Felele Incident: Why the Kogi State Government Owes Gratitude to Braimoh
It is no longer a secret that the Kogi State Government, via the state assembly, has opted to heed the expert counsel of Otunba Olayinka Braimoh by acknowledging that a fundamental planning error has been the primary factor behind the accidents and fatalities occurring along the Felele highway in Lokoja, the state’s capital. They have resolved to establish an alternative route to the Federal University Lokoja in hopes of finding a lasting solution to this distressing issue.
Remember, numerous lives of students from the Federal University Lokoja were tragically lost in a recent accident on the Felele highway. Various stakeholders proposed different remedies for this terrible event, until Otunba Olayinka Braimoh, a professional in the building industry and the 2023 gubernatorial candidate for the Action Alliance party, released a video asserting that the root of the problem lies in a fundamental planning oversight that necessitates a redesigning and reevaluation of all developments directly accessing the federal highway.
Braimoh was straightforward in his advice to the government, stating, “Many stakeholders have discussed various possibilities, but I aim to provide a professional and lasting solution to the issue. We should have access to the highway via arterial roads; however, the challenge we face in Kogi and other states is that numerous developments in Lokoja are directly accessing the highway rather than utilizing arterial roads, which is inherently flawed. It is crucial for our planning authority to reassess many of those approvals and redesign the layouts to ensure that only arterial roads channel traffic to the highway, facilitating a smooth flow of traffic in and out of the federal road. This will yield a permanent resolution to the issue. It is as simple as that.”
“Development does not happen by chance or happenstance; but through the intentional, deliberate, and coordinated actions of a visionary leader,” he concluded.
While expressing appreciation to Otunba Olayinka Braimoh for his insightful recommendations, the state government must remember that, as highlighted by him, there is an urgent necessity to redesign and restructure several other developments that directly access the federal highway, not just only the university. This will undoubtedly provide the long awaited solution to the daily loss of lives of our citizens along that route.
