Nigeria’s peculiar road construction myths

One of the most significant complaints about road construction is the delay suffered by road users. Drivers are the primary targets of this widespread frustration, though there is much more to the situation than that. This universal grievance triggers some of the most common myths surrounding road construction. Chief among these complaints is the presence of idle-looking construction workers, whom people blame for the delays. Consequently, frustrated, delayed road users conclude that “construction workers are just standing around doing nothing.”

Many of us get angry, and we might have fallen into the trap of thinking that those construction workers are doing nothing on the road. We might have questioned the diversion of a road at certain inconvenient points, querying the rationale behind it. We might even have frowned upon the snail-like speed with which some workers react to our arrival at certain construction zones. Furthermore, as someone driving to a distant destination, you have likely cursed under your breath upon encountering security operatives at annoying roadblocks on the periphery of these construction zones.

Shrug. Smile. Giggle. Feel a sense of mirth at the memory of such days. Laugh aloud, even. You will also probably share the experience once again. You are not alone; many other Nigerians have travelled that same path. If you are outside the country, you will agree that there are also notable international examples of road construction challenges—complete with the shenanigans of both road workers and users. We are indeed not alone in this.

Practical Engineering is a YouTube channel dedicated to explaining engineering, infrastructure, and related topics. The channel produces many expository videos on engineering construction, particularly civil engineering. It also exposes the gritty realities and the soft underbelly of construction work, exploring what it describes as “the man-made world around us.” In one of its numerous engaging videos, Practical Engineering addressed common road construction myths, which is precisely where the phrase “construction workers are just standing around doing nothing” originates. Road users assume that road construction workers are idling away, just like the vehicles they have brought to a standstill. Practical Engineering actually listed this as the number one road construction myth.

Grady Hillhouse, the civil engineer who runs the Practical Engineering YouTube channel, knows that our assumption about idle engineers is a myth. He disagrees that road construction workers are doing nothing simply because they do not appear to be active. Indeed, we are wrong because, after a period of confusion, we usually see the beauty of engineering emerge. Engineering design and its practical implementation are often best understood by engineers themselves. What laymen understand is the final product and its daily use. Engineering construction thrives on precision, timing, project management, and the need to provide effective service. Against the backdrop of engineers acting as the interpreters of design, non-engineers can only wait, hope, and believe that the integrity of the engineering will be worth the wait.

This happens everywhere a road construction project is underway. Construction works signify the physical development of an environment. They also evoke hope among locals that something better is in store for their community. The timing of completion, precision, project management, quality, and effective service are universal expectations. Most engineering projects specify a completion date, signalling when the infrastructure will be put to use.

However, these standards are effective mostly in Grady Hillhouse’s United States of America. There, his channel can get answers and see results when told to look out for them. He can also query standards and measurements. The same applies to the developed economies of Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa. In those places, when you look at their roads—right down to the streets—you cannot help but wonder what has happened to us in Nigeria. There, standards exist because they are respected like the Holy Grail. There are measurable milestones and quantifiable indicators. When a construction contract is awarded and things do not go as planned, relevant institutions take immediate action. Where Grady Hillhouse lives, you can ask questions, get answers, and become educated.

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Here in Nigeria, we are different. Indeed, we do ordinary things so differently that you wonder what the universal principles even were. We have a lot of road construction projects going on everywhere in the country, and it always feels as though the roads are perennially under construction. The country’s road construction trajectory is such that we reconstruct certain roads so frequently that you can barely remember when they were ever good. As a layman, I would say this is a function of poor road design. Here, it is a thing of pride for a governor or his administration to describe his state as “a huge construction site.” They do not take pride in a road that has already been completed, but rather in the road that each current government is currently working on.

Nowadays, we build roads not for sustainable development, but just to prove a point—the point that we are better than our predecessors in government. If we were building for sustainable development, for the economy, and for tomorrow, our trunk roads would not be in their current state. Our major highways and our hinterland roads are in terrible condition. Our towns would not be turning into sprawling urban slums, and we would not be lamenting the poor infrastructural development all around us.

Road construction in contemporary Nigeria is a tale of a true mess – a peculiar mess indeed. The lifespan of the roads, their functional reliability, and their maintenance are often not prioritised. Of course, questions of structural integrity cannot be asked, and in most cases those saddled with the responsibility of asking the question, and exert quality control often pander to some special interests. That is why the section of the Ibadan–Ife Expressway constructed long before the road became a dual carriageway, remains better than the newer segment. A road constructed from Ibadan to Ijebu-Ode during the era when the iconic politician, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was in government, still retains a level of integrity that many newer roads cannot match. That road is still better than many of those constructed decades after it. Travel the Ibadan – Abeokuta road as well, and you will see glimpses of the type of road engineering Grady is talking about.

If our roads are such that can pass integrity test, why do Nigerians have to sleep overnight in traffic because of by badly-maintained roads? If, indeed, we are building sustainable roads meant to boost the country’s economy, why the do we have such terrible situations as we see at Bida in Niger State; at Akure – Owo – Isua Akoko road in Ondo State; at Benin – Warri road in Edo State and at the East West Road in the Niger Delta? These are just some of the numerous trunk roads which are daily nightmare for Nigerian road users. Surely, some of those who travelled to Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State for the inauguration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji for a second term of office would have worked to avoid the snare which is the Ado-Ekiti – Ikole – Omuo Road. Most of the dignitaries from ABuja would have flown down to the ceremony and avoid the eyesore which our roads have become.

There is no mention of the Coastal Road in this piece. Our coastal road engineering myths are more than enough worry without adding them to the country’s existing burdens. On the Coastal Road brouhaha, I must say that we should just use our tongues to count our teeth.