According to the World Bank in December 2022, Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest rate of road accidents globally. Also, statistics by the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, states that a total of 32,617 persons lost their lives to road crashes in Nigeria from 2016 to 2021, with over 65,053 accidents across Nigeria.
The statistics indicate s that 5,053 lives in 2016, 5,121 in 2017, 5,181 in 2018, 5483 In 2019, 5574 in 2020, and about 6,205 died in 2021, for 2022 the figures are yet to be ascertained. Although the mishap cuts across the country, Bauchi – Jos road is said to be one of the roads recording more accident cases within these years. The FRSC Bauchi state commander Yusuf Abdullahi revealed that the sector recorded 402 deaths from road accidents in three years from 2020 to 2021 with Bauchi – Jos
road recording the highest number of accidents.
Given the above, one can say after the Boko Haram insurgency and banditry, road accident is the third major cause of death and destruction of properties worth billions of naira in Nigeria. However, experts and analysts have attributed 60% of the problems to reckless driving and over-speeding, though 30% is said to be as a result of the poor condition of the roads nationwide.
Similarly, another 10% is attributed to the lack of standard firefighting trucks on the country’s major highways; multiple vehicles are engulfed in fire the moment accidents occur, and this has led to the burning to death of many travellers. Also, when there are such accidents, one hardly finds any means of extinguishing the fire.
Recently, on January 4, 2023, 18 people including an infant were burnt to death along the Bauchi – Jos highway in a ghastly motor accident. Immediately after the accident, the vehicles caught fire and there was no firefighting truck to extinguish the fire. That was how 18 people died at the scene of the accidents helplessly.
Before that, a lot of accidents happened along the road whereby many travellers were burnt to ashes. In March 2018, a trailer collapsed in the Panshanu axis, catching fire and claiming the lives of seven people, with 39 cows and eight goats roasted. On August 10, 2022, in Babale village in Jos, Plateau state, 10 people died while 18 others sustained various degrees of injury, to mention few.
On the other hand, the non-dualisation of the roads linking the North-east and the North-central zones is another factor responsible for the tragedies along the Bauchi -Jos road. The road records a high number of commuters daily. Te road links the entire North-east states with the North-central and some parts of the North-west. In 2018, the federal government approved over N348 billion for the rehabilitation of the road yet there is nothing on ground for the project actualisation.
On this note, I’m appealing to the federal government to provide firefighting trucks along the nation’s highways in order to protect the lives and properties of the citizens. The firefighting trucks will go a long way to help to extinguish the fire when the need arises. The federal should also ensure in the continuation of the already awarded contract for the dualisaruon of the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi and Gombe roads.
Before dropping my pen, let me also appreciate the FRSC for their tireless efforts of working round the clock to ensure safe driving and evacuation of accident victims to the hospital. The federal government should provide them with first-class equipment to continue saving the lives and properties of the citizens.
Ukasha Rabiu Magama,
Magama Toro local government area,
Bauchi state
