New Abakpa-Emene Road Opens up Emene Satellite Town
Walking through the road then, was just bathing yourself in yellow dust.”
So, I want to go a bit political. Enugu is my state of origin and residence.
I would like to know how it’s being run. So I decided to do my part to assess the current regime. Is Gburugburu working as we hear?
This article will tell. Join me and let us dig in!
Okay, to get this done, you would have to follow me through a series of articles. Each article will discuss a specific project I have witnessed.
Today, let’s talk about the project that linked the ever-busy Abakpa Nike to the satellite town of Emene, not to forget the centre and major attraction of it all — the popular South-East Centre, Adoration Ministry, Enugu Nigeria.
According to my investigations, the road project is about 13 kilometres and was awarded in April 2018. It was commissioned this year and it begins from Nike Lake junction through Harmony Estate and Amorji Nike-Adoration Pilgrimage Centre to Orie Emene road.
This effectively provides another link between the satellite town of Emene and Enugu metropolis, through the high density Abakpa axis.
According to Hon. Greg Nnaji, the Enugu Commissioner for Works, the government had a three-pronged aim in doing the road project:
“To decongest traffic within Enugu East local government, provide access to the Akanu Ibiam International airport, and, open development to Harmony Estate.”
With the completion of the project, I decided to assess its impact by interviewing regular people, chosen at random, along the 13km axis. These are everyday people that stay in the area and helped vote in Gburugburu in 2015 and re-elected him in 2019 with more than 90% of votes cast during his re-run.
But a bit of a background first!
In Emene, the people and the culture have always prevailed.
A priest once said, “Kings pass through Emene.”
In other words, Emene is a land where great men pass through to become great.
“Emene is home!” someone famously said.
Both the residents and indigenes see this town as home, where they live comfortably without fear, in peace and harmony.
People here have lived here for decades without good accessible roads and this affected their connection with Enugu city.
Having just one road network connecting to Enugu, they had just a one-way bus from Emene straight to Old Park, Enugu.
The civil servants, students, workers and traders living in the town found it difficult journeying to and fro before the new roads.
I talked with Daniel. He’s a lanky boy aged 23, living in Emene. Fortunately for me, Daniel also lived in Abakpa. He has also been a regular worshipper at the Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria. Let’s hear him.
“I came to Emene in May 2014. Before then, I lived at Harmony Estate close to the Nike Lake Resort.”
When I came here, I got a job as a sales boy at a bookshop at Rehab road, here in Emene.
Rehab road links to Adoration road; it’s the road from Orie Emene to Adoration Junction and part of the construction project.
“I got the job around October of 2014, it was almost dry season. The road was not tarred and was a very big challenge to me. Everywhere was dusty and I had to always close the glass doors at the bookshop to prevent dust from damaging the books. Walking through the road then, was just bathing yourself in yellow dust.”
I asked him how about attending service at adoration……
His response: “Going to adoration from either Abakpa or here in Emene was hectic! The roads were very bad with gallops and pot holes and very dusty, and during the raining season, it was a pool of mud. Now, the road is lovely! It’s like expressway!”
Mandy, a 24 year-old indigene of Emene, is very happy because it seems that her once forgotten hometown has now been remembered in the political scheme of things.
“I grew up in Emene. I was born and bred here. I didn’t have much to explore though, because I was one of the privileged kids that their parents watched their backs. I just had to go from school to home. I attended St. Mary’s Nursery and Primary School and St. Joseph Secondary School Emene.
I don’t really know what administration reconstructed the road, but it has been bad before now. The Adoration road was very muddy during the raining season and very dusty during dry season. Both cars and pedestrians were not spared.”
Everybody suffered then. Now things have improved.
After speaking with Mandy, I realised that many people don’t know what projects the current administration has carried out.
Maybe because they have lost track of the time frame when this administration came into power or due to inadequate public information.
“For the farmers here,” Mandy continued, “it has boost their production since they now have access to good road. They can now plant and grow in much larger quantities, knowing fully well that they could transport their goods without incurring unnecessary damages.”
Daniel, the bookseller, said he no longer works at the bookshop but he still passes through the road and going to Adoration Centre is much more comfortable now.
He was truly excited and said, “no one would deny the fact that this development spells progress for the town. I think there would be a steady progress in the economy of the town.”
Meanwhile for Nnaemeka, a butcher who shuttles selling his meat supplies between Nkwo Market in Nkwo Nike and Orie Market in Emene.
“I think this development favours me more. I live in Emene and I sell at the two markets. Going to Nkwo Market through Abakpa Junction was very stressful. I always take charter but it is still stressful not to talk about other traders like me who sell at the two markets but don’t take charter.
I hope commercial buses starts plying this road and help other customers, but for me, it’s easier now. Though I’m a little bit sad that the Orie Market is moving, yet this is a very welcome development. And I want to thank the governor for doing this.”
“Well, for me it is a nice development,” says John, a Catholic Seminarian who also lives in Emene, “to ease the means of transportation, and what have you? Where there is development, there is happiness and comfortability.”
“For this town, development is inevitable since there is now a means of transportation. This new development would create links and connections, on that affect, exportation and importation of local goods and services becomes a daily routine.”
Projects like these have greatly influenced the life of the people.
This singular project has given a new lease of life to Emene Town and the people are happy.
They no longer breathe the swirling yellow dust or step through mud. Cars no longer break down and cost more to repair due to bad roads.
There are positive prospects and hopes for the farmers in the locality and this is a huge development for the town. The agricultural and other sectors of the economy of the town is already witnessing better growth.
The Governor of the State has kept his political campaign promise to the people of Emene by bequeathing them this befitting road that links them to the commercial town of Abakpa Nike with a direct link to their local government secretariat.
It is therefore without doubt that Gburugburu is keeping his inauguration promise of rural development.
So, is Gburugburu working?
In roads and rural development, certainly!
He is working!
I hope he continues to do more…
Let us look forward to future articles where I will give the common peoples assessments on other projects carried out by the Governor.
I am excited about what all these developments strives to bring.
Written by Emmanuel Chukwuemellie Okoye
Originally published at http://discoverenugu042.wordpress.com on August 12, 2020.
