Coalition Asks FG To Declare State Of Emergency On Roads Leading To South-East...CONTINUE READING
A sociopolitical organization, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), has decried the deplorable condition of federal roads leading to the southeast zone.
The Coalition asked the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the bad roads, regretting that the roads have become death traps and have led to the untimely deaths of so many Nigerians.
The federal roads in question include the Abuja-Lokoja -Benue- Enugu road, Kogi-Onitsha road and Onitsha- Enugu etc.
In a press release by its President General, Goodluck Egwu Ibem, issued to newsmen in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Monday, the COSEYL also regretted that the bad roads have seriously affected economic activities in the country with heavy losses by investors and enterprises.
The group said, “about 90 percent of haulage of heavy goods are by road transport. The deplorable state of the road from Abuja to the southeast through Kogi is really in a sorry state. Vehicles and trucks conveying people, food items and goods fall on a daily basis on that road.
“Those that bring in foods and other commodities from the north now find it very difficult to do so as the cost of transporting goods from the north to the east is no longer affordable by the common man. Crops produced in the rural areas get spoilt in the villages and farms because there is no means of transporting them to the market in urban centres where there are needed. The farmers in the villages have enough food to waste while those in the urban areas are hungry because of the deplorable state of the roads.
The Southeast coalition also noted that the problems of fixing the road from Abuja to southeast and south-south are a matter of urgent importance, as there is no functional train moving from north to the southeast thereby posing a big problem to commuters.
“Everyone is affected here. Both the rich and poor. Those who fly from Abuja to the East and south-south to escape the hardship and suffering on the roads of Abuja to southeast and south will still in one way or the other partake in the suffering of the bad roads as they will have to buy food and other goods from the north at high cost in the markets.
“The state of the Abuja road leading to southeast and south-south have been on a deplorable state for too long and something must be done urgently to address it immediately. When the road was better, it will take 6 to 7 hours to move from Abuja to the southeast but now, it will take 16 hours to move from Abuja to southeast. It is really pathetic”.
Continuing, the COSEYL said, “the bad spots on that road are trap points for criminal elements who wait patiently in those bad spots to attack innocent commuters on transit. All those who were victims of kidnapping were all kidnapped on bad spots of those roads.
“It is not a good option to keep quiet and allow hoodlums to take advantage of innocent commuters travelling on legitimate businesses. Something urgent has to be done real fast to address this ugly situation because things have already gotten out of hand.
“The roads if rehabilitated will ease current suffering, rate of accidents, lost of goods and investments”.
The group called on the federal government through its Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to urgently get to work on the federal roads from Abuja to the southeast and southsouth before Nigerians are all dead through accidents and hunger because of the bad state of the roads.
The COSEYL further reiterated her earlier call on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on these critical federal roads because these roads link economic corridors between the north and southern parts of the country.
366 Soldiers, Policemen Killed in Two Years
About 366 soldiers, policemen and members of the civilian joint task force (JTF) were killed in ambushes laid by terrorists in the North-east and the North-west between 2019 and 2021,according to a report by SBM Intelligence.
A breakdown of the figure shows that 337 soldiers, 29 cops and civilian JTF members were killed, while 111 others were eliminated by terrorists.
The report noted that 92 terrorists were eliminated, while in all, 569 persons were killed in several ambushes within the same period.
A further breakdown of the statistics showed that the biggest single onslaught against the military was in the Goniri area of Yobe State on March 23, 2020, wherein about 70 soldiers were killed.
On July 7, 2020 in the Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, 30 soldiers and 12 policemen were killed along with three terrorists.
Between September 16 and 24, a space of eight days, about 49 soldiers and two policemen were killed in the Monguno and Marte local government areas of Borno State.
The report added that 18 soldiers and six policemen and members of the civilian JTF were killed in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State on September 2 and 3, 2020.
In spite of the killing of soldiers, however, many of the terrorists are reported to have surrendered in recent times due to the attack on Boko Haram strongholds, while the sponsors of the terrorists remain unknown.
Meanwhile, about 15,000 terrorists, who surrendered to government forces had begun undergoing de-radicalisation.
The National Security Adviser, Maj Gen Babagana Moguno (rtd), had said last week, “In recent months, there has been an endless mass surrender of terrorists and their sympathisers in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria. Currently, over 15,000 people have been received.
“It is important to note that the combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures largely contributed to this wave of surrender.”
The Head, Strategic Communications in the Office of the NSA, Mr Zakari Usman, had confirmed that all 15,000 persons, who surrendered, would be rehabilitated, including some who might be prosecuted.
He said: “Yes, everybody will undergo rehabilitation. Even those who are going through the criminal justice process undergo rehabilitation.
“At the state level, together with MDAs that are involved, there is already a process on the ground. For everybody who surrenders, there is some form of rehabilitation.
