After roads leading to Galadimawa and Kabusa had been abandoned for years, respite has finally come the way of the residents as contractors are back to site. KEHINDE OSASONA was in the area recently and reports.
Up-close with Galadimawa community
As first-timer in Galadimawa from Games Village area, what first stares a visitor in the face as he/she approaches the community is a gigantic and massive Chinese construction erected at the roundabout leading to the expansive, but not too motorable community.
The roundabout spot links Sunny-Vale Estate, Airport/Lugbe road and another adjoining road leading straight to life Camp road. Lately too, the bye-pass and snarl traffic movement and on many occasion traffic jams have also characterised the fast-growing community. During the rainy season the narratives become unpalatable as the community which houses several medium and high- profile estates becomes a death trap.
Last year alone, at least five deaths were recorded when flooding overtook the constructed canals and spilled to the tarred roads. Aside from the casualties, many cars were swept away by the flood which is mostly caused by the seasonal rainfall.
The relief
Residents of both Galadimawa and Kabusa communities who hitherto had to contend with dusty and bumpy rides can now heave a sigh of relief as the road connecting them to the metro is being repaired. Previously, the major motorable road leading to the popular Kabusa market and Galadimawa village had become impassable; Keke operators and the motorcyclists had no choice but to make brisk business despite the state of the road. If completed, the long-stretched road which was started but suffered abandonment under three past administrations of President Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan would re-awaken the economic, social and commercial lives of the people.
While speaking to Blueprint Weekend during a visit, a resident, Aminu Adi, who was beaming with smiles, commended the government for “doing the needful.”
When asked what the needful was, he said, “My brother before now, we had lost hope simply because this road has suffered in the hands of previous government.
“What we normally see then is ‘Touch and Go’ kind of operation and before you knew it, the construction workers would be nowhere to be found again. In fact, we thought we are cursed here. But with this development coupled with the expansion that is on-going, I do not mind the sloppy nature of the road or even the dust, but rather looking forward to the day it would be delivered for proper usage,” he said.
Before this new development, she had been angry and pissed off by the persistent dust that invaded her nostrils. Now she was happy because the dust would give way to expansive tarred road with standardized drainage system.
Testimonies, lamentations
Rachel Okoye, a resident, who expressed her delight, urges the government to continue in the new stride. She said, “We are very happy for this ongoing construction because prior to this time when dust was tormenting us, we cried and sent emissary to government with no avail.
“Due to the bad road, cost of transportation by Okada and Marwa operators here became higher especially in the night and during rainfall. It was either you pay N200 for a journey of five minutes or leave it. We had no choice then but to pay and get to our destinations.
“But with what we are seeing now, we can only urge them to carry on with the construction of the road linking the two communities.”
For Etim Nsikak, a businessman, the construction and expansion of the abandoned road is a good development. He notes that the construction will finally help to reduce the “torturing and avoidable dusts.”
“Whenever am stepping out in the morning with my children on the bike, I usually cry inside me, saying: ‘Why Me’? But what do we do other than to keep agitating and praying that one day, government will remember us for good which they have now done.
“You need to see what we are going through in this community to appreciate this new development. Although, I never doubted that the road would be revisited one day, but I did not know that it would be this year 2020. I think it is our luck year.”
According to Mama Tochi, a trader, the expansion has affected her business as she had to abandon her small make-shift shop. She, however, said accidents on the road will reduce with the construction.
“My small business was doing fine and customers were coming to patronise, but on many occasion, i always found it difficult to display my wares. I can only pray that after the expansion there would be a space for me again because the business na family business oo” was how Mama Tochi put it before walking off.
While strolling on the graded road to ascertain how the work was going and the challenges, our reporter attempted to speak to some of the workers at the site who turned him down.
Efforts to also speak to the site engineer were also rebuffed as a middle-age worker in a truck marked with ‘C’ inscription also feigned ignorance.
However, a worker who refused to be named because he was not authorised to speak told this reporter that work was in progress.
“As you can see, we work here daily and we have not stopped since we started. But as for how much that has been spent or when it would be delivered, I cannot answer that at ball,” he said.
A member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), who asked not to be named in print, told this medium that although their garage was demolished in the process and activities affected; the road according to him will pave way for development in the area.
“This is where I make my daily bread as NURTW worker, but as it is now, we must praise government at least for coming back to finish what they started,” he said.
Meanwhile, as a follow up to information scooped from the people on site, this reporter went further to get the FCT authorities and its agencies were abortive.
When Blueprint Weekend tried to get the Director of Engineering Services, Director of Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), to speak on the matter, the effort was to no avail as calls put through to his phone could not connect.
However, someone who works in that department, said, “What I will tell you is that we are trying to work fast so that rain wont disturb us. By the time it would come, work would have gone far,” was what he divulged.
Minister’s regrets, assurances
During the inspection and opening of a section of Life Camp/Karimo Fish market portion of road to motorists last year, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Musa Bello, lamented that the state of the road did not justify funds spent on the project. According to him, despite huge amount expended on the project, there was no connectivity.
He was quoted as saying, “I am happy and delighted because the idea of a city is to have roads that are functional. With this section that has been completed and the other one under construction , I hope that in the next few weeks there will be full functionality of road and move into another part of the city.”
On the traffic regulation, the minister said, “This is still a construction site, certain things will not be done, by the time the two segments of the road are done, the street lights are fixed, then the traffic compliance will be in place.”
Also, on the heels of the restriction of commercial tricycle operators to certain parts of the city in 2019, the minister assured residents that the administration was putting in place strategies to improve roads and public transportation situation in the capital city. He said in the 2020 statutory budgetary allocation, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) got N40, 282,958,388, while the Satellite Town Development Agency (STDA) got N33, 702,830,000.
Bello said further that the FCTA was proposing to spend the sum of N6, 145,915,689 for the rehabilitation, expansion, extension and construction of six major roads which include the Outer Southern Expressway, Inner Southern Expressway, among others.
He also disclosed that the sum of N33.7 billion had been earmarked for the provision of infrastructure in the satellite towns while resettlement and compensation was expected to gulp the sum of N3.4 billion.
Similarly, Bello said the transportation sector was allocated the sum of N14, 889,210,813 out of which N9 billion was earmarked for the Abuja Light Rail project including the rolling stock and provisions for other phases.
