@csrf

15.10.2024 Featured Residents Live Through Yearly Difficulty on Road Kaduna Govt Failed to Complete Since 2021

Published 15th Oct, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

Residents of Kabala West and Nariya communities in the Kaduna South and Igabi local government areas of Kaduna State have been subjected to the unpleasant implication of an abandoned road which ought to have been constructed in 2021.

Both harmattan and rainy seasons leave a trail of discomfort and disruption for the different classes of people whose daily lives are tied to the Kabala West-Nariya road, which was approved for construction by the previous administration of Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

These communities are residential with a mix of retail shops, a mini community market, a healthcare centre and local taxis relying on the abandoned road to convey passengers from one point to the other.

READ ALSO: Chronicles of Kidnap Survivors (II): Kaduna Teenager Learned to Shoot at 14 Because ‘Kidnappings Happen Everyday’

A section of the road leading to Nariya Bus Stop. Photo Credit: Sodeeq Atanda/FIJ.

The project’s construction history is becoming long as a completion timeline of 12 months is already entering into its fourth year without any sign of completion any time soon. The government gave out the contract to construct the road to Danjiro Nigeria Ltd in December 2020, according to a Facebook post by the Kaduna State Roads Agency (KADRA).

In separate interviews with FIJ, residents lamented the protracted suffering they had been subjected to due to the abandonment of the road by the state government.

“The project has been in the works since 2021. But before then, at least four companies have handled the road. I think the last contractor stopped work early 2023,” Alhaji Saheed, a civil engineer and resident of Kabala West, told FIJ.

A section of the road. Photo Credit: Sodeeq Atanda/FIJ.

“Muddy water is what we deal with during rainy seasons as you can see now. But as harmattan season is a few months away, it means we are about to witness another round of increased dust levels; wind will blow dust particles in a cloud-like form from the road onto rooftops and vehicles and people in this area will have themselves impacted negatively.

“Shop owners will battle daily as their goods would be covered with brownish particles. Some traders would have to hide some goods that could be destroyed if exposed to dust. This will not be the first time; it has been our yearly tale since 2021.

“But it is now more terrible because the contractors have left the site. It has been a horrible experience so far. Let me not forget to say that they used to water the road to mitigate the dust levels when they were on the site.”

Residents like Saheed grapple daily with the consequences, including health risks, of leaving the roadway uncompleted. From air pollution affecting human health to the loss of manhours to frequent vehicular damage, people’s lives are saturated with harmful experiences that paint the human cost of state project neglect.

Personnel of KADRA and the contractor during the contract signing. Source: KADRA’s Facebook Page.

FIJ observed that the road drainage had been constructed while a new bridge had been erected at a river close to the Kabala West Divisional Police Headquarters. The river is said to be the boundary line between Kaduna South and Igabi LGAs.

Immediately after the bridge, the road had been divided into two by a long, six-foot-deep pothole big enough to trap a vehicle.

Long after the drainage construction, the road remained untarred. It was dotted by varying sizes of water-retaining potholes that made vehicular movement uneasy.

Named Murtala Muhammad Road, the roadway begins at Kabala West Bus Stop through Nariya Community up to the ongoing federal gas pipeline project and terminates at Buruku-Kaduna Highway.

As of the time FIJ visited, there was no contractor’s signpost or any other equipment at the site. FIJ learnt that the last contractor who handled the project removed its signpost about a year ago.

HEALTH RISK OF DUST POLLUTION

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), outdoor air pollution causes 6.7 million deaths annually.

In a paper published by the World Bank, the dust component of air pollution is particularly harmful in the short term and long term to the human body, causing issues such as respiratory instability and asthma.

“Dust particles are a major source of outdoor air pollution, especially in low and middle-income countries. Fugitive dust comes primarily from arid and dry regions where high winds can remove and carry the particles over a wide area,” the report stated.

A project signpost. Source: Facebook.

READ ALSO: SPECIAL REPORT: Kaduna Gov’t Had 5 Years to Prevent Abduction of 137 Kuriga Schoolchildren but Failed

“Dust particles can be deposited very near their source or, after being carried by the wind, be deposited thousands of miles away. The wind that carries the dust may also carry many other types of particles that may be hazardous to health.”

KADRA had not responded to a request for comment sent via email address [email protected] obtained from its active Facebook page on Monday as of press time.

One reply on “Residents Live Through Yearly Difficulty on Road Kaduna Govt Failed to Complete Since 2021”

This is a sad reality to the people living in kabala west community , while others township area of kaduna metropolitan enjoys the dividend of democracy in terms of good road network ,this mixed tribes of kabala west are deliberately abandoned by the state government to their fate,this is unfair and unacceptable.
We urged the state government to raise to the occasion by putting a smile in the face of the people of kabala west and Nariya communities,, government should give them a good road network to boost their economic and safeguard their health.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Published 15th Oct, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

Advertisement

Our Stories

Adeleke Accuses Tinubu’s Nephew Oyetola of Hatching Monday Mayhem Plan in Osun

NIUK Shares Dubious Election Results With Hours-Late Clarification

Boss Claimed Edo Man Committed Suicide at Work. Corpse Showed Otherwise

UNIZIK Students Can Be Punished for Offences Without Conclusive Proof of Wrongdoing

24 Hours After FIJ’s Story, Afriex Credits Customer’s Wallet With Missing N220,000

Nigerians, Data Disagree With Tinubu Adviser’s Claim Food Is Cheaper

Robbers Attack UI’s Obafemi Awolowo Hall, Take Students’ Gadgets

Police, Army Mute 2 Weeks After Retired General Tsiga’s Abduction

Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun

Policemen Cry Out as Failure to Pay N10,000 Bribe Costs Them Promotion

Nigeria’s January Oil Output Falls 500,000 bpd Short of Target

Advertisement