Federal Government’s recently disclosed plan to “take over” the reconstruction and expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway is, on the surface, laudable but given the same government’s tardiness as against the Lagos State government’s efficiency in handling infrastructural development, the proposed take-over calls for caution. No wonder the issue has generated the usual debate about the need for synergy between the federal and state governments in the planning, construction, maintenance and management of roads in Nigeria.
Certainly, the Federal Government needs to douse the justifiable cynicism, occasioned by its own poor records and, especially, the timing of this pronouncement, barely six months to the end of its tenure. To demonstrate seriousness, it must set up a Forum of Federal and Lagos State officials, to address harmonization of design, joint supervision, and validation of the Lagos State’s expenditure to date. This would help avert the experience of many states that have spent money on federal roads but never got any refund. Happily the Minister of Works who spoke on the issue was emphatic that the Federal Government will definitely embark on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway expansion and “all the challenges Lagos State is facing will be a thing of the past.” The Federal Government must act fast on this bold move and demonstrate that the nation’s leadership has learned to place development above partisan politics.
The road (stretching from Iganmu to Badagry) was planned, designed and built by the Lagos State Government under Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson. The road was taken over by the Federal Government in the 1974 absorption of 11,000 kilometres of roads from the existing 19 states at the time. Such roads were adjudged of strategic importance for social integration, economic development and defence access. The Murtala Muhammed/Olusegun Obasanjo Military administrations decided to extend the road into the territory of Benin Republic, in furtherance of regional integration.
On completion in the late 1970s, the road served as a catalyst for accelerated development along that corridor. Examples are the 1977 International Trade Fair Complex, the Festival Town for the Festival of Black Arts and Culture, (FESTAC 77) and the Legislators’ Quarters for National Assembly members (which later became Durbar Hotel). Many private companies also constructed estates for their employees just as the Agbara Industrial and Residential Estates further west joined the list of such developments. However, the Lagos-Badagry road has suffered from lack of maintenance and effective road administration, especially when the seat of Federal Government moved to Abuja. The road deteriorated, despite its growing importance as the gateway to ECOWAS member-countries.
The Lagos State Government stepped in and courageously embarked on a massive re-development of the road. This has involved the expansion of the road from four to 10 lanes with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor and a light rail line. Actual construction commenced in April 2009 of the ambitious project, requiring demolition and compensation for structures affected by the expanded roadway.
Now, in announcing the other day that the federal government would take over the project, the Minister of Works said that the new project design would involve five other ECOWAS member-countries. Convention requires each country to develop the segment of each route running within its borders. Therefore, Nigeria is primarily and totally responsible for the entire stretch of the Lagos-Badagry-Seme border segment.
It is gratifying that he has stated that rigid pavement would be used to reconstruct the road, considering heavy traffic especially from the major seaports of Apapa and Tin Can Island, as well as the sandy soil and the challenge of surface and underground water in Lagos.
Beyond the engineering exigencies of this particular road, however, the time has come to utilize the research effort of the NBRRI for the use of cement in all road construction. As far back as 1989, the IRF World Meeting in Seoul Korea alerted the world of dwindling reserves of heavy crude that yields bitumen. Nigeria has abundant deposits of limestone for producing cement. There must, therefore, be a collaborative effort by the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, the Nigerian Road Federation, the Federation of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors and the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, for the use of cement as a substitute for asphalt in road construction.
A statement on this major highway deserved all attention for it portends much, especially coming on the heels of the Federal Government’s expressed desire to implement the Road Reforms Initiative that commenced in 1993. On this, the Minister announced that a Cabinet Committee headed by the Attorney General is reviewing the Draft Bills for establishing the National Road Fund and the Federal Highways Authority. In so doing, this government is breaking from the norm of the past in which governments missed the opportunity to set up an appropriate government agency for roads. The Road Fund and the Federal Roads Authority will guarantee the steady flow of funds and the management structure for efficient road networks in Nigeria. With this, the funding of road safety programmes is also secured. And it is under that scheme that projects like the Lagos-Badagry Expressway will be so routine that the nation’s roads and other infrastructure will be transformed in no time.
