Regarding the incessant occurrence of accidents along Felele Road, Lokoja, I have seen several suggestions from the good people of Kogi State on how to curb these recurring accidents while expressing their shock over the tragic death of students in yesterday’s accident. These suggestions are welcome, but one crucial issue remains unaddressed.
We need to be honest with ourselves if we truly want these suggestions to work, even if they are accepted by the authorities. The Kogi State government struggles to enforce laws whenever they make pronouncements. In the last administration, the state government repeatedly announced that trucks parked along the Lokoja-Okene road before Itakpe should be removed. The truck drivers initially complied for a few days but soon returned, and the government failed to take further action to enforce the directive.
In the current administration, a similar statement was made, with the expectation that past mistakes would be corrected. However, nothing has changed. The last time I traveled on that road, I noticed that the truck drivers had returned despite being instructed to vacate the area.
In Kano State, the KAROTA agency is so empowered that individuals would prefer to have issues with the Federal Road Safety Corps than with KAROTA. Violating traffic laws in Kano is not an option because KAROTA has the full support of the government to enforce regulations. Their workforce is well-equipped and widespread across the 44 local government areas. The same is true in Kaduna with KASTLEA, and in Lagos by LASTMA.
Kogi State has KOTRAMA, a traffic law enforcement agency, but I doubt it has more than ten personnel or the necessary equipment to function effectively. How can such an understaffed agency enforce traffic laws?
Even if the federal government eventually agrees to construct alternative routes, without a strong law enforcement agency to implement regulations, trucks will continue to use Felele Road without restrictions, just as they ignored the directive to vacate the federal road at Osara.
The state has a lot to do if we truly want a lasting solution to these recurring accidents. While the road belongs to the federal government, the state should engage with federal authorities to create alternative routes. If that happens, the existing road could then be placed under state control, allowing state law enforcement agencies to fully manage it.
May we get it right 🙏.
– Engr Ira Habib writes from Lokoja.
