By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
Nigeria risks sinking deeper into a cycle of road carnage unless urgent reforms are made to its transport policy and urban planning, a transport expert has warned.
Delivering the 30th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Professor Musilimu Adeyinka Adetunji said the nation’s obsession with automobiles and chaotic city planning is driving road deaths, pollution, and economic waste.
“Enough is enough. Nigerians cannot continue to live in perpetual mourning over recurring road crashes. The time has come to redesign our cities and rethink our transport system,” he declared.
Citing World Health Organization data, Adetunji noted that 1.19 million people died in road crashes worldwide in 2023, with Nigeria contributing a disturbing share.
In Kogi State, he lamented, the frequency of accidents has left families “exhausted from constantly burying their loved ones.”
He outlined urgent remedies, including:
A comprehensive revamp of Nigeria’s transport policy to reduce overreliance on cars.
Smart city master plans to guide urban growth.
Investment in mass transit and light rail systems in major cities.
Safer road designs with bicycle lanes, pedestrian walkways, zebra crossings, and proper street lighting.
Adetunji warned that unless Nigeria embraces sustainable transport models, rapid urbanization will choke mobility, deepen poverty, and shorten lives.
Describing the lecture as “timely and topical,” FUL Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, said issues of mobility and city growth remain among Nigeria’s most urgent development challenges.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
