One of the most difficult tasks for any writer—which I do not claim to be—is finding an appropriate title for a writing. There is a subtle challenge in achieving a perfect balance between the title and the message it carries… message and meaning.
The Human Element: Speed and Responsibility
I have read various narratives suggesting that “Nigeria happened” to Anthony Joshua regarding his recent accident. I beg to differ. While Nigeria has many systemic problems, we are often “the problem people” by way of our unique cultural habits. This piece attempts to capture the contradictions that define Nigeria and Nigerians, contradictions that also live within me.
Regarding the Anthony Joshua accident, I believe the cause was twofold: the recklessness of the driver and possibly poor supervision by the vehicle’s occupants. We simply drive too fast. As a reformed speedster who once drove from Lagos to Benin and back in under two hours each way during the early 1990s, I now recognize the danger. Today, I leave early and maintain a steady 100 km/h. Vehicles are mechanical and electrical systems; they can fail unpredictably. It is the responsibility of every passenger to moderate a driver’s speed.
The Misuse of the Road Shoulder
On Nigerian roads, foreign objects are a constant hazard. When drivers speed or overtake on the shoulder—a common but dangerous habit—reaction time becomes a crucial factor and may be insufficient to avoid catastrophe.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) noted in their early report that the trailer involved in the Joshua accident was “properly parked” on the shoulder. The question is how long it had been parked where it was? Should trailers be allowed to take up permanent residency on road shoulders? Common sense suggests that the shoulder is for temporary emergencies or breakdowns until the vehicle can be towed to a workshop. In Nigeria, however, the shoulder serves as a permanent rest stop, bus stop, kiosk, market, workshop, and truck park. From Ogere to Chacharanchi, Ologbo to Bama, our road shoulders have been turned into parking lots, stifling traffic and creating death traps.
Fundamental Flaws in Road Design
Beyond human behavior, there are fundamental flaws in our road design and infrastructure. My perspective is informed by my work with the Road Sector Development Team of the Federal Highway Department (FHD) from 1994 to 1998. If we want a safer, more efficient future, we must consider four pillars of road development:
- Traffic Volume: Roads are more than access routes; they must be designed based on population data, city significance, growth projection modeling, and people and vehicle movement volumes. These factors determine the necessary number of lanes. Shockingly, the “transformational” Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is being built as a 6-lane road, with no service lanes and no provision for off-ramps to rest stops, etc. This is in 2025. Given its cost, you have to be left scratching your head.
- Sound Engineering: We are notoriously “skittish” regarding the required thicknesses for road infrastructure. When the Subgrade, Sub-Base, Base Course, Binder Course, and Surface Course are not in the correct ratios (based on CBR standards), the road surface will certainly “weave” and fail. I have seen road projects that make you want to shed a tear. One rain and the surface will be washed away.
- Social and Business Considerations: Markets and businesses should never be within 50 meters of an expressway. The current situation, where markets, informal trading, shops, and even livestock markets etc., spill onto highways and create human traffic, is anathema to the concept of a highway. Trading spots must be moved to purpose-built facilities adjoined to the highway.
- Economic and Budgetary Considerations: While we want every Naira to go far, the cost of not building road infrastructure right the first time is immeasurable. The age-old excuse has always been that the budget cannot accommodate the design… we need to reduce the number of lanes or redesign the bridge or something. Arbitrary project revisions based on supposed budgetary constraints, for example, reducing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road from its originally conceived 10 lanes to 6 lanes, ignoring critical traffic flow requirements in favor of personal pecuniary interests, is plain wicked. We know about budget padding.
Conclusion
The arteries of our economic activity, our supply chains and migration channels, are being choked by poor design and short-sighted economic decisions. It is time to move past “braggadocio” and commit to doing things right. The cost of our current path is simply too great, including lost lives and property. We all want the right things, but refuse to do the right things.
Ohimai Unuigboje writes from Lagos
