By Daniel Eteghe
Former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing from 1967 to 1974, Alhaji Lateef Femi Okunnu, weekend, blamed the Federal Government over the deplorable state of roads across the country.

He also noted that the government had deliberately failed to take care of the roads and perform its public duty which was the cause of several road accidents.

Speaking to newsmen at the Muson Centre during the 14th Annual Lecture organised by Lagoon Hospital Friends at Onikan, Lagos, Alhaji Okunnu debunked the claim that the Federal Government did not have enough money to rehabilitate the roads, stressing that it was a deliberate effort of the government because of its ‘I don’t care attitude’.

“The money is there, it is just that the government doesn’t care, especially the Federal Goverment, the money is there, we hear of trillions of naira everyday now and then, then we all tread on these very bad roads which successive governments, especially since the early 1980’s, had failed to maintain.

“So they have allowed the roads to be in this deplorable state, like Federal Government roads, Lagos-Benin Express Road, and Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, that is a very criminal neglect of road transport system by the various governments,” said Okunnu.

He stressed that the Federal Government should be blamed 100 per cent for allowing the roads to degenerate to such a deplorable condition, noting that the fault was totally that of the government and not the public.

He said further:  “As the roads are in deplorable conditions today, it is 100 per cent the blame of the Federal Government, the public has no blame, it is now left for the government to perform its duties. that is all.  The advice that I will give to the government is for it to do its public duty.”

Alhaji Okunnu further pointed out that the Lagos-Ibadan express road, Lagos-Benin express road and other roads were built in good standard when he was in office, but noted that successive governments had failed to take care of the roads, let alone reconstruct them.

He said it took five to seven years to rehabilitate the roads but that all these years, most of the roads were left in very poor state, even up till now without any efforts from the government to reconstruct them.

Also speaking, while delivering a lecture on the topic, “Road Safety,” Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Jonas Agwu, declared that 80 percent of road accidents that occurred across the country was a result of human factors.

He said about 3,000 people die in road accidents on a daily basis, adding that the proportion of death ranged from 15 years to 54 years who, according to him, form the workforce of the country.

Enumerating several factors that could facilitate dangerous accidents on the highways to include mechanical factor, human factor and other factors, Mr. Agwu pointed out that out of all the factors responsible for road accident on the highway, human factor had over the years been rated as a major cause of accidents that have claimed many lives.