THE Ikare-Owo road, a major road that passes through the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State has been in a state of disrepair for a long time. This has endangered the lives of those plying the road.

AND because of the numerous bad portions of the road, it became a major hideout for  criminals and kidnappers who use the opportunity of vehicles slowing down while avoiding potholes to unleash terror on their unsuspecting victims.

IT  is painful that little or no attention has been paid to the road despite stringent protests by motorists whose endurance has been tasked to breaking points. No doubt the road is nothing short  of a death trap.

MOTORISTS tell tales of woes as vehicles which travel on  the road regularly incur high maintenance cost  due to the wear and tear occasioned by the  bad nature  of the road.

RECENTLY, Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, beamed hope to users of the road when he  said the state government will in few weeks take action on the road to lighten their  burden.

HE said this at the thanksgiving service to commemorate the election of The Most Revd Gabriel Akinbiyi as the Archbishop of Ondo Ecclesiastical Province of the Anglican Communion, which took place, at The Cathedral Church of St Stephen, lkare -Akoko.

ACCORDING  to him, efforts made by  his administration to work on the road has not received a  favourable response from the federal government, which has not shown readiness to reimburse the state if it decides to repair it. Governor Akeredolu said that the state would, however, spring into action on the road not minding federal government foot dragging.

WE commend the state government for responding to the save our souls request of motorists plying the road which has become a night- mare. The road no doubt is one of the  busiest roads in the state and  therefore  needs  quick attention. It is one of the gate ways from the west  to the northern part of the country.

THE HOPE pleads with the governor  to live up to  his promise, by responding to the aspiration of the people who have had to endure such harrowing experiences  in the movement of goods and people across that axis. We trust in the governor’s  promise to spring into action  as he is not known to be  frivolous or make promises made on the spur of the moment to score cheap political point.

BUT this issue also brings attention to the skewed nature of our roads that have become neglected in the name of federal/state government dichotomy.

WE recommend that a new arrangement is put in place for the benefit of  the people.  Our position is that Federal Government should hands off all  federal roads and hand them over to the states together with the wherewithal to take care of them.

TRUE federalism means more power to the states as the federating units. But without more resources coming to the states, those units will be unable to perform their obligations to the people.

THE  resources within the state should belong to it, and it would in turn, pay taxes to the Federal Government. Then states can develop at their own pace, being the tier of government that is closer to the people. State governments should not  go  to Abuja to get the attention of the Federal Government, rather it should  empower itself, with regards to the necessary infrastructural needs of its people. That is the reasonable  thing to do  to engender  a  healthy nation.