Buhari’s First Road?

Let us start with a confession: I frankly do not know the first road   contract which the Muhammadu   Buhari administration, now about to mark   its first anniversary, awarded. But it would not be surprising if it   turns out to be the rehabilitation of the terribly failed Ihiala   section of the federal road which connects Anambra , Imo and Rivers   states and passes through the towns of Okija , Ihiala and Uli in   Anambra State; Egbuoma and Oguta in Imo State; and Omoku in Rivers   State. Contract for the road construction was awarded in 1982 by the   Federal Government following a Federal executive Council (FEC) which   Vice President Alex Ekwueme chaired because President Shehu   Shagari   was out of the country. Two ministers in the Shagari administration   hailed from the towns where the road starts and where it ends. Victor   Masi , the Minister of Works, was from Omoku while Paulinus   Amadike ,   Minister of Youth, Sports and Social Development, was an indigene of   Okija . It is reasonable to speculate that both men played a critical   role in the construction of the road, with Ekwueme facilitating it.

However, like many Nigerian projects, the history of the development   of this road has been anything but wonderful. The road has yet to be   completed a whole 34 years after work commenced on it, despite the   fact that it leads to the country's biggest oil and gas belt. In   fact, the Ihiala section has over the years given the impression that   this critical road is easily the worst road in the whole country. The   good news is that work has started in earnest in the reconstruction of   the failed section. The reconstruction of any part of this road is not   included in this year's budget, but the Buhari administration   somewhat found money to fix it because it considers it an emergency.   It is probably the first road contract it has awarded.

The awful condition of this road was brought to the attention of the   Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde   Fashola , last December   29 when I returned his call the previous night after he sought to know   my experience of travelling from Lagos to my hometown in Anambra State   by road, with a viewing to knowing where and how the government could   intervene in road development. Typical of him, he did not promise to   fix the road immediately. In an article I wrote subsequently, I noted   that Fashola not only likes to surprise his friends, but also loves to   under promise but over-delivers in all assignments, recalling my   encounters with him over certain development projects in Lagos State   when he was the governor from 2007 to 2011. On no occasion did he   state categorically that he was going to implement any of them. In all   the instances, one woke up to see that work had begun.

This is the case with the reconstruction of the Ihiala section of the   Okija-Ihiala-Uli-Egbuoma-Oguta-Omoku Road. The minister must have sent   in the last three months over five teams of surveyors and engineers   from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as the   Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to this road. He is   determined to break the jinx which has prevented this relatively short   road by including its completion and reconstruction in next year's   budget. But for the time being he knows that the failed section which   cut off the Ihiala people from the rest of the country needs urgent   rehabilitation. He consequently has directed FERMA to complete the   failed portion before the rains set in this year. And the agency has   been working frenetically so as not to disappoint the minister.

The minister has also directed FERMA to use stone as the base of the   road, instead of laterite which was used in the construction in 1982.   This is to make the road more durable. A major reason for the failure   of the Ihiala section of the road which connects key petroleum   producing communities is that a large number of heavy duty lorries ply   it every day; most of the sand used in building and construction in   towns in both Imo and Anambra states is dredged from the area.   Therefore, the ministerial order to use stone as the road platform is   perfectly in order. The same thing can be said about the minister's   directive that asphalt be used on the road , rather than macadamizing   it, as was the case during the initial construction 34 years ago.

However, Fashola does not appear to be aware that the road has never   had drainage facilities. The absence of drains contributed   significantly to the collapse. In other words, it is important that   FERMA be directed to provide for drainage facilities immediately,   otherwise the road will fail no sooner than it is reconstructed.   Knowing that responsive leadership is second nature to the minister,   there is no doubt that Fashola will soon direct that drainage   facilities be part of the ongoing reconstruction of the Ihiala portion   of the federal road.

Perhaps, the most important takeaway from Fashola's   well known   responsive leadership style is the validation of the theoretical   framework that leadership, whether in the private or public sector,   must be seen as caring in order to inspire the confidence of the   followers. By going out of his way to look for funds for the   reconstruction of a road which is not provided for in the current   budget and which is not from his catchment area in a country notorious   for Prebendal politics , the hundreds of thousands of people who use   this road need not be told that Fashola is a caring minister. He has   inspired their confidence in the Buhari administration. After all,   like any other federal road in the Southeast, fixing the failed road   was never on the radar screen of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. As   the old age aphorism goes, one good precept is better than one million   words.

Another key takeaway from the Ihiala road reconstruction is that   leaders must display personal enthusiasm for their responsibilities.   Leadership and management theorists postulate it is difficult for   organisations or countries to compete effectively in today's world   if their leaders do not show passion for work. With the likes of   Fashola in leadership, there is still hope in the Nigerian   possibility.

Written b y C. Don Adinuba , head of Discovery Public Affairs Consulting.