By Pascal Ibe
An X user named @funshographix on Monday posted the 7 States with the worst road network in Nigeria currently.
@funshographix posted, “Top 7 States with worst roads in Nigeria.
- Abia State.
- Edo State.
- Imo State.
- Anambra State.
- Lagos State.
- Rivers State.
- Benue State.
In this post on X with over 190k likes as at Thursday afternoon, many X commenters disagreed with this list of Nigerian States with worst roads network.
In Nigeria today, Bad roads in most cases affect the physical health of daily commuters, and are notorious for causing vehicular accidents, leading to injuries ranging from minor bruises to severe trauma. But the impact of bad roads is more than accidents. Daily commuters navigating these roads often suffer from back pain, spinal issues, and posture-related problems due to constant jolting and vibrations.
According to research, bad roads also lead to bad cardiovascular health, hospitalization, disability, and premature death.
Verification
Our first findings showed that this same list of States with the worst road network in Nigeria posted by an X user days ago, was first published on Sahara Reporters on June 30 2021( three years ago)
According to a publication by Sahara Reporters, In a report by Nigeria Abroad, the worst roads in seven states across the country were showcased. The roads featured notorious potholes, car-eating craters, and deadly ditches.
Below is a list of states with the worst road networks in Nigeria:
- Abia State
Despite its slogan, ‘God’s Own State’, road networks in the state have suffered neglect from various government ruling, who have refused to do the ‘work of God’ in the state.
The state is often called Nigeria’s own China for its unmatchable enterprise. Aba market in Abia state has gained popularity for its booming industrialisation.
Traders in the Aba market produce lots of Nigerian-made clothes, shoes, textile materials alongside some industrial products that most times match international standards.
The top-notch imitation skills of the makers popular have brought about the name ‘Aba-made’.
However, Abia State represents a contradiction. With Abia’s trade impact on Nigeria, one would expect that the government would consider the basic—good roads for ease of transporting manufactured products, but that’s not the case.
Abia state roads have degenerated so badly that when it rains, it is almost impossible to drive. Flooding has been normalised, and sometimes, it is worsened by overflowing street refuse. Citizens have so lost confidence in the state that many no longer complain about poor governance.
Meanwhile, after six years of leading the people of the State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu proudly lists the presence of fast food outlets; Dominos Pizza and the Chicken Republic as some of his achievements in the state.
- Edo State
Bad road networks in Edo state have become a normal lifestyle for the people. Corporate workers have made rubber slippers part of their office outfits as this makes waddling through rainfall puddles easier.
Benin City has it worse, with potholes so bad that it is hard to tell if they hadn’t always been like that.
It also doesn’t help that one of Edo’s most plied roads, the Benin Bypass, has become a death trap.
The writer described his travel on Edo roads in these words, “The feeling from surviving a fall from maybe 200 flights of stairs is akin to what you get every time you travel by road through Edo State.”
- Imo State
Formerly known as Land of Hope, and with a governor whose first name is Hope and a surname which, when translated, vaguely means ‘the road is good’, the road networks in Imo state represents a situational irony.
The state of the roads in Owerri, the state capital is so deplorable that citizens have begun coming up with alternative narrow routes in places that normally wouldn’t be treaded.
- Anambra State
The Ekwulobia, Oko, Isuofia and Igboukwu roads in Anambra State have been eaten up by deep erosion, with marks that look like aftermaths of earthquakes, this is even as the state benefits from Nigeria’s Ecological Fund.
Anambra is among the biggest commercial centres in Nigeria. It houses one of West Africa’s biggest markets—the Onitsha Main Market.
Also, Nigeria’s first self-made vehicle line, Innoson Motors started in Nnewi.
The aforementioned achievements could have been good enough reasons to make journeying to and fro the state a smooth venture.
Governor Willie Obiano always claims he is working but this is not evident in the uneven roads across the state.
- Lagos State
Lagos state is popularly known as ‘centre of excellence’ and home to an estimated 20 million people. In spite of this, Lagos State probably has Nigeria’s worst road network. This could be attributed to the constant traffic jam and events at the Apapa ports.
Lagos residents have normalised sitting in traffic for hours or trekking long distances to meet up with important appointments. A drop of rain is all it takes to shut down the state and keep everyone outside for hours.
Media portrayals of Lagos suggest excellent infrastructure, but the story recycled at each transition is on how each governor has “transformed” Lagos amid explosive revenue and rising debt, yet the state remains impassable.
- Rivers State
In the state capital, Port Harcourt, residents have found a way to adapt to the off-road situation with the use of trucks and Sports Utility Vehicles.
Small cars are mostly used by private drivers and cab-hailing service drivers who know how to maintain their vehicles in the city.
The roads are so bad that some potholes appear like they were dug while residents slept. And smaller towns have it worse.
- Benue State
Most of the federal roads in Benue State have deteriorated beyond what can be managed by citizens due to years of lack of maintenance.
The roads have been left in pitiful conditions for a long time. Roads in the state capital, Makurdi, Otukpo and the rest are beyond broken, washed away to the point that it becomes hard to tell if they were ever tarred.
With the rate of insecurity in the state, it was stated that Governor Samuel Ortom’s robust engagement in tackling insecurity in his state may have shielded him from criticism over poor road infrastructure.
Thefactwatch discovered that Nairaland also published this report three years ago.
When we checked to see the 2024 data of worst roads network in Nigeria currently, credible results did not come out.
However, an article titled
Bad roads as death trap: The other face of Nigeria which was published in 2023 by Blueprint newspaper named the Lagos- Abeokuta road, Jalingo- Numan road, Enugu- Onitsha expressway, Aba- Port Harcourt expressway, Warri- Bayelsa- Port Harcourt link, and Maiduguri- Kano road as examples of worst roads in Nigeria as at then.
Also, a report by Independent Nigeria in 2023, listed out Enugu-Port Harcourt Road, East-West Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Abuja-Lokoja Road, Makurdi-Nsukka 9th Mile Road, Benin-Asaba Road, Onitsha-Enugu Expressway and Sagamu-Benin Road as major highways in Nigeria in ruins
StatiSense, a datatech company at the forefront of revolutionizing how businesses, consumers, and governments interact with data and documents, posted on X in February 2024 that Delta, Ogun and 8 other States are with the worst with infrastructure in Nigeria.
Available data on the website of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that on Q4 of 2023, the North-Central recorded the highest number of crashes with 905, followed by the South-West with 650, while the South South had the least with 141.
Similarly, the North-Central recorded the highest number of casualties with 3,152, followed by the North -West with 2,550, while the South-South recorded the least with 412. One of the reasons for this may be as a result of deplorable roads.
When thefactwatch contacted the Director, Communication and Public Relations at National Bureau of Statistics (MBS), Mr. Ichedi S.J said the agency is currently not with any data/statistics on the States with worst road network in Nigeria now.
Verdict
The post by an X user on list of States with the worst road network in Nigeria currently is Misleading.
We found that the X user recirculated a report which was first published by Sahara Reporters in 2021.
Please note that thefactwatch is a verification platform owned by CrimeFacts news
