Drivers worry over DamaturuMaiduguri ‘pothole ridden’ road

Truck drivers said they were worried that the dilapidated Damaturu-Maiduguri road project was not getting much attention from authorities.

The drivers said it was rather difficult to safely maneuver through potholes even when travelling at low speed. And that accidents happen day in day out on the road due to thousands of deep potholes.

A trucker, Modu Saleh, said articulated vehicles conveying goods ‘always’ struggle in the muddy and slippery sections of the road.

He said, “vehicles get stuck in the mud and skid off when it rains.”

Another driver, who simply identified himself as David, said cars and buses, unlike trucks, could ‘dodge’ the bad sections of the road characterised by the deep potholes.

“The road is dangerous to ply as you can see. One truck conveying sacks of groundnut overturned on the bad side of the road before Benisheikh on Monday. That accident occurred few metres away from another bus which overturned earlier. Again, there are two trucks that got stuck in the mud almost at the same place,”

He said the poor road condition delayed passengers to their destinations even as troops stationed at different check points prohibit movements in the evening.

“Latecomers who arrive after 6pm are not allowed into Maiduguri and neither could they return to Damaturu.

“On many occasions, several passengers, whose vehicles parked along the road, were ambushed by the terrorists. There were reports that five vehicles that were parked along the road were attacked at 7p.m. on Tuesday while the previous week, some women were allegedly abducted near Auno,” he said.

The driver admitted that the delay in delivering the road project contract was largely as a result of insurgency. But suggested that the security forces should give adequate protection to construction workers.

He called on the federal government to look into the plight of travellers along the road while advising the drivers to be cautious of the bad parts of the road.