Maintenance Culture And National Development

Dayo grew up in Lagos at a time when the National Art theatre was built during the FESTAC 77. As a city boy he loved to spend more time out of his recreation schedules to enjoy movies in one of the halls at the National Art Theatre designed for cinema lovers.

Today, thirty years after, Dayo has lost his love for movies and relaxation at the National Art Theatre. In his words: because of poor maintenance culture, the National Art Theatre situated at Iganmu, Lagos in South West of Nigeria has lost its glory and aesthetic beauty. Like every other Nigerian, poor maintenance culture is public knowledge, hence it shows in every aspect  of national life, in roads, schools, hospitals, and the power sector.

For instance, for decades, the Benin-Shagamu, Expressway, the East West road in the Niger Delta region, have remained a disturbing symbol of the general condition of roads in the country. These roads are in perpetual state of disrepair and has continued to host pot holes and gullies, despite numerous promises and large amount of the tax payer’s money voted to fix it.

The former minister of works, Housing and Urban Development, Dr.Hassan Lawan said: The Benin-Shagamu Expressway and the East West roads have caused untold pain, deaths and loss of property and man-hours. According to reports, Lawan in the company of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, was stranded at the Ajebandele Ofosu section of the expressway for hours. The convoys of the two top officials, led by a combined team of the police and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), had ran into the perpetual traffic jam that had build up as a result of the bad spot on the expressway.

While the trauma lasted, the reports further said, both the governor and the minister who were compelled to join the traffic control efforts witnessed the despair of the other travellers. Though their intervention restored some order, what happened thereafter could be better imagined.

At the East-West Road that connects Rivers with the rest of Niger Delta states including Lagos, the story is the same. Though, impatience of drivers contributed to the traffic bottleneck at such point of the bad roads; but even that is often accentuated by the state of degradation of the roads. Interestingly, the Federal Government has awarded contracts worth N14.2 billion and another N20 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the two sections of the dual carriage way of the Benin-Shagamu Expressway and another for the East-West road.

Dr. Ine Ekon a medical practitioner based in Port Harcourt said: We have enough of promises and emotional shows. Nigerians and Niger Deltans want the East-West Road  rehabilitated before the rain sets in. Otok Bobmanuel, a Structural Civil Engineer base in Port Harcourt said: The Federal Government should seize the post amnesty programme  and save Nigerians from further avoidable tragedies. With lack of maintenance of the rail, the roads are unfortunately, all the country has.

In Rivers State, before the administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi came on board, with the rehabilitation of Primary Schools, many of the pupils were learning under leaking roofs.

Barrister Alice Nemi, the state Commissioner for Education said: The government has not only rehabilitated 200 primary and secondary schools, but constructed over 250 modern primary schools to provide conducive learning environment for school children.

Sadly, the lack of maintenance culture before now in every aspect of the socio-economic life can better be imagined than experienced.

Between 1999-2003, statistics showed that over 300 primary and secondary schools buildings spread over the 23 local government area of Rivers State lacked maintenance. So indifferent to its poor state that it took an AIT camera crew to beam its gley light on pupils seating on bare floor under leaking roofs.

Otoks Bobmaunel who experienced the shame of state schools era of the immediate past administration said: It was a shame, that a state that produces 90 per cent of oil and gas for the nation revenue, could suffer poor maintenance. In his words: the nation needs to avert serious disaster on our schools, roads, hospitals, by providing sustainable maintenance culture.

Dr. Obabo West, a Medical Consultant with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), observed that many Health Care Centres before the present administration have been over grown with weeds. He further said: Some of the hospitals that needed immediate rehabilitation were left unattended, and the situation degenerated  in speed and dimension because of lack of maintenance.

Dr. Charles Numbere, a consultant based in Port Harcourt said: It is indeed a shame that hospitals, roads, schools and every aspect of national life could be allowed to collapse into a state of disrepair because of lack of maintenance. In his words: It’s indeed a shame that we are hardly able to manage what we have well. Besides, being an eyesore, the rots of some of the health Centres and General hospitals in some local government areas translates to huge economic loss.

Dr. charles Peterside, a private medical practitioner based in Port Harcourt also said: The destruction of the former UPTH was a shame. Given the prime location, the hospital should have been rehabilitated as reference hospital. The state government could have considered the demolished hospital for another specialist hospital, given the large space it occupies, prime location, its assets and other auxiliary advantages. The hospital was indeed a gold mine.

Analyst believe that aside cost implication, lack of maintenance, the rot of such public infrastructure could be an eye sore. Again, to allow public infrastructure to rot away as if the country is rich enough to do away with them is politically and economically unwise. Most of the Federal roads, like the East-West Road, is useful to Niger Delta as it is to Nigeria. Visitors, to Niger Delta for the coming National Sports Festival, would not say, they visited Port Harcourt, but they visited Niger Delta.

A turn-around regular and effective maintenance can be provided on public infrastructures in the area to reinstate its past glory.