The world over, every development is carried out and sustained by continued maintenance and continual upgrade. However, it takes a lot of determination and carefulness to be able to carry out this continued maintenance and upgrading processes with consistency most especially in developing countries like ours where various elements of distraction may always pop-up and as a such any public infrastructure that’s not properly managed becomes one of the major setbacks to the society as it brings about stagnation and retrogression.
This has been the case with every federal government’s owned property in Nigeria be it road, sports facility, buildings, etc. It is obvious that a major cause of several government’s administrative failures in Nigeria is lack of maintenance of existing public infrastructure or completion of pre-existing projects that an immediate past administration or previous administration started especially once it is not the same political party.
In this scenario, however, it has become sine qua non that every existing government has to follow their party’s manifesto instead of following the status quo of existing principles or completing the projects that are in incubation which were initiated by the previous administration. Although it is seen as a method of expression of power by the politicians and their comrades in corridors of power, however, this idea or method is the most unhealthy thing to do and it is the cause of hydra headed problems of the society as it brings about retrogression and by extension, any powerful individual whose society suffers retrogression and setback in development is as powerless as a poor commoner.
This method will not just bring retrogression in the society alone, it will cause decadence and wastage of resources hindering development and good initiative. It is also of note that it will also encourage and cause corruption as contracts given to any contractor will stop and the money meant for such will be swerved and subverted for things inconsequential for the general good of the public.
Another factor playing a major role in this developmental disorder is the activities of scavengers or metal scrap dealers. In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) alone, the activities of scavengers aka Babanbola have become so destructive that the level of wear and tear they have caused on public projects constructions have become alarming. Aside from that, they constitute a nuisance especially in their dressing code and pose a danger to psychological well-being of the society. A stroll around the streets in the FCT will reveal that almost every manhole cover has been pilfered; the same is also seen around footbridges metal railings and street metal railings demarcating the lawns and footpaths as well as vehicle’s parking lots.
This menace as a threat to public infrastructure and public wellbeing must not be left unchecked. Added to this is a poor maintenance procedure that is adopted by the contractors, for instance those who are involved in the area of fibre optics and electric cables usually do not cover it up in the same state when they finish their internal maintenance process leaving dangers within our streets.
However this in no small measure has brought environmental standard regulations and maintenance and the agencies that are put in responsible to question. Judging by the above manifestations of this menace, one maybe tempted to ask about the place of the government agencies that are designated to carry out this function of regulating our environmental standard and safety. Is it that these agencies are inactive, if so why? or is there other cause rendering their activities questionable? Why do we have such agencies like Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), National Environmental standard Regulatory Agency (NESREA) and maintenance department of Federal Ministry of Works and this becomes the case? There is the need for all and sundry to work together in order to sustain our development.
Having viewed the atmosphere from the point of this analytical order, it is imperative that of all major issues confronting our nation, the real or main contributor of these problems of our society is lack of infrastructural maintenance and abandonment of public projects. It is therefore noteworthy that the people at the helm of affairs rise up to the occasion and embrace this truth that is outlined here so as to make this country functional, healthy and habitable for us all.
It is suggested that a health law should be enacted that will make it a punishable offence for a government functionary or administration to abandon any given project be it at the federal, state or local government level irrespective of the prevailing circumstances. Also, we the citizenry ought to be conscious of negative developments in the environment and speak up against as well as frown at all inordinate activities like indiscriminate disposal of waste in inappropriate places be it industrial waste or agricultural waste or any other material. Citizenry should also shun theft of parts of public infrastructure and every other act that is detrimental to our development in general.
Nwiwu Onwuliri Chukwuemeka Chijioke Henry (aka Jioke Nwiwu),
Abuja
[email protected] 08141711553, 08139529806
