The importance of a bridge in road transportation can never be overestimated. And the reason is simple: No matter how masterfully constructed a road may be, the effort may count for nothing if it so happens that some part of it is dislocated or cut into two due to the absence of a bridge above the river which passes through it; such a road would become virtually useless to human and vehicular traffic. Social and economic life would grind to a halt in the area concerned as everybody searches for an alternative route. For the inhabitants of that area, it is like being cut off from the rest of the world.
No one knows this as keenly as the inhabitants of Wase and Langtang local governments in Plateau state, following the collapse of the bridge linking the two local governments on June 25, 2020.
The road on the one hand and the bridge on the other had been awaiting rehabilitation for quite some time. The people of Wase and Langtang had, accordingly, sent save our soul messages to the federal over the years – to no avail. Then what they dreaded most occurred that fateful day; following a downpour and passage of a trailer, the old bridge caved in, and thus cut off travels not only between the two local governments and other parts of the state but also to and from neighbouring Taraba state.
Needless to say, life virtually came to a standstill after the ill-fated occurrence—economic activities nose-dived to an alarming extent. Amid the pain and inconvenience inflicted upon the citizenry by this unexpected incident, Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau state paid an on-the-spot assessment visit there. Accompanied by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Danlandi Atu; the Chief of Staff, Mr Noel Dongjur and some members of the Plateau Executive Council, Governor Lalong said he had decided to be there personally to take stock of the situation with a view to seeing what can be done.
Usually, being a federal road, the responsibility of maintenance and rehabilitation of the road lies squarely on the shoulder of the central government. Despite this, Governor Lalong’s concern for the plight of his people nudged him to rush to the side and empathise with them. Recalling that he had included this same road/bridge in the list of bad roads submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for federal government intervention, Governor Lalong assured that he would soon see the President so as to “intimate him on these developments so that the bridge can be rebuilt immediately.”
For a people adversely affected by the big blow of June 25, their governor’s declaration was like a soul-soothing balm. This is more so as he instructed the Plateau State Ministry of Water Resources and Energy to make urgent arrangement for boats to be provided so as to ferry the people across the river pending when intermediate work is done. In the same vein, the Federal Controller of Works in Plateau state, Mr Usman Magin, said officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing had been dispatched to the site to assess the situation ahead of kick-starting work on the collapsed bridge.
Expressing his people’s feelings, the Emir of Wase, Alhaji Muhammadu Haruna Sambo, commended the governor for showing concerns for the plight of Wase people by squeezing time off his busy schedule to see for himself the collapsed bridge even after he had sent a team earlier.
He appealed to the governor to prevail on the federal government to not only fix the damaged bridge but also hasten action on the reconstruction of the entire road so as to save Wase and Langtang people from further economic deprivation.
Amid the tangled piece of iron and twisted concrete scattered all over the ugly site, the people are anxiously waiting for the federal government to come to their aid, more so as the collapsed bridge is adversely affecting their farming and other economic activities.
