The cases of accidents in our country is mostly caused by the very pitiable condition of our roads aside of the negligence of drivers. The impact of bad roads aside of major and minor accidents is the cost of maintaining vehicles. If the car radiator doesn’t leak, the tyres will get punched or the drive shaft is dislocated.
During the course of my trip , I saw fully loaded trailers coming from various parts of the country , struggling to move along both sides of a narrow road. As a result of this , the road was clumsy and highly risky to ply. Then I thought ,” how do drivers travel through this road on a regular basis ? Is this risk worth taking ? , however they have to survive”. The road wasn’t only narrow but void of illumination at night, this is pathetic!
Technology students and graduates keep studying about how to design pedestrian solar powered street lights and yet this project has not been explored to the level of which it is needed in this country. Unfortunately , we still travel in the dark. It was an hopeless situation when an elderly woman exclaimed in a bitter tone saying the road has been in its terrible condition for over 20 years!
I know the problems faced by Nigeria can be really complex but my question is , are we progressing at all? If we are progressing as a nation , then in no time , the drops of progress will make an ocean of progress. However, it seems like while a few are trying to make things work , majority are ruining things.
The situation Nigeria is struggling with can be illustrated using the atomic reactor as an example. The atomic reactor needs small gram of fuel to generate a large magnitude of electricity . However , depending on how the nuclear power station is properly managed , there is a tendency to either cause havoc to the environment and its inhabitants or keep them save. This seems like what is happening in Nigeria… the very small gram of fuel is the directive given by the few good people in governance while the havoc caused to the environment and its inhabitant is as a result of negligence through the misuse of power , misappropriation of funds and other measures of corrupt activities performed by the bad people in governance and majority of their subordinates. As it is now, the road conditon in Nigeria is likely to be the road to the aftermath of a mismanaged nuclear station.
We are all guilty for either taking part in the abnormalities or keeping quiet. Government encompasses those in power , the subordinates and every single citizen. Are we upholding the law or not ? Are we working for the system or against it ? Do we submit tenders and construct low quality roads after getting the job? Do we give projects to contractors and exploit them? The point is for serious change to happen , we all have to be serious about making it happen!
