The Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) has called on the nation to switch over to the use of concrete for road construction. The engineers made this submission at their 28th Annual Conference held in November, 2015, in the capital city of Abuja with the theme: “Structural Engineering Excellence in an Environment inundated with Collapse”.
Engr. Dr. Samuel Ilugbekhai, President of NIStructE, said that concrete pavements have been found durable and last longer than bitumenous roads. He regretted that the country’s dilapidated roads have become death traps and the economic cost to the nation is becoming too high. He stated, “The time has come when Nigeria should step up the use of concrete for roads—especially now that the country has increased its potential to produce cement at lower prices and even exporting to other countries.”
In his speech also, Engr. Eddy Atumonyogo, Vice-President of the Institution, stated, “Concrete pavements are very good because they last longer and can be used for busy roads, especially in the state capitals.” Speaking in the same vein, Engr. Oreoluwa Fadayomi, the Deputy President, said concrete pavements have been in use all along but that the difference now is that the conversation may shift to adopting it to replace bitumen totally.
Engr. Aliyu Aziz Abubakar, Vice-President of the Institution, said the viability of concrete pavements should be looked at as the country’s manufacturing sector now produces cement more than the average national need.
Mr. D.S. Kigbu, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, (acting on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari) called on Structural Engineers to champion what he called ‘structural integrity and reliability’. He regretted the number of Nigerians dying as a result of bad structures and tasked the engineers to step up action to put an end to collapse of structures and other engineering problems.
Engr. Olatunde Akinteye (representing Engr. Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi, President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE)), said the Society was considering an Infrastructural Scorecard for states in the country to ginger governments in their developmental strides, saying that the country’s engineers have a lot to do in guaranteeing the safety of Nigerians.
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Other sources:
1. & 2. Atlas Industries online and Star Africa online: “Dangote canvasses construction of concrete roads in Nigeria”: Mr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Cement, has asked the Federal Government of Nigeria to adopt concrete roads in the country. He mentioned that the adoption would be to the benefit of Nigerians if the government embraced the option of using concrete for roads in the country because the concrete roads “are cheap and more durable with almost zero maintenance cost”. Photo below.
Mr. Aliko Dangote said, “We are pushing for Nigeria to do concrete roads. It is cheaper to do a concrete road that will last 50 years than to do a bitumen road. It will also help in eliminating corruption, because … a bitumen road … will have to be adequately maintained unlike a concrete road that is very durable.”
3. The Nation Online reported in an article titled: “Why Concrete Road is Best”: A World Health Organization (WHO) report adjudged Nigerian roads the most dangerous in Africa. The report, which focused on road traffic deaths in selected African countries, said Nigeria accounts for the highest fatalities with 33.7% per 100, 000 population yearly. According to the report titled: “Road Safety in the WHO African Region”, more than one in four traffic accident deaths in Africa occur on Nigerian roads. It added that road accident is the third leading cause of death in Nigeria.
The report said Nigeria has the second worst traffic fatalities in the world. South Africa closely trailed Nigeria, coming second with 31.9% per 100,000 population, followed by the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The fatality figures for USA and Britain are 15 % and 7%. The report, apart from calling to question the safety of roads in Nigeria, highlighted the recklessness of drivers, the poor maintenance of vehicles and the numerous dilapidated roads with several bad spots that have become death traps.
The heavy reliance on road transport as opposed to other modes of transport is believed to be partly responsible for the increasing number of road failures and the attendant carnage. More importantly, experts say the use of asphalt roads, which is less durable than concrete roads, contributes to road failures. To read the full article, please click here.
