By Bilyaminu Gambo Kong-kol
Jabbi Lamba – Belel Road links Girei, Fufore and Maiha local government areas in Adamawa state as well as Nigeria and Cameroun border route. It was first constructed 39 years ago by the administration of former President, Shehu Shagari in the year 1982.
Since then, no total rehabilitation was done on the road. Times without numbers, recent administrations had released funds for the reconstruction of the road but constructors only worked for few kilometres and left the site.
Surprisingly, the present administration had, in June last year, approved the reconstruction of the road. But getting to one and a half years now no sign of starting the project.
In case you don’t know Jabbi Lamba -Belel Road. It is a route that links Jibiro to Malabu, the village that the wife of Mr President, Hajiya Aishatu Buhari and the incumbent senator representing Adamawa central, Hajiya Aishatu Dahiru Ahmad Binani are hailed from.
The road also connects Farang, Konkol to Boloko, the home of the renowned Mathematics professor, the 3rd Chancellor of ABU, former Director of, CBN and former Minister of Defence and internal affairs as well as a two-term Senator, Professor Iya Abubakar.
The road joined my village, Konkol, the centre of commerce of Maiha LGA with Belel, where Brigadier-General Muhammad Mana (retired), a former military administrator of Plateau State who also represented the Adamawa North senatorial district twice is hailed. Belel is also home to Senator Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow, a one time Senator and Governor.
From Belel, the road bypassed Sorau and Mayo Nguli, the headquarters of Maiha Local Government area.
Despite having the above five prominent personalities in these affected areas, Jabbi Lamba-Belel Road is in horrendous, ramshackle and tumbledown condition.
On this road, seven out of the eight major bridges have broken which necessitated for travellers to use seven canoes and seven different cars to reach their destination in the rainy season. In this process, many people got drowned. Apart from risking life, the less 100 kilometres journey consumes three to five hours instead of an hour. It is a road while plying it, you need not only transport fare but money for medication also because of the shakings and knocks due to the numerous potholes on the road.
Sick people and pregnant women are the ones who suffer the most on the road. Apart from women who are having miscarriages on the road, hundreds of persons died while they were being transported to the state capital for medication.
Economically, the people of these areas losing their cars and consumable and non-consumable items to accidents. During my visit to the area a couple of weeks, I found many trailers tumbledown with property worth millions of naira. It is a journey to hell!
The road brought untold hardship because commodities are skyrocketed.
Most of those I interviewed revealed that the only dream they have is seeing the road reconstructed. By this, they will know that democracy and government is existing.
We, therefore, call for urgent intervention in order to ameliorate the sufferings of the people residing along Jabbi Lamba to Belel Sorau road.
Bilyaminu Gambo Kong-kol, Mass Communication Department, Bayero University Kano[email protected]
