The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has embarked on various road projects not just to better the lives of the citizens but to boost the economic activities of the agrarian state- both farm produce and livestock for which the state is widely known, writes Francis Sardauna.

It is a well-known fact that the challenges of good road network and functional infrastructure has remained one of the biggest predicaments besetting Nigerians both at the cities and in the villages, with villages and other rural areas being the worst hit.

Available statistics paint what could mildly be described as a gloomy picture of the situation as far as road construction, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, is concerned.

Pundits argued that having a good road network linking major towns and villages, along with other critical infrastructures like light, water and sound healthcare delivery systems in towns and villages, will undoubtedly reduce to the barest minimum, the rising incidence of rural-urban migration.

Katsina State, like most other states of the federation, especially those of the North western region of Nigeria, is mostly agrarian with large livestock that needs good markets, roads, electricity and potable water for meaningful development to thrive.

As should be expected, having an effective and well-connected network of roads that links the various communities was seen as the needed impetus to boost trade in farm produce and even the livestock for which the state is widely known.

Perhaps, the realisation of this, and consciousness of the fact that effective land transportation, in which good roads are a driving factor, contributes in no small measure to boosting the economy was what informed the Katsina State government’s investment in the road infrastructures.

The government is not only focusing on new infrastructure but also on the rehabilitation of existing assets and the completion of longstanding projects that have failed to gain traction under previous governments. It can hardly be disputed and bears repeating that Katsina’s infrastructure deficit has been one of the biggest factors holding back growth and development.

But the pragmatic government of Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, under its philosophy of people-oriented policies and programmes, has constructed numerous road networks to ease the movement of people and goods in all nooks and crannies of Katsina State.

A closer look at such roads infrastructure shows that the incumbent administration has expended the whooping sum of N7.106 billion on the completion of 13 road projects it inherited from the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration of Ibrahim Shehu Shema.

The inherited projects, which cut across the three senatorial zones of the state, are Dandume-Kadisau-Daudawa road, Marabar Sayaya-Sayaya-Mazoji road, Eka-Kadandani-Kuraye-Yargamji road and Dankaba-Abdallawa-Jifatu road.

Other roads which were abandoned but received facelift by the Masari-led government include, Tsanni-Tsauri road, Batagarawa-Tashar Bala-Lambar Rim-Tsegoro road, Unguwar Lalle-Unguwar Waziri road, Funtua BCGA Dry Port dual carriageway, Funtua township roads, Nagogo-Yahaya Madaki road and Sandamu-Baure-Babban Mutum road.