By Odimegwu Onwumere
It is better to walk through the den of the Islamic sect called Boko Haram than drive on most roads in the South east and South south, especially on the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway.
Many motorists have constantly related their ordeals while plying the pit-of-hell. Apart from Okigwe to Umuahia, Umuahia to Isiala Ngwa South, and Aba/Imo River Bridge at the boundary with Abia and Rivers states, where the expressway has been conspicuously damaged, it is a nightmare travelling on the road.
On October 8, 2014, this writer took the picture of a truck carrying goods suspected to be tomatoes and pepper that fell on the road. The federal government had in 2012 said it had awarded contract for the modernization of the road. The red vehicle in the picture had its bumper removed at a bad spot at the Umuebulu Junction.
Tales of woes by motorists abound about vehicles that get spoilt by the terrible condition of the highway daily, whereas the road was supposed a major one that holds enormous relevance to the economic and social well-being of many people..
One bystander who did not give her name while filing this report said, “It is appalling that this road remains thus considering the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the region where the road is situated.”
Many people wonder if the people of South south and South east would vote for President Jonathan in 2015 owing to his aborted promise in 2011 that he would rebuild the road if voted into power.
This article was contributed by Odimegwu Onwumere, a citizen reporter who lives in Port Harcourt.