As schools across Kaduna State prepare to reopen for the 2026/2027 academic session on Sunday, September 6, residents of Ligari and Agwa in Kudenda New Extension, Chikun Local Government Area, are calling for urgent government intervention over a waterlogged route they say has become a daily ordeal for pupils and other residents.

A video circulating online on Friday showed people navigating a flooded crossing along the route linking Ligari to Agwa. A Kaduna-based advocate who shared the footage appealed to Governor Uba Sani and the Kaduna State Government, as well as Senator Sunday Marshall Katung and Hon. Fidelix Joseph Bagudu, to address the situation.

The appeal has attracted attention largely because of its timing. With schools reopening on Sunday, residents fear that children heading back to class could be forced to negotiate the flooded route on their way to school.

The situation is particularly concerning for younger pupils, who may have limited options when heavy rainfall turns the route into a water crossing.

However, while the videos have drawn public attention to the problem, there is no publicly available official inspection report, as of September 4, confirming that a structure formally known as “Ligari Bridge” has collapsed.

What can be established is that Ligari, Agwa and Kudenda are real communities within the Chikun area, and Ligari is located in Kakau Ward, where the community has a primary school and health facility. Residents have also previously raised the need for an Agwa–Ligari link bridge, with the proposed connection appearing among local infrastructure requests made in July 2026.

The latest footage therefore appears to highlight an existing community access problem rather than an entirely new issue.

The controversy also comes against the backdrop of extensive infrastructure development across Chikun Local Government Area.

The local government has been one of the areas benefiting from major road and infrastructure projects under Governor Uba Sani’s administration. Among them is a 35-kilometre asphalt road connecting Gadan Gayan in Igabi through Gwaraji to Kujama Junction in Chikun, including a 130-metre bridge across the River Kaduna.

Government officials have said the project is expected to improve transportation for more than 76 farming communities and provide an alternative route for motorists seeking to avoid some of Kaduna’s congested corridors.

Other projects in Chikun include the 14.8-kilometre Danbushiya–Danhonou 2 road through Millennium City, the rehabilitation of Romi–Karatudu township roads and efforts to complete the long-abandoned PAN Drive–Television Garage–Sabon Tasha dual carriageway.

A box culvert linking Ungwan Yelwa and Gbagyi Villa is also among projects intended to improve access in communities affected by drainage and flooding problems.

On Friday, September 4, another major infrastructure project was launched in Chikun with the groundbreaking of an inter-state bus terminal along the Eastern Bypass.

The scale of these projects has made the Ligari–Agwa situation more striking for residents. Their complaint is not necessarily that Chikun has received no development, but that major infrastructure projects have not eliminated smaller access problems that can have a direct impact on everyday life.

In communities such as Ligari, a short road or bridge can be just as important to residents as a major highway.

Kudenda itself has previously received private-sector intervention, including boreholes, streetlights, road grading and drainage work following concerns about flooding and deteriorating access roads.

There have also been health and education interventions in the wider Chikun area. UNICEF, for example, selected communities in the local government for climate-resilient renovations, including improvements to health facilities and primary schools.

The federal constituency has also seen interventions from Hon. Fidelix Joseph Bagudu, who represents Chikun/Kajuru in the House of Representatives. His constituency projects have included solar installations, boreholes, educational support and empowerment programmes.

But residents’ current demand is more basic: they want a reliable, motorable crossing connecting communities that already depend on the route.

The political references in the viral appeal have also generated the need for clarification. Senator Sunday Marshall Katung represents Kaduna South Senatorial District, while Chikun Local Government Area falls within Kaduna Central Senatorial District. Bagudu, however, is the federal lawmaker for the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency.

The distinction does not change the residents’ appeal, but identifying the appropriate representatives is important when seeking government intervention.

The wider issue goes beyond one flooded crossing. Chikun is rapidly developing, with major roads, bridges, housing projects, health facilities and transport infrastructure being constructed or rehabilitated. Yet some communities continue to face basic connectivity problems, particularly during the rainy season.

That contrast is what has made the Ligari footage resonate online.

For a resident travelling between two neighbouring communities, a major bridge several kilometres away does little to solve the immediate problem if the final stretch of the journey remains submerged after rainfall.

For children returning to school on Sunday, the issue is even more immediate.

Their parents are not asking whether Chikun has received major infrastructure projects. They want to know whether their children can leave home in the morning, reach school safely and return home without having to cross floodwater.

As the new academic session begins, the Ligari–Agwa route has therefore become a small but powerful test of whether development is reaching the everyday connections that residents rely on most.

For the families living around Ligari and Kudenda New Extension, the measure of infrastructure is simple: a child should be able to get to school without having to wade through water.

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Shola Akinyele

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The appeal has attracted attention largely because of its timing. With schools reopening on Sunday, residents fear that children heading back to class could be forced to negotiate the flooded route on their way to school.

The situation is particularly concerning for younger pupils, who may have limited options when heavy rainfall turns the route into a water crossing.

However, while the videos have drawn public attention to the problem, there is no publicly available official inspection report, as of September 4, confirming that a structure formally known as “Ligari Bridge” has collapsed.

The latest footage therefore appears to highlight an existing community access problem rather than an entirely new issue.

The controversy also comes against the backdrop of extensive infrastructure development across Chikun Local Government Area.

Government officials have said the project is expected to improve transportation for more than 76 farming communities and provide an alternative route for motorists seeking to avoid some of Kaduna’s congested corridors.

Other projects in Chikun include the 14.8-kilometre Danbushiya–Danhonou 2 road through Millennium City, the rehabilitation of Romi–Karatudu township roads and efforts to complete the long-abandoned PAN Drive–Television Garage–Sabon Tasha dual carriageway.

A box culvert linking Ungwan Yelwa and Gbagyi Villa is also among projects intended to improve access in communities affected by drainage and flooding problems.

On Friday, September 4, another major infrastructure project was launched in Chikun with the groundbreaking of an inter-state bus terminal along the Eastern Bypass.

In communities such as Ligari, a short road or bridge can be just as important to residents as a major highway.

Kudenda itself has previously received private-sector intervention, including boreholes, streetlights, road grading and drainage work following concerns about flooding and deteriorating access roads.

There have also been health and education interventions in the wider Chikun area. UNICEF, for example, selected communities in the local government for climate-resilient renovations, including improvements to health facilities and primary schools.

The federal constituency has also seen interventions from Hon. Fidelix Joseph Bagudu, who represents Chikun/Kajuru in the House of Representatives. His constituency projects have included solar installations, boreholes, educational support and empowerment programmes.

But residents’ current demand is more basic: they want a reliable, motorable crossing connecting communities that already depend on the route.

The distinction does not change the residents’ appeal, but identifying the appropriate representatives is important when seeking government intervention.

That contrast is what has made the Ligari footage resonate online.

For a resident travelling between two neighbouring communities, a major bridge several kilometres away does little to solve the immediate problem if the final stretch of the journey remains submerged after rainfall.

For children returning to school on Sunday, the issue is even more immediate.

Their parents are not asking whether Chikun has received major infrastructure projects. They want to know whether their children can leave home in the morning, reach school safely and return home without having to cross floodwater.

As the new academic session begins, the Ligari–Agwa route has therefore become a small but powerful test of whether development is reaching the everyday connections that residents rely on most.

For the families living around Ligari and Kudenda New Extension, the measure of infrastructure is simple: a child should be able to get to school without having to wade through water.

Author