A cornucopia of failed roads constructed by Governor Rochas Okorocha of
Imo State in the last four years across the state has offered a new but
unusual job opportunities to young men who mend the roads to earn a living
to the detriment of the image of the state government. Damian Duruiheoma,
reports.
Following the pathetic situation of roads across Imo State, some beggars
and local road menders have taken over the business of maintaining the
roads.
Investigations by our correspondent shows that most beggars and some
unemployed youths across the state especially those within Owerri, the
state capital, have decided to put their strengths to use by mending the
plethora of the newly constructed roads which had since deteriorated as a
result of substandard jobs done by the contractors engaged by the state
government.
A visit to most of the streets in Owerri showed that there is hardly any
road that is motorable including those newly constructed by the Governor
Rochas Okorocha-led administration in the last four years.
This, *The UNION* learnt, was the reason the beggars leveraged on to beg
for alms while at the same time rendering services to the suffering road
users.
When* The UNION *visited some of the locations, some of the road menders
who spoke to us said the job was more rewarding than begging on the roads
while the youths said the were making huge profits from their services as
according to them, they make between N4000 and N6000 depending on the days.
All of them who spoke to our correspondent disclosed that they ventured
into the business of road mending when they noticed that commuters were
suffering and that little mending of the road could make the road users
part with some money.
According to Chukwuma Ilo from Orsu Local Government Area of the State, he
started the business to help the society and help himself.
Ilo, whose spot was on the World Bank Road to Hospital Road, said he had no
regret doing the job.
His words: “I started mending the roads to earn a living. In fact, I was
hawking belt before now, but one day, my friend and I were hawking on the
road when we found out that a man with new Toyota Avalon broke his
vehicle’s bottom plate. We helped him to push it out of the road and we got
some stones and block to put on the bad spots so that vehicles could be
passing freely. To our surprise, people started appreciating us and gave us
money that was enough to take care of ourselves till the next day. So,
anytime there is serious bad market, I would carry shovel to go to any bad
spot on the roads to begin to mend them. That is why I’m fully into it
now”, he said.
For Emma Okoro from Ebonyi State, who has been mending the road from Imo
State Government House through the State Police Headquarters to Shell Camp,
he had been in the business since last year.
He disclosed that the need to help people to smooth ride that motivated him
to commence the mending of the dilapidated roads.
Okoro, who said the business had been lucrative for him, disclosed that he
brought his younger brother along so that he would not be whiling away in
the village.
He disclosed that in order to do a clean job, they go block industries to
buy used cement bags at N5 each and fill them with sand and look for heavy
stones to support it
In his words, ”I brought my younger brother to join me in the business so
that together, we will be able to mend many potholes and as we do it,
people are watching us and giving us money some times, N500, N1000 and all
that. We make between N5000 and N6500 everyday and as I brought my younger
brother to do this job, I have the belief that he will get enough money to
help him start any business of his choice”.
Our correspondent also spotted Jude Uzo on Orlu-Owerri Road after Njaba
bridge and he said he decided to mend the road so as to protect his
father’s premises.
According to him, most of the drivers decided to be driving through their
compound because of the bad road and so “in order not to encourage them, I
decided to mend the part that spoilt in front of our house. As you can see,
I don’t ask anybody for money”.
One of the road users, Francis Nna told The Union that he always part with
some money “whenever I see them mending the roads”.
The reason, he said, was because “this particular spot in front of the Imo
State police command headquarters and the DSS is something else. On 17th of
July, 2015, I was returning from Amakohia in the evening and when I got
here, I didn’t know that the crater was too deep and I swerved my car
inside one of them and the bottom plate of my car got broken. Do you know I
had to spend close to N40,000 on that car before I could use it because I
brought a towing van to take the car to the mechanic that night and also
bought part of the car engine to fix the car. This pained me because as at
that time, we were being owed three months arrears of salary.
“So, this is the reason I don’t joke with the local road menders. You may
look at them as people doing menial jobs, but they are doing what the
government has failed to do
“Honestly, it’s a shame that the road the state government did about three
years ago got this bad without them being able to repair it. The previous
government of Ikedi Ohaki established the Imo State Rural Roads Development
Agency, IRROMA, but this Okorocha administration disbanded it and today
there is hardly any road that you can find in Imo State that is motorable.
Another commuter, who fell victim of the bad road is Onyinye Enwereuzor.
According to her, “I was taking my children to school, just last two weeks
when their school reopened after long vacation. But I didn’t know that the
road had become too bad to the extent that it pulled the exhaust pipe of my
car. That morning, I cursed this government for giving the people such
substandard road that got dilapidated just few months after it was
constructed.
“Since that time, I usually giove the boys some money anytime I see them
mending the roads like that”.
Investigation carried out by our reporter, almost all the roads constructed
by the current administration in the last four years have begun wearing out
with dilapidation even before the governor was re-elected for a second term
in office in 2015.
This had led to the people of the state deriding the government and local
contractors for lacking the capacity to carry out such projects.
But, speaking with journalists at the government last week, Okorocha
assured that his administration would repair all dilapidated roads across
the state and complete all abandoned project.
He disclosed that that was the reason he formed taskforce committees on
road projects, saying the taskforce would also look into roads that require
attention with a view to constructing or repairing them.
