Nigeria, Feb. 16 -- It was a cloudy morning in Benin City. It had rained heavily the night before. There were puddles in the several potholes that riddle the road leading to the students' hostels.

"That gully is a death trap, people avoid getting close to this place," said Precious John.

Ms John was referring to a gully behind a block of flats in the University of Benin, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

Sadly, this is one of the erosion control projects awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2012.

The contract for the project captioned "Gully erosion control behind block of flats in University of Benin" was awarded on May 31, 2012.

However, seven years after, the contractors are yet to commence work.

Gu...