I have had cause to comment on the perilous nature of this road before now when it became the den of armed miscreants who maim, steal, kidnap and sometimes kill travelers on the road.
The road was once a highway but thanks to years of neglect by government and the decimating effect of Dangote trucks on the road, it is nothing now but a glorified farmstead path.
It’s the favorite of travellers despite its deplorable situation because the alternative routes were more derelict and unsecured.
Several attempts have been made to make Kogi state safe among which is the procurement of operational vehicles for security agencies in the state and at a point helicopters were deployed but recent and events of the immediate past indicate there is need to devise other means to tackle armed banditry in the state.
With the humongous amount devoted and supposedly appropriated on security, Kogites are not really getting value for money.
The level of insecurity on Kabba-Obajana is grossly unreported with huge sums paid in ransom that at times does not guarantee the safe return of kidnap victims. This should normally give any government serious concern especially for a state hoping to attract investors and development.
The worrisome aspect is the insincerity on the part of government, federal and state on the actual status as it concerns the rehabilitation of the road. It has been tales of unfulfilled promises and disappointing expectations.
Most measures taken on the insecurity on the road have been ad hoc and this explains why improvements have not been enduring with the sad situation of avoidable and preventable kidnapping and deaths on the road.
One of the fundamental objectives of government is the security of lives and property; inability to perform this task successfully is an indictment on any government of its ability in governance.
Roads in war torn countries like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan seem safer now than Obajana-Kabba Road and Kogites are tired of being held hostage by gangs of gun-welding felons.
Many victims lie in unmarked graves along this road and the helplessness of government is grating.
It is in view of this that Kogi state government must revise its modus operandi in the current screening exercise because the risks those coming for the exercise are made to go through is no longer justifiable. No life is worth less than another and the believe of government on this must be beyond rhetoric proclamations and press release of condolences.
Majority of Kogites are so much despondent now especially those genuine workers waiting to be cleared and can’t cope with the uncertainty of safety along the highways in the state.
That Kabba-Obajana road is an highway of death is not in contention and government needs to up its game to make it safe for Kogites and others transiting.
It’s hoped the needful will be done on the situation on the road and the general insecurity in the state.
Credit: Olalekan Aiyenigba (CAB)
