainfully engage the spiralling population of its unemployed youths.
“This is a panacea to the prevailing criminal activities among that segment of our national population.”
Adams specifically commended the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, for his decision to support and collaborate with the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and other private security organisations to stamp out crime and criminality in the region.
Apart from the road, SSANU also discussed the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which their Academic colleagues, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) opposed.
“NEC in Session reaffirmed the commitments of SSANU towards enrolling its members into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) subject to the accommodation of all peculiarities in the university system as agreed in the various meetings held between the government represented by officers in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the university based unions.
“NEC noted that the resolve of SSANU to join the IPPIS platform was in support of Government in its bid to entrench transparency and accountability in the university system and to curb the spate of personnel corruption which is one of the reasons accountable for the declining standard and rot in the Nigerian University system.
“NEC urged the Federal Government to remain firm and resolute in its bid to stop corruption in all facets of our national life and resolved to give support to the government in all efforts to ensure that sanity is restored to the Nigerian university system.”