All Bad Roads Lead To Kwara State

All bad roads lead to Kwara State? That of course is obvious. What is more obvious is the fact that Kwara remains one of the poorest States in Nigeria. And the most obvious is fact that the State is being ruled by a family since the ascension of a prodigious dynasty, Saraki. With this, the State has generated a barrage of scathing criticisms from concerned citizens of Nigeria why it has remained a puppet in the hand of the alchemist who twisted and turned the fate of the state, and had in his fiat,  had passed the baton of power to his son after his demise. Politics has remained a chess game for those who are ready to sacrifice their pawns for the coming future; those who are ready to be feudal lords of the future must be ready to weigh in the price today and pay the dues to whom best deserve them. That’s exactly what Olusola Saraki did before he installed his son after his predictions and sire-ship failed under Governorship of Mohammed Lawal in 2003 elections. But, I do not want to speak on Kwara politics and how our ‘homeboy’ smarted his way to the top again recently being the number there citizen of Nigeria; that is old news already. Road as the ladder to life is the butt.

I have travelled on different Nigerian roads; I have seen different types of bad roads. But here is the conclusion: all bad roads lead to Kwara State. Except you are plying from Ogbomosho axis and you take the Expressway which I think is fair and better except for some stop-overs and the fact that you could face Highway Patrol Teams who extort some change from you, it is a safe trip already. Coming through the old road of Otee could be another fistful tale already. The road is narrow, incongruous and bad. But then, Most Nigerian roads are like that and only few of them are safe and motorable. And even made un-motorable by how bumps are growing illegally all over the place because the speed some Nigerian drivers cruise at the sight of a good tarred road is mouth-widening. When you ply on Otee road as you travel in from Oyo State that is the example of Kwara Road I am yapping about.

But I know of a more ‘badder’ road. Looking for accident news to scoop, you don’t have to search far. Kwara does not have the worst experience of bad roads really. Oyo-Odo-Oba axis is all-ways-lead-to-hell. Only Providence knows the number of lives the road has harvested. From each travel I made to Kwara State until I finished service year, everyday was a bloodletting one, from fresh to two days old accidents which carried gory scenes. How much more could one say when the expansion business of the Federal expressway is going to be finished? The road is narrow and wheeled on by big beasts and small cars whose drivers are so, but recklessly enjoying the pedal pulls. This is not Kwara State’s business but as a neighbouring state, and a chord, a comment is always reserved.

Only this Road could compare, say all those potholes infested roads of Kaiama and Baruteen Local Governments, and the more dangerous one of Oloru, Saadu, Jebba axis of Moro Local government; this is federal project causing state tragedy. I do not want to talk about the tragedy of Erinle-Offa axis. As if it was the case we were in bad need of flyover bridge, the planting of a flyover in Post Office Ilorin by Sen. Bukola Saraki was a big colonial project that prospered the Capital beauty but what about other roads needing greater attention in Kwara State. I know this is already stashed old news. But what about using the millions of naira invested in constructing this white elephant to plant new ways for the suburbs, and at least grow a little maintenance culture for the old one.

We have a new re-installed governor, an extension of Saraki dynasty; we all know he is doing fantastically well. We also believe in the promises of change of the incumbent President, Mohammadu Buhari on whose delegation he is serving as governor. And we also assume that the billions of naira on roads projects are consumed by the potholes revealing. But for now, and this minute, all bad roads lead to Kwara State except for the ones on the televisions!