If you asked me a month ago, I would have told you I’d be in the East right now, probably eating proper home-cooked Oha soup and paying my last respects at a friend’s mother’s burial. But instead, I’m sitting here in my room, staring at my traveling bag.
I’m Irene, and like many of you, I’ve had to make the heartbreaking choice between friends’ duty and actually staying alive.
Two weeks ago, the “travel bug” hit me. I had everything planned for that burial ceremony. My clothes were picked, my transport fare was set aside. But every time I wanted to book that ticket, a heavy weight settled in my chest. It wasn’t just “travel anxiety”, it was the current reality of the Nigerian roads.
The Ore & Ijebu-Ode Kidnapping
While I was debating my trip, the news started rolling in like a horror movie. In the Benin-Ore axis, passengers on a GUO bus were ambushed. The driver, a man just trying to earn a living, was shot dead, and his passengers were dragged into the bush like spoils of war.
Then it hit closer to home (Lagosians still feel safe). Around Ijebu-Ode, gunmen took over sections of the road near the Ilishan City Gate. People were being picked off in broad daylight. This isn’t some remote forest in the middle of nowhere; these are the roads we use to go to work, to go home, to see our mothers.
I Get Talk contacted GUO and found out that they had released an official statement where the company reported that the driver was dispatched without passengers from Lagos to Onitsha. It only means that the driver might have picked up passengers without the company’s knowledge.
This, however, does not refute the abysmal state of security on the highway.
Government’s Laissez-faire Attitude
The most painful part of being a Nigerian right now isn’t just the fear; it’s the anger. As I watched the news, I looked for a sign that the Tinubu administration actually cared. But just like his predecessor, Buhari, it would only end in “condemn” and a directive to security agencies to flush out the miscreants, which they never do.
Instead of seeing a massive security overhaul, what do we see? Campaigning! Yes, we are still a year away from 2027, but the air is already thick with political consultations and election strategy, with talks of keeping the renewed hope alive for a second tenure.
It’s almost like the presidency has checked out and is focused 100% on how to keep their seats. But you shouldn’t be that bothered about keeping your job when you are doing up to expectations. It’s hard to feel like a citizen when your government treats your safety as a “distraction” from their re-election plans.
In the end, the scale tipped. On one side was the funeral, the family and friends, and the tradition. On the other side was the very real possibility of ending up as a headline or a ransom figure. The fear of hiking in the forest with Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, or whatever name the terrorists might chose to bear or affiliate with was a deal-breaker for me.
I chose to stay back.
It’s a shame that in 2026, a simple trip to the East feels like a daredevil stunt. We shouldn’t have to choose between honoring our dead and joining them. The “Renewed Hope” we were promised shouldn’t feel this much like “Renewed Fear.”
The Tinubu administration needs to realize that the people they want to vote for them in 2027 need to stay alive first. We don’t want “directives” anymore; we want to be able to travel by road and be sure we’ll reach our destination in one piece.
Is that too much to ask? Or are we just collateral damage in the race for the next term?
What about you? Have you canceled plans lately because of the state of the roads?
