The laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the second Niger Bridge linking the eastern part of the country with the South-South geo-political zone was perhaps ground-breaking as it was heartening; coming almost eight years after Chief Cornelius Adebayo, former Minister of Works, under the Obasanjo administration, announced in 2006; the approval by the Federal Government to construct the second Niger bridge at Onitsha. A second Niger bridge was long overdue; 49 years after the first one was commissioned by former President Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1965. But the event was rankled by political opportunism by President Goodluck Jonathan, who gleefully claimed with uncanny hubris, that it was the fulfillment of a campaign promise he made seven years ago. Jonathan promised that the landmark project being executed by Julius Berger would be completed in four years at a total cost of over N117 billion. But the President’s promise would be meaningless except the bridge is actually completed as planned. Nigerians are tired of unfulfilled promises. What is needed now is concrete action to make the bridge a reality. The ceremony should not be another campaign gimmick to merely attract votes for the president’s 2015 ambitions.
Speaking Monday, at the commercial town of Onitsha, Anambra State, Jonathan told the guests at the ceremony who included host Governor Peter Obi, Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi and Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen; the Obi of Onitsha Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe and a host of others that the project will be executed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for a period of 25 years. “The first Niger Bridge was commissioned by President Nnamdi Azikiwe and the second will be built by the second Azikiwe,” the President was quoted as saying, adding; he was only fulfilling his electioneering promise way back in 2007 when as a vice presidential candidate, he came visiting Anambra on a campaign stump and promised to build the bridge.
It should be recalled that in 2006, the then Minister of Works, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, announced the approval by the Federal Government to construct the second Niger Bridge at Onitsha. But nothing concrete was done, other than foot-dragging and unnecessary politicking over the matter. This showed lack of seriousness on the part of government. Against this backdrop, the new completion date appears ambitious but not impossible to achieve. There is perhaps need for a more realistic time frame to make allowances for exigencies. What is important is to do a credible job within a reasonable period, and to ensure a reduction of pressure on the existing bridge to extend its lifespan. Besides, the necessity to decongest the city of Onitsha cannot be overstressed. As a matter of fact, the idea of a second Niger bridge at Onitsha has been on the drawing board for years, having been first mooted under President Shehu Shagari administration (1979-1983) during the Second Republic; but it never got off the ground.
Even now, the political and administrative will to bring the proposed project to fruition is still doubtful. Certainly, it will take more than the President’s promise to assure Nigerians that the construction of the new bridge is indeed taking off. Jonathan must follow up with tangible effort and avoid further delay. And once the construction begins, it should not be abandoned midway. Besides, the event should not be a ploy to score cheap political goals. Remarkably, the construction giant, Julius Berger who won the contract to build the bridge has a pedigree of competence. Nigerians would not accept an abandonment of the project under any guise. Therefore, the company should muster the technical and financial muscle to complete the work on schedule. In building the bridge, international best practices and quality standards should be followed. There should be clear specifications on what to expect on such a major bye-pass link bridge. The need to drastically reduce the perennial traffic bottleneck at Onitsha should be given utmost consideration. Uninterrupted movement of vehicles should be the main feature. There is also need to make provision for a future East-West rail line on the bridge.
In a sign of the undue politicization of the event, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, were conspicuously absent. But their absence was no index for the public grandstanding. To begin with, the reference to Azikiwe was an unnecessary, politically incorrect comparison given the current hype in bellicose ethnic jingoism and religious bigotry that seek to promote self-destructive cleavages that have fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency and transformed the northern part of the country into a killing field. Wearing the garb of a regionalist while presiding at an event of such national importance to a united Nigeria, Jonathan indirectly negated and contradicted the very essence of national unity he was supposedly espousing. More importantly, owing to the volatility of Nigeria’s political terrain, the President ought to be careful with his public utterances given the tendency for his partisan status to be misinterpreted by the public; he should maintain a graceful distance and refrain from validating ethnic nationalism or any form of petty clannishness. Nigeria needs a president who would continually embody the unity of the country with his presence alone.
Even caught in a seemingly clannish grandstanding, Jonathan’s speech was the best advertisement for Nigeria’s poor politics. In Onitsha, the President’s statements were not only insulting and denigrating of his host but also contemptuous of the people who have had to wait for seven years for the foundation stone of the second Niger Bridge, which Jonathan gleefully boasted with candor that he personally promised, while campaigning as vice president to the late Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007. This is political sacrilege, the like of which should never be countenanced in any society. That story of course, was not new and nobody is in doubt that the president is yet to honor any of his major campaign promises; from fixing power to fighting corruption. But Jonathan’s open celebration of that travesty was an insult that diminished even his own person.
Honestly, government’s decision to build the bridge should not be extraordinary news. The building and maintenance of infrastructure ought to be part of governance, as it is in other countries. The situation should not be different in Nigeria. Government should carry out its statutory duties on roads, bridges and other infrastructure. These amenities should not be abandoned to rot away to the point of virtual collapse before intervention. Public outcry over the decrepit condition of the existing Niger Bridge ought to have attracted government’s attention before now. The new bridge is therefore coming as a welcome relief. There is no doubt that, if well executed, the bridge will ease transportation problems at Onitsha and enhance commercial activities between the Eastern and Western regions of the country. It is however worth pointing out that Nigeria’s democracy can do without the kind of aberration and political opportunism that the President felt no shame in celebrating in Onitsha.
