For locals along the Gombe–Dukku Road, every journey is a distress. From patients travelling to access proper treatments, to commuters trapped for hours, the dilapidated highway has turned daily movement into a nightmare. Residents say they are compelled to endure the economic hardship and grief. In this piece, BABAJI USMAN BABAJI travels through the road and tells the ordeal of the communities.
When Adamu Zubairu’s pregnant daughter, Saleema, was rushed out of Dukku Hospital in 2023 for emergency medical attention in Gombe, their hope of her survival was already slim.
They feared the long journey along the Dukku-Gombe road. For 53-year-old Zubairu, every pothole deepened their panic, and every failed section of the road delayed their evening journey.
He told LEADERSHIP Weekend that before they could reach the Federal Teaching Hospital in Gombe, both the mother and her 30-minute-old baby were no more.
“We lost the daughter and the baby that was just born on the road. Any serious sickness that cannot be treated here (in Dukku) is a life-and-death journey,” he said.
Corroborating, Yaya Sule, another resident of Dukku, said several sick people attempting to reach Gombe for treatment never made it alive.
For thousands of residents travelling daily along the Gombe–Dukku Road, the route is a failed infrastructure project.
The poor condition of the road affects transportation costs, farming activities and trade across neighbouring communities. Commercial drivers often spend hours navigating failed portions and frequently battle mechanical faults caused by the rough terrain.
Commuters described the road as a dangerous corridor marked by accidents, economic hardship, delayed healthcare, and damaged vehicles.
Large sections of the road remain riddled with potholes, failed shoulders and erosion, making movement difficult. In some places, motorists are forced to drive partially off-road to avoid damaged surfaces, especially during the rainy season.
The Gombe-Dukku route links the northeastern states of Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Taraba to the Northwestern states of Jigawa, Kano, etc.
Across communities from Bojude, Wasadu, Nappe to Bazanchilwa and Dukku, the road serves as a critical route for farmers, traders, transporters and patients travelling between villages and urban centres of Gombe State.
But many residents described it as abandoned despite repeated government promises and funds reportedly released for rehabilitation, compelling them to endure years of neglect, accidents and suffering.
Countless Problems
Standing beside the damaged road, Ibrahim Saleh Wasadu, a local community leader, said, “This road has troubled us greatly. The problems it causes us are many and difficult to describe.”
For him and many locals, the road affects nearly every aspect of life — transportation, water access, healthcare, farming and trade.
“Whenever we want to fetch water from here, we have to travel all the way to Bojode (over 10km away). In fact, communities as far as Bozonshilwa also depend on Bojode for access to clean water, yet there is no proper road,” he said.
He explained that vehicles frequently kn ock their livestock while trying to dodge potholes.
“At times, even our people, when crossing the road, a vehicle trying to avoid potholes may suddenly hit someone,” he decried.
