As consistent as this administration has been with misrepresenting the truth, its claims on 25,000km of roads has been the most daring lie ever told by a Nigerian government in recent times. We need to put this in perspective.
As the crow flies, the distance between New York City in the United States and Lagos in Nigeria is 5,277km. The distance between New York, USA and Sydney in Australia is 16,000km.
The distance between Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria is 6000km. How about this?- the circumference of earth at the equator is about 40,075 km. Is the Jonathan administration claiming that it has worked on roads almost the distance around the earth’s equator? Make this people fear God. Haba mana!
The above numbers just tell the size of this administration’s lies on roads. One was privileged to engage in a Peugeot Across Nigeria Test Drive from Lagos to Kaduna. The prospects of riding in the new Peugeot 507, 3008 and 4008 were high on why one agreed to take the journey but not as much as a desire to see the claims of transformed roads. Thank God for good cars, it would really have been worse. Traveling from Lagos, the much-touted emblem of transformation, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway remains incomplete and a road user’s nightmare. There is nothing wrong with an uncompleted road as long as work is being advanced and the project is not being sold as the 8th Wonder of the world even though work on it moves at the speed of a snail. Let us get serious, like one of the Ekiti election riggers said in that audio, this is not a tea party. Nigeria is serious business.
t helped that one drove in the luxurious Peugeot 507. Also, it talks about the type of car a top government official is likely to be driven in when using such bad roads. Only a car with such artificial intelligence and a seeming intuitive relationship with Nigeria’s bad roads made the journey bearable. The undulated roads and potholes which leave you with deciding which one is less dangerous to drive through rather than avoiding any altogether were balanced by the comfort of being in a good car but how many Nigerians have such luxuries? And even if our ogas at the top have such comfortable cars to be driven in, do they not have eyes to see the bad roads?
The roads in the south are worse when compared to that of the north but that is not to say those of the north are faring well. It is likely to be a reflection of the difference in usage. One travelled from Lagos to Bauchi for the Federal Government College (FEDCOL) Games in the year 2000, in a bus. The roads then and now are not world’s apart. I’d actually think road development actually stagnated for 15 years. It is a shame, not just on the Jonathan administration but all the administrations from that year till date. The only difference being that the previous administrations never claimed that they have built and renovated roads the length of travelling from New York to Lagos in a straight line almost 5 times. It is precisely 4.7 times.
Failing to do one’s job is one thing, lying about what has not been done to say same has been done is unacceptable. Small lies may be forgivable but a lie like saying you have built and renovated roads the length of over 60 per cent of the equator is a shame. It also shows a lack of respect for your audience. You might as well have called all Nigerians idiots and we’d at least appreciate your directness instead of making the same claim indirectly through such an unforgivable lie. Subsequent governments must learn from this.
The era of that citizen who hears all and believes all is over. This is the era of the conscious, active citizen.
We crosscheck everything!
Editorial by: Japheth Omojuwa
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