* Eyewitness account
* Motorists should be ready to sleep on the road during festive periods

If motorists are sleeping on the road before the yuletide holidays, where few people are traveling because of the tough economic situation presently, then motorists should be prepared to sleep for days on the road. If possible, they should travel with their mats or mattresses and maybe with stoves or gas cookers to prepare their meals by the roadside.

During former President Goodluck Jonathan, the then Minister of Works, Arc Mike Onolememen ensured that motorists don’t pass the night on the road. As soon as the rain recedes, he mobilises contractors across the country to the roads to ensure that all roads are motorable for travelers.

Then, the Minister travels with journalists to see things by themselves. They don’t rely on press releases and conferences like what you see nowadays, they do on-the-ground assessment and write what they see on ground. During my recent trips, what I saw were baffling and disheartening. I felt embarrassed after using press releases and praising this administration for the jobs I claimed that they were doing which are not visible.

Ever since, Onolememen left, Nigeria and Nigerians have never enjoyed good roads. Some journalists who are still covering the Ministry of Works can attest to this. Many people have stopped traveling while some have abandoned their vehicles because of the so many damages the roads have done to them.

The Federal Roads Management, FERMA has become a shadow of itself, collecting allocations and doing nothing. They have reconstructed the bad portions of Mogadishu Barracks road along Nyanya-Keffi for more than six times in two years yet the road is still in bad shape. They don’t seem to know what they are doing, it is either they are confused or they have the assemblage of unqualified engineers in their folds.

During Onolememen, FERMA was very active, they reconstructed the Uromi junction to Agbor junction road and was in good shape – the last time I drove on the road. They also managed so many other roads very well but today, they are just existing, sitting in the office and earning salaries. The Lagos to Seme-Krake border is another eyesore, the entrance to the country, the first thing a visitor will see, is in a terrible shape and dirty, what a big shame for a country that is regarded as the Giant of Africa.

The Trailers have taken over the roads. They park their vehicles anywhere with impunity not minding if they are causing obstructions. They have taken over Sagamu, Okpela-Okene and now they have taken over Auchi and causing serious hardship for other motorists especially smaller vehicles.

These guys have taken laws into their hands by parking their vehicles indiscriminately by the shoulders of the roads hence damaging them. During Onolememen as Minister, parking lots were made for them but today they are no longer using them. And the funniest thing is that government officials, security men including the Minister sees them but allows things to be.

This is truly an eyewitness account, this is trying to run anybody down or a hearsay and it is also not to scare people from traveling but to prepare their minds ahead especially if the present administration does not do anything between now and December.

Nigerians have already lost hope in the government of the day and not expecting anything again. It is now left for the government to redeem its already-damaged image in the area of roads by not only ensuring that the roads are fixed on time but by ensuring that the trailers are off the roadside for easy traveling for other road users.