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Problems of road transportation in Nigeria

Friday, November 03, 2017 at 6:58 PM • by Johnson Olawale

Transportation in Nigeria is one of the decaying infrastructures that needs serious atten‐
tion. This is especially true when it comes to the road transport. The poor state of roads
in Nigeria hasn’t seen much change or improvement, if any, over the past few years des‐
pite government efforts and promises. This post highlights the major problems of road
transportation in Nigeria.

Transportation is one of the important keys to the economic development and growth of
any country. This is because transportation connects people and places. It enhances cul‐
tural, economic, and social interactions.

In Nigeria today, the transportation system includes road transport, railway, air, and sea.
Of all the modes of transportation, the most used by Nigerians is road transport which is
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a fact in most countries. friends and family
Road transportation in any society is meant to be the most easily accessible. People need
road transportation for their day to day activities, to commute to their places of work or
study, to transport their products, for inter-city and intra-city travel, etc. In Africa today, Ni‐
geria has the largest highway and road network. However, the state of road transportation
in the country is very poor. Below are some of the problems of road transportation in
Nigeria.

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Problems of road transportation in Nigeria

1. Poor road infrastructure or poor state of the roads

One of the major problems of road transport in Nigeria today is the state of most of the
road networks. Some of the recently constructed road infrastructures are poorly built with
low-quality materials. This is majorly is a result of corruption from both the people award‐
ing the road contracts and the construction companies.

Most of the paved roads networks have lost their asphalt surface and are in very bad
shape. Some of these roads are almost becoming gravel surfaces. Travelling is very diffi‐
cult and sometimes almost impossible especially during the raining season due to lots of
uneven surfaces, potholes, and eroded areas. Some of the roads are covered by water
during the raining season because of lack of proper drainage. The poor state of a lot of
Nigerian road networks has most areas dead zones due to the number of accidents that
are recorded daily on these roads.

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2. Poorly maintained roads

Poor road maintenance is a major problem contributing to the poor state of road trans‐
port infrastructure in Nigeria today. Most of the major roads networks were constructed in
the 80s and early 90s, so they are old and are already wearing out. The government fails
to attend to them on-time. Due to poor maintenance and low-quality materials, which have
been used for repairs, over time the condition of such roads keeps getting worse.

In most cases, repairs are not started until a major damage has occurred and then it be‐
comes more difficult and expensive to maintain the road surface. When the repairs are
eventually carried out, they are done poorly. So, poor maintenance is one of the major
problems of road transportation in Nigeria.

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3. Road congestion due to rapid urbanisation and overpopulation

This is a big problem in Nigeria today, especially in the major cities. In our country, road
transport accounts for ninety percent of both passenger and freight transport. Due to
rapid urbanisation and overpopulation in major cities, the transport demands has ex‐
ceeded the supply and capacity of the road networks available. Rapid urbanisation and
overpopulation mean more vehicles on the road. And this has led to constant and daily
congestion of most of the major networks in Nigeria. The heavy use of these roads is also
part of the problems causing damage to many of the networks.

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One of the cities with extremely high level of road congestion in Nigeria today is Lagos.
And this causes more problems like pollution and accidents.

4. Accidents
In Nigeria today, the rate of road fatalities is high. This is a consequence of other prob‐
lems we have listed above. Most vehicular accidents in Nigeria are caused by two main
factors: road and human. Road factors include things like bad roads, abandoned sites or
ongoing sites of repairs, traffic jam or road congestion. The human factors include reck‐
less driving, disobeying of traffic light and signs, ill-tempered and impatience drivers. The
rate of accidents on Nigerian roads is a major problem which the government needs to
tackle heads on.

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5. Poor state or inadequacy of other means of transport especially railway

transport
I put this here because it is both a cause and also one of the problems of poor road infra‐
structure in Nigeria. In most developing countries, rail transport is one of the major inter‐
city transport system used. Also, underground rail transport known as subways are com‐
mon in major cities in developed countries. This reduces the demand for road transport.
In addition, heavy loads are transported using railway transports in all developed coun‐
tries. This also reduces the load on the roads and the danger posed by lots of heavy
trucks and lorries that can be seen on most Nigerian roads.

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If there is adequate rail transport, at least intercity rail transport system, it will reduce the
congestion, demand and also fatalities that we see daily on the roads in Nigeria.
Train in Lagos

6. Environmental pollution

The two main environmental pollution problem of road transport in Nigeria are air and
noise pollutions. Air pollution is caused by carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, lead, and ni‐
trogen emission from the exhausted pipes of automobiles. These pose a serious threat to
the health and quality of life of motorist and people living in the area. Also, noise from
automobiles and their horns is a major problem of road transportation in Nigeria.

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How can these problems be solved?
Although, it not the focus of this post, we will highlight some of the solutions to these
problems because there are no pointing listing problems without solutions.

1. The government needs to make rehabilitation of road transport system a priority and
should properly fund and monitor the rehabilitation.
2. Road maintenance and repair should be done on regular and at appropriate time
intervals.

3. Proper drainage facilities along road networks should be available

4. Traffic lights should be established at major junctions including the provision of proper
education for traffic users and also punishment for offenders to make sure people follow
them over time.

5. Also, the government should invest in other forms of transport that will reduce the de‐
mands on road transport.

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Roads in Nigeria

In conclusion, the state of road transportation in Nigeria is a reflection of how far Nigeria
has come as a country. If the country is going to move forward and experience growth in
every aspect, then the problems of road transportation in Nigeria must be taken seriously
and tackled both by the government and the private sector. As it is often said, Nigeria has
all the potential needed to overcome all these challenges, it is just the willingness and
readiness that is required of us.
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