By David-Chyddy Eleke
Government must protect citizens from those whose private businesses obstruct public movement. It is becoming worrisome that some businesses now constitute nuisance on public roads, either parking vehicles indiscriminately and obstructing the use of the roads by members of the public, or even making such roads impassable.
Recently, this representative of this newspaper moved around Awka and it was a surprise that some roads have become impassable, not because they are deplorable, but because certain business concerns located in those areas have made the roads their personal belongings.
Along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, between Immigration Junction and Nnamdi Azikiwe University gate, there are two of such companies. Firstly, a company that distributes alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages on that stretch of road has converted a part of the expressway to parking space for its trucks.
Another company that sells and distributes petroleum products, including running an eatery and other businesses in their complex have also constituted itself into public nuisance on same road.
As one drives by towards Unizik every early morning, their trucks can be found on both sides of the roads, narrowing down the entire expressway to an impassable track road. This is even more worrisome because that part of the expressway has one of its lane blocked for construction works, so one wonders why the only lane left for ongoing and oncoming vehicles will be further narrowed down by these two companies who park heavy trucks on both sides.
Also worrisome is the nuisance naval officials constitute right in front of one of the business concerns mentioned above. Quite frankly, when these security men first came, during the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano when the business berthed, many had thought it was purely to secure the new business, but as time went on, the operatives created a roadblock, using some young boys to extort travelers and other road users.
It is worthy to recognize that the insecurity that bedeviled our state may have made multiple checkpoints look normal, but one has to consider also that just down the road after Unizik is a military checkpoint and another too, manned by mobile police men. It makes the one in front of the mentioned business concern look more like an extortion, especially that some people have been long enough to know that the primary mandate of the Navy operatives is to guard the private business and not to hinder movement just to extort motorists.
Use that road early in the morning any day, you will notice that the operatives block one part of the road, forcing ongoing and oncoming vehicles to use same lane. In most cases, a long queue of oncoming vehicles have to wait for a long time for ongoing ones to use the narrow road, before they are ushered past. The single lane also gives the operatives and their surrogates the opportunity to fully interface with all passing vehicles, extorting those they thought should be.
Also along Arthur Eze Avenue, from Unizik Junction, straight up to Eke Awka Market, it is a common sight for trailers offloading drinks to block the roads and leave road users seeking alternative routes, just as those offloading food stuff at the Eke Awka end block the road without apologies.
Things must get better. Government agencies or ministries responsible for this should swing into action. Road users do not deserve to suffer because a private business has to go on. Private businesses should seek better places to park their trucks, even if it means acquiring spaces, and government should also provide parks for importers of food stuffs in markets to enter and offload their wares.
Thankfully, Governor Chukwuma Soludo has focused on markets; threatening to knockdown illegal shops at Onitsha Main Market built in spaces allocated for car Park and others. He should also know that what used to be motor Park and offloading bays in most markets, especially Eke Awka Market have been converted into shops, leaving traders in the middle of their roads as they offload foodstuffs from trucks.
At the cattle market at Amansea, the story is not different, neither is it along the newly constructed Amansea-Awa-Ndiukwuenu-Ufuma road, as a myriad of trucks leave motorists struggling to get past.
The Awka Capital Development Agency (ACTDA), the Ministry of Transport and other relevant agencies in charge should sit up.
This second term, Soludo should get many things right, including appointing the right people that will aide his work. The buck stops at his table and he must take responsibility.
