Traffic gridlock or ‘go slow’ as it is referred to in local parlance is not new in Lagos state. It is an everyday occurrence particularly on some routes.
For Lagosians especially those who have to work or do business on the island, traffic gridlock is a way of life.
Ask anybody who relocates from Lagos what they like most about their new place of residence and they will quickly tell you it’s the ease of movement. Though it must be quickly pointed out at this point that many states have fallen to the mold of Lagos in terms of traffic situation.
Back to Lagos and its traffic situation, ease of movement has not been a privilege enjoyed by many. One may at this point begin to wonder why traffic gridlock should then be an issue at this point.
Well, it is an issue because as it is said in local parlance, ‘water don pass garri’ in other words, the situation has reached levels unimagined. Traffic gridlock has taken over the state and Lagosians are groaning, and wondering if there is still a government in place in the city of excellence.
Indeed, Lagosians are wondering where the excellence has gone as the level of dilapidation of roads in Lagos is beyond comprehension. From federal roads to state roads and feeder roads, the story is the same – dilapidation, eyesores, death traps, among others.
The state of Lagos roads
It is not an exaggeration to say that 90 per cent of the roads in Lagos are in bad shape. From Ikeja, the capital city to Lekki, Ikoyi, the elites quarters to Mushin, Ajegunle and Okoko, the slum areas, the stories are the same.
Victoria Island, the business hub of the city is always on lock down. For those whose offices are located there, the fear of VI traffic, which often begins from CMS bus stop and sometimes beyond, is the beginning of wisdom.
Most of those who work in VI dare not sleep longer than 4 a.m as they often have to leave home by 5a.m. Some leave their homes as early as 4a.m and still they are not guaranteed to be in the office on time.
The roads are characterized by craters leading to heavy traffics. The outskirts have not faired better. The state of the roads does not suggest the existence of a government whether at the state or local level.
The Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, which leads to the State Secretariat housing the office of the Governor as well as the State House of Assembly is perennially on lock down. Same can be said of the Mobolaji Bank Anthony stretch, all the way from the local airport to Maryland. Inward from Maryland and outward from Roundabout to Maryland the road is commuters nightmare. That is the story of Lagosians.
What Lagosians say
Mrs. Susan Igwe, who owns a shop at the Trade Fair Complex on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, lamented that the traffic on the Mile 2-Okokomaiko stretch “is killing.”
She told The Next Edition: “Movement on this stretch is a nightmare. The combination of bad road, tankers and ongoing construction has reduced many commuters on this route to nervous wrecks. Because of the traffic, sometimes I don’t come to my shop for weeks.”
She said due to the state of the roads and attendant traffic gridlock, most people who used to shop at the complex have found alternatives.
“The traffic situation, the stress that comes with sitting in the traffic for hours and the high cost of transportation have all combined to drive customers away. So, if your business is slow and when you consider all this, the desire or enthusiasm to go to the shop is not there.”
Mrs. Igwe lamented that the closure of Nigeria’s borders has further affected business that one is close to losing hope.
“Life in this town (Lagos) is becoming stressful from all angles. If God keeps me alive to see my 60th birthday, I’m done with all this. If one continues like this, honestly, one will die before her time,” she said.
Mrs. Miriam Amanama, a hair stylist, speaking on the Ashipa-Ayobo/Baruwa road, has said: “I have been living at Ashipa for over twelve years and nothing has been done about the road. The road is getting worse by the day, the pot-holes are getting wider and the water settles there making it difficult for motorist to determine the depth of the holes. The rain is not helping matters at all instead it makes the matters worse.”
Mr. Akinshola Oluwole, a tricycle rider, also speaking about the Ashipa-Ayobo/Baruwa road, said: “We the residents of the above mentioned area do pray the government come to our aid and see what can be done to salvage the situation. The roads are so dilapidated that if nothing is done, it might get worst.
Mr. Edet Okon, Pensioner, said concerning the same road: “I live in Baruwa but the road is so bad that some people go out without their cars. The road is gradually becoming a death trap and an avenue for bandits to rob people of their valuables. The road is really so bad. Government should please come to our rescue because there is no other road that leads to our homes.”
Another resident of Baruwa, Mr. Ambrose Anthony, a bike rider had this to say: “This road has caused so much damage to people’s vehicles, bikes and kekes. The fee from Amule to Pako bus-stop either on keke or bike has always been fifty naira (N50) per person but now it is N100 per person and the passengers are not happy, but the fact that they do not have any choice since they have to go out makes them pay.
Kenny David, a commercial bus driver, said: “Government should come and help us repair the roads, it is not only when we are approaching election period they come with all sort of promises that they do not keep. Along Mashalashe bus-stop, the round-about that leads to Egbeda/Igando road, the traffic at that junction every day is alarming because of bad drainage.
“The pot-holes at that junction have been filled severally by the state road management agency and the drainage evacuated but the garbages are dumped by the road side and when it rains, the garbages are all back into the gutter which brings about the flood and causes traffic on that road on a daily basis.
“From Iyana-Ipaja to Ikeja/Oshodi, the traffic faced on that road every day is nothing to write home about. After 6:30a.m, the road is so choked that you can spend nothing less than 2-3 hours on that road for a distance that should be about 20-25 minutes and when you check, there is nothing to pin-point as the cause of the traffic.”
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The Next Edition staff, who had to visit Baruwa on Saturday, October 12, described the experience as horrifying. According to her, the experience is not be repeated.
Sharing her experience, she said: “A colleague and I left Ikeja at about 11a.m to Baruwa, Ipaja, we didn’t get to our destination until 3p.m. The Expressway from Mangoro as well as the side roads were practically on standstill.
“The return journey to Mushin area of Lagos took almost five hours. It was an exhausting and debilitating experience.”
Unfortunately, that is the fate of those residents in the area everyday of the week as is further attested to by Mr. Odili Anuchi.
According to him, a trip from his house at Ojokoro area along Sango-Ota Expressway to his office at Palm Grove, on the Lagos-Ikorodu road takes a minimum of five hours, a tortuous experience, which is repeated at the close of business, he said.
So how does he cope? “Well the decision to move out of the mainland was taken at a time when we felt it was cheaper to build and live on the outskirts. Traffic was not as bad as it has become in recent times and the roads were also in a better shape.
“These days, however, because of the traffic situation, I don’t come into town as often as I used. I created a small office at home and deal with issues that can be handled away from office there and when necessary, I pop in to the office.
“I spend an average of N70, 000 to N80, 000 a month on fuel for my Hilux truck which is what we use mostly due to the bad roads. By my calculation, that is between N840, 000 and N960, 000 a year. So the plan is that once my last child is done with university education, which will be in the next two years, God helping us, I’m moving back to the mainland,” he said.
Mr. Anuchi said that the government at all levels were a disappointment.
Mr. Lekan Alabi lives at Bello Street, a stretch of road that connects Isolo road to Taiwo street, Ilasamaja, which is as bad as the they come.
He told The Next Edition: “I have been living in this area for 10 years and the roads has been bad most of those years. The sad thing is that no government has shown any interest in fixing the road. It is so bad that even bike riders hardly agree to ply it and those who do, charge exorbitantly for it depending, of course, where they pick you from. It is a nightmare.
“The rain has worsened an already bad situation and right now we also have to battle flood from the rain. Many families don’t sleep when it rains because they have to be alert to bale water out of their home.”
Calling on the government to come to their rescue, Alabi said they have suffered for too long in the area.
Mr. Tony Opara, a resident of Festac Town said the roads in Festac were nothing to write home about.
“If you have lived there for sometime like me, you will know how to navigate as the roads are full of craters and pot holes. I pity some of us who ply the roads out of necessity, like school runs, church and other runs. It is even worse for some commodities surrounding Festac like Old Ojo roads towards Trade Fair on to Okoko and Alaba International market.
“I pity the Governor as it is an overwhelming task to fix the roads,” he said.
The way out
Mr. Opara may pity the state governor, but that will not solve the problem. The governor himself cannot afford the luxury of self pity as that will not endear him in any way to Lagosians.
The Next Edition reached out to the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Aramide Adeyoye, through text message and calls to know what the plans of the state government were.
As at the time of filing this report, nearly one week after reaching out to the commissioner, there was no direct response from him or anyone from his office.
However, as part of efforts to bring succour to Lagosians, the state government has taken some steps to make some of the roads motorable.
Some of the pot holes are being filled with stones and chippings. Also efforts are being made to desilt the blocked drainages, which have largely contributed to the floodings and traffic gridlock experienced in the state.
In addition too, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday, October 13, declared a state of emergency on the bad roads.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, said contractors including Julius Berger, Hitech, Arab Contractors, Metropolitan Construction, Slavabogu Construction, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Rajaf Foundation Construction, and RCF Nigeria Ltd. have been deployed by the government for the repair works.
The statement quoted the governor as saying all the eight engineering firms had been given the mandate to immediately mobilise their equipment on the sites and commence major construction works on roads which include Ojota stretch of the Ikorodu Road and Motorways-Kudirat Abiola Way, Apongbon Highway, Babs Animashaun Road, Agric/Ishawo Road and Ijede Road in Ikorodu, and Lekki-Epe Expressway from Abraham Adesanya to Eleko Junction.
The government also said that massive re-construction work on a network of roads in Ikoyi, Ikeja GRA and Victoria Island in the exercise said to begin on Monday October 14.
Also, to complement the major construction work on the highway, Sanwo-Olu said that the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) would be carrying out repairs of 116 inner roads across the state.
Mr. Kunle Shittu while appreciating that the government was finally ready to do something about the roads, expressed hope that the contractors would do a good job.
“It’s not about mobilising contractors to site. They must do a job that would not need repairs for at least five year.”
Even the palliative jobs, must be made to last because knowing the government, that may be all Lagosians get. He lamented that the rubbish dug out from the drainages are left by the roadside making a mess on the road when it rains even as some of the rubbish find there way back into the drainage.