..we ‘ll fix it in 21 days – RAAMP State Project Coordinator assures
By Peter Duru, Makurdi
Thousands of students, staff and residents have been stranded following the collapse of a major culvert along the access road linking the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JoSTUM), formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, with neighbouring communities in Benue State.
The culvert, located at Ake River between Antsah and Anini villages, was reportedly washed away after heavy rainfall, cutting off access to the university, Akawe Torkula Polytechnic, the School of Special Science and several surrounding communities.
Residents, university officials and community leaders have appealed to the Benue state government to urgently restore access to the area.
Speaking on the development, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of JoSTUM, Prof. Elizabeth Kembe, said the deteriorating condition of the road had become a recurring challenge for the institution.
“We were pleased when the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) came in to rehabilitate the culverts, but unfortunately rains caught up with the project before completion. Staff and students are now completely cut off from the university. We have resumed academic activities, but many students cannot access the campus.
“Important university engagements are currently being conducted in the Pro-Chancellor’s guest house because of the road situation. We appeal to the state government to intervene urgently and restore access.”
Speaking at the site, Registrar of the University, Dr. John David, said staff and students had faced serious difficulties accessing the institution since the heavy rainfall on Sunday night. “Since Monday, movement has become extremely difficult. People are forced to use alternative routes where they are charged between N500 and N1,000 to cross,” he said.
“The state government, which owns this road stretching from the junction through these communities to Gbajimba, should urgently repair it. The road has deteriorated significantly over the years.”
Dr. David noted that two of the five major culverts along the road were currently under construction but expressed concern over the progress of work. “We have not seen much activity on the project site recently. As a result, university operations have been relocated to a guest house on the other side of the road, which is not ideal.
“We are also appealing to the Federal Government to construct the university’s original access road from Agan Village to the main campus. That would reduce traffic pressure on this route and improve accessibility.”
Also at the site, the Director of the Ahmadu Ali Centre for Public Health and Comparative Medicine at JoSTUM, Prof. Mohammed Adah, described the situation as a major setback to academic and clinical activities.
“This is a disaster for us. Our Veterinary Teaching Hospital is located at North Bank, while many students take lectures on the main campus. On Monday, I had a three-hour lecture scheduled on campus and was supposed to continue clinical sessions at the annex, but I could not get across because the road was cut off. The same thing happened the following day.
“Students on campus can no longer access the teaching hospital, and those at the hospital cannot easily get to the campus. This situation requires urgent intervention. We have over 8,000 students and cannot continue this way,” he lamented.
An external member of the university council, Dr. Mohammed Kwankwaso, who is also heading the ongoing routine staff audit, described the situation as unfortunate.
“We were unable to access the university after Monday because the main road was cut off. It is worrisome that a university of this size depends on a single access road. In emergency situations, this could pose a serious risk.
“We have therefore joined the university administration in calling for immediate action to repair the culvert and restore access to the institution.”
Youth Leader of Udzer Community, Mr. Benjamin Yogbo, said the road serves as the major link between the affected institutions and neighbouring settlements.
“I have lived here for about 38 years. This road is the main access route to JoSTUM, Akawe Torkula Polytechnic, the School of Special Science and several communities around here.
“Although work had commenced on the culvert, for the past four days staff of JoSTUM and the polytechnic have been unable to access their institutions. Children cannot go to school, women cannot reach the markets and economic activities have been disrupted. We are appealing to the government to encourage the contractor so that work can resume immediately and be completed as quickly as possible,” he said.
A resident of the area, Mrs. Jumai Ishama, lamented the hardship caused by the damaged road saying “my husband works at Akawe Torkula Polytechnic. Since Monday, my children have not been able to go to school. Business activities have also been affected because customers can no longer access our market,” she said.
“When work started on the culvert in February, we were happy. We never imagined it would take this long. Our community has practically been cut off from the rest of the town,” she added.
Responding to the concerns, the Benue State Project Coordinator of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Dr. Stephen Numbeve, attributed the delay to persistent rainfall but assured residents that work would resume immediately.
“The contractor did not abandon the site. Work was ongoing until two consecutive days of heavy rain forced workers to suspend operations,” Numbeve explained.
“Before now we concluded arrangements to tackle the situation. Earth-moving equipment is being deployed to the site immediately to divert the flowing water and create temporary access for the communities and road users. Work is resuming there and we are confident that the project will be completed within 21 days and people will use the road without hitches,” Dr. Numbeve added.
Article University officials, communities alarmed as flood cuts JoSTUM off Makurdi Live On NgGossips.
