A Trip To The Nigerian French Language Village: A Tourist Monument Along An Horrendous Road.

Though a stressful day. However, the trip to THE NIGERIA FRENCH LANGUAGE VILLAGE, Ajara-Badagry yesterday was worth it.

The NFLV was established in December, 1991 is an Inter-University Centre for French studies. It provides services that enable Nigeria (an Anglophone country) preserve the much needed foreign exchange which would have been expended on the sponsorship of Nigerian students abroad.

The NFLV is unique as it is the only French language institution of its kind in a non-francophone country.

Since its establishment, the NFLV has been mobilising available human and material resources to promote the effective study and learning of the French language in Nigeria. Thus, contributing to human capital development.

During the visit, alot was learned geared at improving our mastery of French Language. The designated French Tutors didn't just enhance our speaking and writing of the Language, but were generous in taking us through the history of the Institution.

The Institution is remarkable in terms of it infrastructures, it teaching and non-teaching staff strength. The environment is beautiful, serene and highly conducive for learning/research, and tourism/a perfect driver for tourism economy.

While the Nigerian French Language Village is a place to be for learning and tourism, the road leading to it is torturing. Sojourning on Lagos -Badagry road is a completely terrible experience. Every seconds your vehicle enters a hole, as it dashes out it smashes your head to the vehicle, you leap and pass straight to hell as you swim in excruciating pains from the smash. Right on this road, you will realise how useless the Nigerian Leadership class is. You will hate and curse everybody that ever ruled and currently steers the ship of this Nation.

When you realise that this very road that suffers abandonment is an ECOWAS project with staggering fate.

Then, you will wish the Nigerian Leadership class DEATH. Like agonising DEATH.

The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is the local name for the Nigerian section of the Trans–West African Coastal Highway or what you can call ECOWAS Road.

The Lagos-Badagry road was initially Eric Moore-Badagry project which was first conceptualized by Lagos State government in 1974 and constructed into a four-lane dual carriage way by the Federal Government in 1977 when the need for a highway to connect all the countries of the sub-region was agreed upon by the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS].

The LBE was meant to, or connects Nigeria to the Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana, through to Senegal and other countries in the sub region for integration and rapid socioeconomic development.

As time went by, it became imperative to expand the road from four lane to ten so to ease traffic in Lagos state and upgrade its infrastructure.

The initiative to expand the four-lane LBE to a 10-lane road with light rail in-between was championed by Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Former Governor of Lagos State and an aspirant for the 2023 Presidential Election) and the construction started under the Babatunde Fashola (Former Governor of Lagos State, now Minister of Works of Nigera) administration in 2009.

Other countries in the sub-region have completed theirs, while the Nigeria section of the road has suffered set-back in the hands of various administration and the road now constitutes a serious nightmare to motorists and inflict serious pains on passengers.

In the Badagry route of the road massive flooding is usually the order of the day when it rains persistently while the Iganmu to Mile 2 stretch is in decaying condition as it serves as public toilets and waste bin deposit centres. The acrid smile that greeted you when you are on this road is poisonous.

Although, the Nigerian Leadership class involved in the construction of the road have adduced lack of funding as the reasons for the delay. However, this excuse holds no water because countries in the sub-region poorer than Nigeria have completed theirs.

Therefore, the delay of the road that ought to have been completed in 2014 can be ascribed to corruption and nonchalant/lack of political will among the Nigerian political elites.

The Chinese firm handling the road project; China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation, CCECC is as unserious as the Nigerian political class, as it works at a very slow pace, further delaying the project completion. This act of unprofessionalism is what the firm won't try in it home country neither with any other country on Earth. But it continue to exhibit such unseriousness with a Nigerian project and cruelness towards the citizens of Nigeria who are the beneficiaries of the project because Nigeria is a directionless and lawless country where the only interest of the Leadership class is to embezzle public fund even if it was meant to build the only Health Centre that would save the life of her only child.

Until the Nigerian Leadership class changes it attitude towards citizens welfare and infrastructural Development, true development and happiness would remain a mirage to the Nigerian State.

©Ikuemonisan Bababo Major