By CrossRiverWatch Admin
Do we really need a spaghetti bridge in Odukpani Junction?
We do not need a spaghetti bridge in Odukpani Junction, what we should do is fix our internal road network that is presently in a terrible state of disrepair – Army Junction to Flour Mills Junction, Marian Road through Ikot Ishie Market right to Calabar-Calabar Roundabout, Unical Exit Gate to Cuda, Parliamentary Extension Road, you name it!
Calabar is now looking old and dirty with no improvement on our infrastructure, this is not the picture of who we are.
The sad reality about this is that people no longer visit Calabar anymore, tourism has taken the back seat. Cultism has now been elevated and associated with government business. Over 80% of those who have appointment are recognized members of one cult gang or another, street urchins a.k.a areas boys and almost every teenager even in our villages yet to see the four walls of a college have been initiated into cult groups.
Former governor Liyel Imoke may have his limitations, however, Liyel Imoke got it right when he ensured that those who served under him denounced their membership of confraternities. The gentleman did well in scaling down cultism in our state and almost disincentivised it! Nobody was a proud cultist in Imoke’s government even if you were a cultist. We can’t afford the future dangers of condoning cultism in our state and modelling bad example!
This government should do something deliberately about this, as too many young people now see cultism as a worthy engagement. This is totally wrong and something must be done to reverse this trend or stem the tide.
Stiff punishment and sanctions must be meted on deviants and law enforcement officers must be allowed by politicians to punish and prosecute those who take the lives of others.
Government should concentrate in building infrastructures that have direct bearing on the people as this will improve the ease of doing business in the state capital. Too many businesses have relocated out of Calabar and many more will leave if proactive steps are not taken and if government continues to abandon internal road network in their now total state of disrepair.
If at all this government wants to build a bridge, where we may be needing one is around stadium, so as to ease the free flow of traffic where there’s the intersection on MM Highway just after Transcorp, IBB Road and Big Quo Town Road intervening area.
Let truth be told, the last infrastructure or bridge that the government should build now is anything but the proposed spaghetti bridge in Odukpani Junction.
Kennedy Nsan writes from OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State.