Thousands of travellers heading to northern Nigeria for the Eid al-Adha celebrations have remained stranded for hours along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway following a severe traffic gridlock that has persisted since Monday.
The congestion, which affected both private and commercial vehicles, was attributed to increased festive traffic, ongoing road construction and heavy rainfall along the busy corridor.
Several commuters described frustrating experiences as journeys that normally take less than three hours turned into exhausting all-day trips.
“Flight from Kano to Lagos is about half a million naira, which I can’t afford. I decided to travel by road, and this is where I ended up, spending more than six hours,” one of the stranded travellers, Muhammad Musa, said.
Another commuter, Kabiru Abdullahi, lamented the slow movement of vehicles.
“Since yesterday, we have been on the road from Abuja to Kano, and we have not even reached Jere because of the heavy traffic gridlock,” he said.
A social media user, Aboubacar Sani Sabo, also criticised the condition of the highway.
“Three days and the Abuja–Kaduna Highway has been in gridlock. You can leave Kaduna by 5 a.m. and arrive in Abuja by 7:30 p.m. using a private car and not public transport. Government couldn’t fix that road. Shame!” he wrote.
In response to the situation, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) issued a travel advisory urging motorists to make use of the Kachia–Bwari route as an alternative to the heavily congested highway.
The agency attributed the traffic build-up to the surge in vehicular movement ahead of the Sallah celebrations, combined with ongoing road construction and rainfall disrupting traffic flow.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government ordered the immediate reopening of all sections of the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Road currently under construction in a bid to ease the hardship faced by commuters.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, reportedly directed the contractor handling the project, Infiouest Nigeria Limited, to reopen the affected sections to improve traffic movement and safety during the festive period.
According to a statement issued by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, the decision was taken to ensure smoother vehicular movement for the large number of travellers expected to use the route during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
The statement also disclosed that the minister had been briefed about an earlier accident along the corridor and confirmed that the obstruction caused by the incident had been cleared to restore traffic flow.
Source: Daily Post
