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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 003071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS DOT FOR KEVIN SAMPLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELTN NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA PLAGUED BY FAILING ROAD NETWORK 
 
REF:  A) LAGOS 1320  B) ABUJA 2434  C)ABUJA 1959  D) ABUJA 1083 
 
¶1.  Summary.  Nigeria's road-transportation network has deteriorated 
badly following decades of neglect, almost no maintenance, and 
severely deficient funding.  Nigeria has recognized for decades the 
need to improve its roads but so far has failed to do so.  A Central 
Bank survey found that most roads, especially in the south, were in 
very poor condition and required complete rehabilitation.  This was 
largely true of roads in the north, while those especially in the 
southeast were terrible.  Some roads built more than 30 years ago 
had never been rehabilitated.  Septel will address Nigeria's recent 
initiatives to improve roads.  End summary. 
 
Steady Decrease in Spending on Roads 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. Nigeria formerly possessed a road network that was above average 
for West Africa.  As the Government of Nigeria (GON) reduced and 
then almost eliminated funding for road maintenance, the condition 
of roads declined markedly.  Between 1975 and 1985 the GON spent the 
equivalent, in 1995 naira terms, of 924 billion naira ($42.2 
billion) on roads - an average of about $4 billion per year.  By the 
Ministry of Works' admission, government spending on roads then 
plummeted to an annual average of just 1 billion naira between 1986 
and 1994.  The severe deterioration in the nation's road network and 
the resulting economic costs concerned the Central Bank of Nigeria 
(CBN), which called poor roads a major trigger of cost-push 
inflation.  The CBN's Research Department surveyed Nigeria's road 
network in 2003.  Its findings remain valid today. 
 
Survey Conclusions 
------------------ 
 
¶3. The CBN found that most of Nigeria's roads, especially in the 
south, were in very poor condition and required complete 
rehabilitation.  The same was largely true of roads in the north, 
while those especially in the southeast generally were terrible. 
Nationwide, some roads built more than 30 years before had never 
been rehabilitated, resulting in major cracks, depressions, numerous 
potholes, and broken-down bridges along most Nigerian roads.  The 
shoulders of many roads had eroded, leaving some highways nearly 
impassable.  Some roads required total rehabilitation and repaving. 
 
¶4. The CBN found Nigeria's roads were plagued by broad problems, 
with major ones being faulty design, inadequate drainage systems, 
and a poor maintenance culture, which reduced the roads' utility 
significantly and made road transport slow and unsafe.  Other 
problems included poor road construction, an inefficient highway 
bureaucracy, insufficient funding, and the overuse of roads due to a 
lack of functioning waterways and railroads. 
 
Maintenance Is Badly Deficient 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. The Central Bank especially faulted the GON for having no program 
for road maintenance.  Road-maintenance decisions were made at the 
ministry level and influenced by politics rather than need, leaving 
most of the country's roads neglected.  Some of the few 
rehabilitation projects were not completed because contractors were 
not paid in full.  Although large sums were spent on road 
construction, funding for maintenance lagged behind badly.  From 
1999 to 2002 the Ministry of Works received appropriated funding for 
fewer than 10% of its road-maintenance requests, and only 53.5% of 
the appropriated amount actually was released to the ministry. 
 
The High Costs of Bad Roads 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. The CBN found these problems made it expensive and arduous for 
Nigerians to transport goods and services from producers to 
consumers, and agricultural produce from rural to urban centers. 
This led to a loss of man-hours and a high cost of goods and 
services.  The CBN pronounced Nigeria's annual direct loss from bad 
roads at 80 billion naira ($622.6 million in 2003 naira terms), 
while poor roads also produced higher vehicle-operating costs of 
53.8 billion naira.  The total annual cost of Nigeria's bad roads 
was 133.8 billion naira ($1.04 billion in 2003 naira terms.) 
Unmeasured and indirect costs such as slow travel, man-hours lost in 
traffic, motorists' "emotional and physical trauma," and lower 
national productivity, further add to the toll. 
 
Four Types of Nigerian Roads 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. The Central Bank used Ministry of Works figures putting Nigeria's 
 
ABUJA 00003071  002 OF 003 
 
 
road network at about 194,000 km (121,250 miles), with fewer than a 
third of these paved.  The GON was responsible for 17% of roads, 
state governments for 16%, and local governments for 67%.  Nigeria 
has four kinds of roads: Federal trunk "A" roads are built, owned, 
and maintained by the QN.  Federal trunk "F" roads are former state 
roads taken over by the GON to upgrade to federal highway standards. 
 State trunk "R" roads are owned and managed by the states.  Local 
government trunk "C" roads are owned and managed by local 
governments.  Each level of government is responsible for planning, 
building, and maintaining roads under its jurisdiction. 
 
South-South Zone 
---------------- 
 
¶8. The CBN surveyed roads in Nigeria's six geopolitical zones.  The 
country's South-South zone, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, 
and Rivers States, had a federal highway network of 4,151 km.  Roads 
in this zone were in fairly good condition because of an ongoing 
rehabilitation program, but it was not carried out evenly, and Akwa 
Ibom and Cross River were largely neglected. 
 
Southeast Zone 
-------------- 
 
The states in the Southeast geopolitical zone, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, 
Ebonyi, and Abia, had a federal highway network of 3,122 km.  Most 
of these roads were in very poor condition because of potholes, 
gullies, and erosion.  The roads suffered a complete lack of 
maintenance and many had not been rehabilitated for more than 30 
years.  The Owerri-Onitsha highway was in very bad shape with 
gullies and ditches adorning its 90.5 km length.  This produced very 
slow and unsafe traffic, with one trip taking up five to six hours 
on a bad day.  The Owerri-Umuahia road was in bad condition, while 
the Enugu-Onitsha road needed rehabilitation badly because the road 
surface had peeled off, indicating poor-quality work.  The 
Urnuahia-Bende road was being rehabilitated after part of it 
collapsed due to erosion. 
 
Southwest Zone 
-------------- 
 
The Southwest zone, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Ogun States, 
had a federal highway network of 4,162 km.  The roads were in fairly 
good condition because of some repairs and rehabilitation carried 
out from 1997 to 2001.  The Lagos-Ibadan divided highway was in fair 
condition but with significant potholes, and some of its road 
surface was peeling off. 
 
Northwest Zone 
-------------- 
 
The Northwest zone of Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, 
and Zamfara States had a federal highway network of 6,363 km.  These 
roads generally were in bad condition and required complete 
rehabilitation.   The survey takers observed casual laborers filling 
in potholes with sand and straw in an attempt to make the roads 
passable.  The Kano-Katsina route was a single-lane, 156-km road 
with many potholes.  Large stretches of it were damaged by erosion 
because a lack of drainage.  The Funtua-Yankara-Tsafe-Gusau-Zamfara 
stretch was a death trap because of its very deplorable condition. 
The Kano-Wudil road was in very good condition, while the 
Wudil-Kwanahukuma stretch had potholes. 
 
Northeast Zone 
-------------- 
 
The Northeast states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and 
Yobe had a federal highway network of 6,788 km.  Most roads in this 
zone were contracted out for repairs but the jobs were not done 
properly.  Repairs were abandoned halfway, so the Ministry of Works 
took over the work.  Bad roads requiring urgent repair included the 
Bauchi-Gombe Yola, Bauchi-Tafa-Balewa-Langtang, and Bauchi-Ningi 
stretches of highway. 
 
North-Central Zone 
------------------ 
 
The North-Central states of Niger, Kwara, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, 
Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory had a federal highway 
network of 9,756 km.  The severe potholes on the Suleja-to-Mokwa 
stretch made it a death trap for motorists.  Of the Akwanga-Makurdi 
roads, the Akwanga-to-Lafia route was dangerous because of very 
sharp bends, while the worst route was the 90-km stretch from Lafia 
to Makurdi because of its gully-like potholes.  The roads between 
Abuja and Ilorin were in fair condition, but there were significant 
 
ABUJA 00003071  003 OF 003 
 
 
potholes between Abuja International Airport and Lokoja.  Though 
only several years old, the Lokoja-Ilorin highway already had gone 
very bad with major potholes almost every kilometer, making travel 
unsafe. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. Since the CBN completed its road survey, little change has 
occurred to Nigeria's road network except for further deterioration. 
 Nigeria's different levels of government have recognized for 
decades the need to rebuild the country's road system - but they 
have taken little action.  Septel will address the GON's recent, 
belated initiatives to carry out road improvements in Nigeria.