(Motorists, residents lament as cattle block Calabar-Itu highway. Photo CREDIT: Nigeria Stories)
The animals spread across the Calabar-Itu highway that connects Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State, near the Itu area.
The cows were being led by herders when they moved onto both sides of the road at the same time.
The animals walked slowly across the highway without listening to car horns.
Vehicles got stuck in traffic for hours because of the cattle.
A bus driver named Etim Bassey said it was a terrible experience.
He said his bus stayed in one spot for almost an hour.
The herders were walking behind the cattle but were not controlling them properly.
Some cows even laid down on the road.
A woman named Rosemary Ukpong who was travelling from Uyo to Calabar said this problem happens every week on this road.
She said the highway has become like a grazing field for cattle.
She is worried about what would happen if someone had an emergency and needed to get to the hospital quickly.
She called on the government to stop allowing cattle herders to use major highways for grazing.
Another driver named Aniekan Lazarus said drivers had to swerve dangerously around the cattle to avoid hitting them.
An immigration officer who was also on the road said the Federal Government needs to act fast to stop herders from taking over major roads.
He said it is wrong that cattle are blocking important federal highways and called it an embarrassment to the country’s leaders.
By the time the report was being written, the cattle had been moved off the road.
However, traffic was still building up because of all the vehicles that had been stuck waiting.
