
DANJUMA JOSEPH, who travelled to Plateau South Senatorial Zone recently, reports that some roads in the area are dilapidated, with bridges completely washed away.
Recently, some few days before Christmas, precisely on Thursday 19th to Saturday, 21st December, 2024 I travelled out of Akwanga to Lafia and headed for Langtang in Plateau State, for an investigative journalism work with two friends who are from Langtang.
I was quite excited from the start of the trip and some reasons explain this: first I was going for the second time to the home of my Kwararafa brothers which revolves around the fascinating lives of Tarok people who are well known in Nigeria, especially in the military circle.

Another reason for my initial excitement was the lofty thought that I would set foot on the famous Wase rock for the first time in this earth life, which I surely did with pop and pageantry.
We took off from Lafia around 4pm of Thursday, got to Shendam around 8pm, then proceeded to Langtang north through Tunkus and slept in Tim Tali Hotels. The following morning of Friday, we set out to Wase on bike, drove through countless villages of the Tarok people to Mabudi, Dadin Kowa and some villages; that Friday, we slept in Green Garden Hotel, Mabudi.
From a distance one could catch the glimpse of the famous Wase rock because of its height thinking you have arrived, but you have to navigate through the dilapidated Langtang-Wase road, via some villages of the Tarok people before getting to Wase.
When we finally arrived Wase town, we travelled round the famous Wase rock, surrounded by houses and natural ambiance, I had a brief stop over at the foot of the rock, on my way back from a village called Tumshak, then back to Wase Friday cattle market by the road side near the rock.
Infact from Friday to Saturday, all our journeys were on motor bike, from Langtang north to Wase, Mabudi, Dadin Kowa, Yelwa and Shendam, before we finally boarded another car back to Lafia. I had back ache for almost two weeks due to the stress of the journey.
In the course of the journey from Lafia to Langtang, through Shendam, Wase, Mabudi, Dadin Kowa and Fajul, all I could see was the effect of bad leadership and frustration on the faces of the locals.
Nigeria is naturally blessed with potential but you wonder what the problem is. Why is it so hard for our leaders and governments to develop our roads and other infrastructures, maintain it and even make it accessible for the common masses?
It is very unfortunate that the immediate past Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Barrister Simon Bako Lalong, who is now the Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial Zone at the NASS, with due respect to him, did little or nothing as a governor to build road networks and other social amenities across his senatorial zone.
As a Senator, it is not too late, he stand a better chance to attract constituency projects such as roads and other infrastructures that will better the lives of the people he is representing.
Through out the journey, we noticed some legal and illegal checkpoints, which told me a lot about the inner state of those who set up those checkpoints. It wouldn’t have been wise to tell them what I felt, but unfortunately I didn’t.
From Lafia to Shendam, the checkpoints were manned jointly by military and police, but the ones between Langtang north to Wase and Mabudi, were mounted by some aggressive/corrupt local vigilante and local government revenue officials.

Of all the places we passed through, I saw some beautiful Tarok and Gomei settlements consisting of local round houses with thatched roofs. Some of the people I saw couldn’t bath for some days and my findings shows that it was due to the December winter period that comes with breeze and cool weather.
I observed that most people in Plateau South Senatorial Zone, traverse some of these dilapidated roads with motor cycles on daily basis to earn a living. Some of them who spoke to me off camera told me that this means of transportation is faster and cheaper, considering the nature of their roads.
Just as it is in Plateau State, so also it is here in Nasarawa State. It seems government is more concerned with urban roads than rural roads, where most of our agricultural produce comes from.
My visit captures the frustration of our rural dwellers, who are voiceless about the deplorable state of their rural roads and other government presence in their various settlements.
Both governments of Plateau and Nasarawa States, needs to take immediate action and do the needful to repair and maintain our rural roads.