There was a complete absence of vehicular movement along the very dangerous Gusau-Dansadu road in Zamfara State when our correspondent visited on a fact-finding mission over the weekend.
The visit was to ascertain if the road has been totally abandoned by commuters due to the persistent attacks, killings, and kidnapping of passengers by bandits who are currently occupying the area and taking advantage of the failed state of the road to heighten their nefarious activities.
The road, which is 110 kilometers long, is one of the Federal Government’s roads across the country, which has collapsed and caused tears, severe pain, and misery to many unsuspecting Nigerians.
Our correspondent gathered that the all-important road had been in this state of disrepair for a long period despite its socio-economic importance, yet no positive steps have been taken towards its rehabilitation.
The road, which was constructed by the Second Republic civilian administration of former President Shehu Shagari in 1982, has never been repaired since then until 2002, when the first civilian governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ahmed Sani Yarima, awarded a contract for its minor repairs.
There are many towns and villages along the Gusau-Zamfara road, as more than 30 percent of food items produced by the people of the state are cultivated by the inhabitants of this area.
The visit across the road by our correspondent revealed that the entire spread of asphalt on the road has completely eroded, as though it had never been tarred before. The scrapped-off asphalt on the road leaves it naked, creating a completely failed road impression.
Reliable sources informed our correspondent that before now, the road had become a death trap due to the pockets of potholes and other cracks coupled with the heavy presence of marauding armed bandits waiting for people to kidnap; it was a link from Zamfara to Kebbi and Kaduna states.
Many lives have been reportedly lost on the road even as thousands of people have been kidnapped, and millions of Naira have been paid as ransom on this same road to kidnappers by relatives of the victims, a situation that has forced the people of the state to stop commuting through the road except they are heavily guarded and escorted by special military security personnel.
An indigene of the area, Musa Garba told our correspondent that motorists wanting to travel on the road must move in a group after they have secured permission and clearance from the military personnel to escort and accompany the travelling convoy.
Garba explained further that the number of motorists set to ply the dangerous road is usually 20 and above who must go in a convoy and under the strict escort of no fewer than 30 soldiers who would be assigned to provide security cover to them if the bandits attempt any of their daring attacks.
He stressed that it would be suicidal for a driver or even five of them to dare travel on that road without any form of security cover or escort from the military, as the notorious bandits are in total control of the entire area.
According to him, “It will be very disastrous and suicidal for anybody to attempt going to Dansadau town from Gusau without being escorted by the security personnel.
“The area is a danger zone, and nobody has ever tried going to Dansadau without a security escort.
“That is why we usually travel in groups and seek an escort from the military personnel who are deployed to the area to render such service,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, many of the motorists spoken to by our correspondent expressed their displeasure over the nonchalant attitude of the concerned authorities towards the repair of the road and the deployment of enough security personnel to checkmate the activities of the bandits despite the series of complaints from members of the public.
A motorist, Alhaji Ahmed Abdul Aziz, said he has since stopped going to Dansadau town for business activities because of the insecurity situation and the poor condition of the road.
He maintained that though it was a less than an hour journey from Gusau to Dansadau when the road was in good shape in the 80s, lamenting, however that, “It now takes commuters more than three hours to drive on the road.”
Another motorist, Malam Ilyasu Gusau told our correspondent that, the road has become a deathtrap, adding that, “if you see anybody on that road, he is either from that area or on a special assignment.”
He recalled that until recently, the road used to be one of the busiest roads in the state but now abandoned due to rampant cases of banditry.
Therefore, Mallam Ilya appealed to both the state and federal governments to come to the aid of the people of the area by repairing the road and deploying enough security personnel to keep the commuters safe.
He insisted, “If the road is repaired and adequate security personnel are deployed, it would boost the socio-economic activities of the people of the area, who are mostly farmers.”
Ilya explained that more than half of the food crops produced in that state come from the area and thus urged the concerned authorities to repair the road and provide security due to its economic importance.
An indigene of the area, Malam Ibrahim Kazauda informed our correspondent that the road has truly become a bandits’ flashpoint, adding that “bandits have invaded most of the villages around that road, turning them into their hideouts.”
Kazauda pointed out that his main worry whenever he was coming to Gusau town from his village was the nuisance the potholes constituted on the Gusau-Dansadu road, plus the scare of the bandits he would come across before arriving at his destination.
He, too, called on the government to urgently fix the road and alleviate the suffering of the people.
The village head from the area who spoke with our correspondent under anonymity for fear of being attacked by the bandits explained that he and his people have lodged many complaints to the appropriate authorities regarding the need for repair works on the road and the insecurity challenges they are facing, thus lamenting that nothing has been done to alleviate their suffering.
“We have been complaining to the authorities, but nothing has been done yet.” (PUNCH)
