Kafanchan–Kwoi Road: A Road That Must Not Be Forgotten

Kafanchan–Kwoi Road: A Road That Must Not Be Forgotten

“When a road becomes a burden on the people, responsibility must become a matter of urgency”

There are roads that merely connect places, and there are roads that connect the hopes, livelihoods and future of entire communities.

The Kafanchan–Kwoi road belongs to the latter.
For years, communities along this important corridor have endured the consequences of a road whose deteriorating condition has become a source of hardship, economic loss and growing frustration.

Farmers struggle to move their produce to markets, commercial vehicle operators bear increasing maintenance costs, while residents face longer and more difficult journeys to markets, schools, hospitals and neighbouring communities.

Yet the history of this road raises an even more important question, How did a road that government once reported as substantially completed become a continuing symbol of neglect?
Available records provide a revealing history.

In 2014, the then Kaduna State Government reported that the Kwoi–Kafanchan Road had reached 74 per cent completion. The project was among road projects inherited from the previous administration and was included in the state’s 2014 budgetary programme for Southern Kaduna.

The government said funding had been provided for its continuation.

That historical record is important.
It means the story of the Kafanchan to Kwoi road cannot simply be reduced to a question of whether the road belongs to the Kaduna State Government or the Federal Government today. There is a documented history of state involvement and a later federal dimension.

Indeed, in February 2025, Governor Uba Sani publicly disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had told him that the Kwoi to Kafanchan road was included in the 2025 Federal Budget.

In a response feedback by Hon. Mock Samuel Kure on a social media post,the governor’s aide
“The project will be awarded soon. The Governor has resolved to do it even though it is a federal road”

More recently, the governor has continued to identify the broader Jere–Kwoi–Kafanchan corridor as requiring federal attention, with rehabilitation of the route identified among important road networks requiring intervention.

This is where the matter becomes a question of public accountability.

If a project was reported at 74 per cent completion more than a decade ago, what happened to the remaining 26 per cent? Was the original contract completed? Was it terminated? Was there a variation? Was the contractor paid? Was the project handed over? Was another contract subsequently awarded? And, most importantly, what is the present status of the federal intervention?
These are legitimate questions which the people of the affected communities deserve to have answered.

For the people living around Kwoi, Kafanchan and the communities connected by this corridor, this is not an abstract bureaucratic discussion. A bad road has a human cost.

It affects the farmer who must transport crops to market. It affects the trader whose vehicle spends more on repairs. It affects the pregnant woman travelling to a health facility.

It affects students and teachers travelling between communities. It affects businesses that depend on reliable transportation. It also affects the wider economy because poor connectivity ultimately makes economic activity more expensive.
That is why the condition of the Kafanchan to Kwoi road deserves attention beyond political rhetoric.

It is equally important to acknowledge that the Kaduna State Government has not been inactive in the broader Southern Kaduna road network.

The administration of Governor Uba Sani has undertaken major road interventions in Southern Kaduna, including Kafanchan township roads and other connecting roads.

The governor has also spoken publicly about his efforts to secure federal intervention on the Kwoi to Kafanchan route.

The state government has also undertaken the Jaba to Kwoi township road project and other road projects designed to improve connectivity within Southern Kaduna.

These interventions should be recognised. But recognition must not replace accountability.

The people need to know which government agency is presently responsible for each section of the road, what contract is active, how much has been appropriated, who the contractor is, and when the people can reasonably expect completion.

If the road is now under a federal rehabilitation arrangement, the Federal Ministry of Works and relevant federal road agencies should provide clear information to the public.

The people should not have to rely on rumours, political speeches or roadside speculation.

The Federal Government should tell the people what is the status of the Kwoi to Kafanchan road project? Has a contract been awarded? Who is the contractor? What is the contract sum? What length of road is covered? Has mobilisation been paid? When will physical work commence or resume?

These are ordinary questions of public accountability.
For the Kaduna State Government, the responsibility may not necessarily be to take over a federal road permanently.

But government has a responsibility to remain an advocate for its citizens.
Governor Uba Sani and the Kaduna State Government should continue engaging the Federal Government until there is a clear, funded and time bound solution.

Where necessary, the state can explore temporary interventions at the most dangerous sections while the larger federal rehabilitation process is pursued.

Such intervention, however, should be properly documented so that there is no confusion over responsibility or duplication of public expenditure.
The elected representatives of the affected communities also have an important role to play.
Members of the National Assembly representing the affected constituencies should demand regular updates from the Federal Ministry of Works, FERMA and other relevant agencies.

They should ask questions on the floor of the National Assembly where necessary, publish what they discover, and return to their communities with facts, not merely promises.

The same responsibility applies to members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly representing the affected constituencies.
This is not about APC,ADC, PDP, Labour Party or any other political platform.

A bad road does not ask a traveller which political party he belongs to before damaging his vehicle.

Development should therefore rise above partisan boundaries.
The people of Kafanchan, Kwoi and surrounding communities should also not remain silent.

Community leaders, traditional institutions, youth organisations, civil society groups, transport unions, professional associations and residents should collectively demand transparency and action not through violence, destruction or partisan confrontation, but through constructive civic pressure.

The people have every right to ask the government for the status of a road that directly affects their lives.

What the communities need now is not another ceremonial promise. They need a clear project status, a responsible agency, a contractor where applicable, funding information, a commencement or resumption date and a realistic completion timeline.

The history of the road makes the demand even more compelling If, as reported in 2014, the Kwoi to Kafanchan road was already 74 per cent complete, the public deserves an explanation for why the journey to a durable solution has lasted so long.

And if the Federal Government has subsequently taken up the route, then the people deserve to see tangible movement on the ground.

To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Works, FERMA and all relevant federal agencies please give the Kafanchan to Kwoi corridor the attention its strategic importance deserves.

To Governor Uba Sani and the Kaduna State Government continue to use every legitimate channel available to secure federal action and keep the people informed.

To the National Assembly members representing the affected communities keep the matter alive until there is measurable progress.

To traditional rulers, community leaders, civil society organisations and residents: maintain constructive pressure and demand facts.
And to the contractors, where contracts are active the people are watching.

Road construction is not merely about concrete, asphalt and drainage, It is about human dignity, economic opportunity, access to healthcare, education, security and the freedom to move.

The Kafanchan to Kwoi road has waited long enough.

Let the authorities settle the question of responsibility, publish the facts, mobilise the resources and do the needful.

The people of these communities are not asking for a favour,
they are asking for a road that works.

David E. Monday, Journalist and Media consultant besed in
Kaduna, Nigeria
September 21, 2026

davidmondayemmanuel7@gmail.com