The Nation Newspaper

Category: Transportation

  • From dark spot to transport hub

    The Ilaje riverine community in Bariga LCDA, Lagos State, has a history of crime and rival cult clashes. The road and jetty built by the state government in the area is, therefore, a masterstroke to resolve insecurity, one of the state’s major headache, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    Akin, omo Ambode, o se o. Ise lo se o. Literally translated as Akin (the prefix of the governor’s full name, Akinwunmi), Ambode, this is excellent, thank you, a roughneck cheered the Lagos governor in a husky voice as he arrived in Bariga for the inauguration of  the ferries, jetty and rehabilitated Ilaje Road  in the Ilaje-Bariga community, last Tuesday.

    Another Area boy, on wheel chair, hailed as Olori, (obviously a “big man” in the street boys circle, as they fanned round him), chanted many local praises for the governor as he dared the latter’s security officials, in his bid to take a vantage position to greet the governor when it was time for tape cutting after all the goodwill speeches at the facility.

    They were all obviously happy. Not only the “area boys”, but the entire community was agog. They all trooped out in awe and appreciation of a governor who turned their fortune round just within two years.

    Traders, youths, community leaders, men and women, all came to cheer the governor who made it possible. For Ambode, it was one great historic moment. Gone forever was the dumpsite that was feared by the entire community. Welcome, a jetty that is world class, inviting and enchanting as it stands majestic beside the water that is to give it a new beginning. Engraved in sparkling white and red letterings are the words LOVE LAGOS, with an ambience that invites all to try the state’s waterways.

    From the greasy history of crime, Bariga rose last Tuesday to be counted among the growing transportation hubs built by Ambode in Lagos to serve both touristic, passenger and cargo business.

    Revealing the journey to the berthing of the jetty, Governor Ambode said the Ilaje-Bariga was the spot that welcomed him to the real challenges of governance in Lagos State. He recalled that a month to his assumption, there was a violent clash of secret cults in the area that left many dead. The attack and counter attacks went on for about a week before it was finally quelled by the police. The impression the violence created was that Ilaje-Bariga is a hot spot and would ever remain so, the governor said.

    Upon assumption, the governor said he investigated and saw that rival cult groups clashes were a pastime in the area. They oppress each other from proceeds of illegal sand dredging from the water behind the waste land, which was then used as a waste dump. “We discovered that getting access to the site became a bitter rivalry and atimes war,”the governor said.

    Ambode’s decision was to ban illegal sand dredging in the state, even as he committed government to repair some roads in the area.

    “When the Ilaje road project started in June 2016, I saw a bigger opportunity that was greater than just constructing a road, and in 2017, we began the prospect of turning the waste land into a jetty for water transportation. With the permission of the Asogbon family, the land owners, we secured the land and reclaimed 2000 metres of land to secure more space, on which the new Ilaje-Bariga waterfront jetty now sits. This is besides the Ilaje road which we did to now connect people to the jetty,” Ambode revealed.

    The symbolism of the event, for the governor, was that of urban regeneration, which he urged his successor to key into, saying the wealth of Lagos lies in projects that seek to connect  all parts of the state to become economically and commercially viable.

    “The projects were a clear example of urban regeneration inspired by creating solution to challenges,” he said.

    Besides the Bariga Waterfront Jetty, also commissioned by the government same day are  five of the seven ferries bought by the government for the use of Lagosians, and the Ilaje Road, which provides a motorable link to the jetty.

    These projects, the governor disclosed, were a testament to the fact that the state’s integrated transport management system was firmly on track.

    Ambode said an active waterway would reduce the burden on road mode of transportation, reduce travel time and enhance connectivity and abate flooding in the state.

    “Our goal of establishing an integrated transport management system is on course. These facilities will continue to impact positively on the lives of Lagosians as we strive to address traffic gridlock, reduce travel time, improve road connectivity and abate flooding,” Governor Ambode said.

    Like other projects, the projects were inspired to open up the Bariga community for more commercial activities in line with the inclusive governance mantra of his administration.

    He recalled that his administration in the last four years have been on a rescue mission to blighted areas in the state and have been achieving success in the task of making every community livable.

    “The thinking behind these projects is inclusion; an inclusion where every resident of our state have a say, feels the impact of government in their lives and is given the opportunity to realise their dreams.

    “When we assumed office four years ago, we set out on a mission to make every community economically livable. This has been the guiding principle behind spreading different projects across the state,” he said.

    The delivery of the Ilaje road, the jetty and our new ferries, according to Ambode are our commitment to continually provide the critical infrastructure that will improve the standard of living and also be an impetus to increase the socio-economic activities of this axis.

    The Jetty would serve as a terminal where residents in the area can access ferry services and easily get to other jetties around the state located at Ipakodo, in Ikorodu, Marina, Falomo and Badore in Ajah, among others.

    The jetty has a 150-car parking lot that would provide an avenue for people to park their cars comfortably and get on a ferry taking them to other parts of the state, adding that residents of the area can also make use of the ample space for social events.

    Besides, the governor said that of the five new ferries, four are passenger ferries that can accommodate between 40 to 60 passengers, while the fifth is a barge with the capacity to take 20 cars at a time across the lagoon.

    The five ferries, according to the governor, are to be named: Itesiwaju Eko, Adimu Orisa (carbarge), Ejirin, Sangbeto, Eko Akete and Ipakodo.

    The development of the waterways had been a major focus of the Ambode administration. In the last four years, the government had been deliberate in the development of water transportation with a move to push passenger traffic from about 200,000 monthly to 500,000 in the medium, and between one to two million in the long term.

    The administration has also pursued waterways safety. Yearly, the government distributes life jackets to all boats and water vessel operators in the state, even as it made it mandatory for all operators to provide both young and old life jackets before entering their boats.

    For a state with about 4,000 kilometres of waterways across Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe, successive administration had battled with getting more people to utilise water transportation as a viable alternative to the road.

    Besides the Second Republic where the administration  of Alhaji Lateef Jakande had charted the waterways and bought ferries known as Babakekere and Ita faji, among others, no other government had had much impact on the waterways like the Ambode administration, with the five ferries named after events, culture, tradition, places and epochs of the people of Lagos.

    Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ade Akinsanya said aside the jetty, road and ferries, the state government  was also constructing 12 other roads within Ilaje and Bariga, just as he urged the people to take ownership of the projects.

    The Baale of Ilaje, High Chief Kayode Ayetiwa, on behalf of the community, thanked Governor Ambode, saying the people of the area will forever appreciate and remember him for transforming their neighbourhood and making life more comfortable for them.

    “The good people of Ilaje-Bariga Community and Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and Shomolu Local Government and all Lagosians will ever remember your Excellency (Governor Ambode) for the construction of this ultra-modern jetty at Ilaje-Bariga Community for the sole purpose of easing water transportation in Lagos.

    “We salute your courage for providing the funds for this project within four years of your administration to which no other governor has ever done. We are grateful that you have taken us to the next level,” Ayetiwa said.

    The state-of-the-art jetty is situated at the tail end of the upgraded Ilaje Road which provides access to the terminal from Akoka Road, abuts the lagoon front facing the Third Mainland Bridge.

  • Promoting walking in Lagos

    With a €180, 000 (about N72.6 million) German grant for constructing pilot walkways on some roads, LAMATA is set to champion walking, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    In the next one month, Lagos Government officials and volunteers in the transportation and logistics planning space will be on Lagos Island and parts of the mainland, to study how safe the roads are for walking.

    On their phones will be installed a new app, Stride, which they have been trained to deploy.

    In the main, the app seeks to input data on walkability status of the roads. The government is deploying them to collect data on how safe, convenient, and comfortable the walkways are.

    The research is to score the Lagos roads on three critical benchmarks. One, safety; two, design and three, street lights, road markings, and kerbs to protect pedestrians and make walking safe for all classes of people, especially those living with disabilities. These are to be collated from 1000 respondents across five roads.

    Picked for the scheme are the Catholic Mission Street on Lagos Island and WEMPCO road, Agidingbi, on the Mainland. The app has three lights – green, which means the road is good and safe to walk; amber, which means it’s somewhat safe and red, which means it’s not safe.

    LAMATA’s idea is to paint all the state’s roads red. Reason: but for the newly constructed roads, virtually none is safe for walking.

    LAMATA’s effort at promoting walking under the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) is the new policy direction of the government.

    The lead consultant and African trainer on the Stride App, Dr Charles Asenime, said painting all the roads red, is what would make Lagos qualify for the German funding in providing an intervention capable of ensuring zero pedestrian deaths on the roads.

    Asenime, an Associate Professor in the Department of Transport Planning and Policy, Lagos State University (LASU), said Kenya is already deploying the app to make its roads safer for pedestrians. He said with its population, and a growing and uncontrolled urban sprawl, it would be a great disservice if the government continues to ignore or fail to optimally use the roads. Besides providing for automobiles, whether articulated, or any four, three or two wheeler or automated or manual propelled, he said pedestrian contents of Lagos roads are almost non-existent.

    LAMATA’s data puts Lagos population at 22 million (though Lagos State Statistics Office puts same at 26.6 million). About 24 million trips are generated in the state daily and of this figure, 8.8 million (about 40 percent) walk as a means of transportation to their destinations and back home.

    Asenime said from the data of the walking population, it is a misnomer that the government would continue to ignore walking, which he described as the oldest form of transportation by man, in its road planning and execution.

    Promoting non-motorised transportation has been on the LAMATA’s plate almost since its establishment as a special purpose vehicle to drive the state’s transportation masterplan.

    One of the roads constructed to pioneer the NMT thinking was WEMPCO Road, delivered to Lagosians in 2014. It has 1.5mm width of walkway and a bicycle lane on both lanes, to promote walking and cycling as the new form of transportation, especially for last-mile shuttles.

    Why TUMI

    The Commissioner for Transportation Ladi Lawanson said the unplanned interaction between pedestrians and motorised vehicles has led to a growing casualty rate, most of which are underreported and classified under the hit and run by reckless drivers.

    “There is no recognition for non-motorised means of transportation as there are few segregated traffic facilities, such as walkways, zebra crossings, footbridges, underpasses and traffic signals for pedestrians and cyclists.

    ‘’The result is that pedestrians are frequently forced to walk on the carriageways sharing the same roadway with motor vehicles leading to low safety, worsened by the problem of road capacity and absence of road hierarchy,” Lawanson said.

    This, according to him, has led to  about 1.3 millon deaths from road accidents globally.

    Addressing experts from the ministries of Environment, Works, Transportation, parks and Gardens, the media and the academia last Wednesday, Lawanson said the challenge is a reversal that would make the roads safer for the young, the elderly and the poor, who may not be able to ride a car or even afford the money to hike a ride on public buses.

    He said the new NMT policy secured for the state a slot in the inaugural TUMI for Global Urban Mobility Challenge for the award of financial support by the Deutsche GessellSchaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with LAMATA receiving the award on behalf of the government in Leipzig on May 25, 2018.

    The award came with a €180, 000 (about N72.6million) grant to develop and implement a five-kilometre of new rehabilitated sidewalk in the most-walked part of Lagos Island Central Business Districts (CBD) to improve walkability significantly.

    The pilot sidewalk would also be implemented along 1km of the new Ikeja Bus Terminal, as well as 20 other landmark areas of the state.

    The government’s intention is to create walkways on 20 identified walking destinations in Ikeja and Lagos Island CBD.

    Among the 19 other landmark areas pencilled for the TUMI survey are the National Museum, Old Parliament Building, Race Course, Independent Building, Lagos High Court, Kings College and City Hall. Others are; Freedom park, the Old Legislative Building, the Police Magistrate Court, Tinubu Square, the Old Pier Point on Marina, Glover Memorial Hall, the Cathedral and the General Hospital.

    The others are Wesley House, State House, Yacht Club and Muson Centre.

    LAMATA said when fully on steam, the policy would help restore the culture of walking.

    LAMATA’s Managing Director Biodun Dabiri said the fear of the road has stopped the culture of parents walking their children to school and that even pupils who still take the risk form clusters to avoid being run over by reckless drivers who have taken over the roads.

    Describing the road as a collective heritage that transcends social stratifications Dabiri, who was represented by the Director Corporate Planning and Investment Mr Frederic Oladeinde said: “Irrespective of your class, rich or poor, the road is a collective heritage and belongs to all. In LAMATA we believe that the poor whose only means of transportation is walking have as equal right to the safe use of the road as the rich ensconced in their cars. This is why we are bent on achieving this new direction.”

    He said the civil rehabilitation of the Catholic Mission Street sidewalks leading to the rear end of the TBS would have, among other features, construction of new walkways kerbs and pavement, provision of new traffic and pedestrian crossing signal lights at Kings College/Old Defence Road intersection, provision of traffic signs, and installation of bollards.

    Other features would be the replacement of stolen steel manhole covers with fibre resins (WNL type) manhole covers, desilting of drainages, provision of walkway abuse/regulatory signs and removal of walkway obstruction and obstacles, including signages and utilities.

    “Upon completion, the entire corridor would be landscaped and beautified by professional fine art curator who will paint murals and give the entire environment an aesthetic facelift,” the LAMATA director added.

    Benefits

    With about 37 percent of journeys in cities being non-motorised and some African cities, including Nigeria recording over 80 percent of all journeys by foot, promoting walkability in Lagos, among others, aims at achieving a safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all.

    Propagating a walkable Lagos at the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities workshop, in Lagos earlier this year, the Programme Manager Heinrich Boll Stiftung Nigeria, Mrs Monika Umunna, said the German organisation was championing a campaign to return to walking.

    Opening the state’s transportation space for non- motorised form of transportation would increase access by all transport modes, improve more investments for pedestrians and cyclists, reduce use of personal vehicles, improve the reach of public transportation, improve air quality as well as improve traffic safety.

    Umunnah, a German-Nigerian, said the motorisation of the roads have led to the unhealthy growth of impersonal lifestyles, where people have become too distant from each other as a result of the barriers constructed around themselves.

    “Even neighbours, who used to see each other before no longer do so, not only are we held back by high fence walls round our homes, relating on the roads is no longer impossible as we take our children to school in air-conditioned cars, blocking communication channels with other members of the community,” Umunnah said.

    Her non-governmental organisation (NGO), which she said is being funded by the German Green Foundation is championing walking and other non-motorised transportation across the world because it improves air quality, cutting down on pollutants and other GHGs, helps reduces congestion as well as the promotion of healthy lifestyles as a result of regular exercises.

    Dabiri said besides the promotion of good healthy lifestyles, the NMT policy would encourage high investment in the development of “green corridors” across the city by planting of trees to provide shade for pedestrians and absorb pollutants, as well as a drastic slash in transportation spend, which ranges from eight percent to 16 percent of urban income spending to more than 25 percent for the poorest households in very large cities.

    According to Dabiri, the NMT ‘s TUMI policy would aid the development of key infrastructure to facilitate pedestrian movements and community integration and complement the integration of multi-modal transportation dream of the government.

    The policy, when passed into law, he said, will involve three levels – community integration through the creation of a continuous pedestrian network, connection of pedestrian network with main public transport corridors and accessibility to the main transportation hubs and interchanges of the city with significant passenger demand.

    With the community buy-in, the government, he said, hopes to erase the over-run of these walkways by traders who ply their trades on them.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Taiwo Salaam, disclosed that the government had also approved that the width of the walkways be increased to 1.5metres from 1.3metres and that this would be fenced off by a metal barrier.

    He said a more organised walkway might help resolve the interactions of pedestrians and vehicles on main corridor.

    “We are determined to build roads that will cater to the needs of all classes of users. This will reduce traffic congestion and make the road safer for all,” Salaam added.

  • Making Lagos waterways safe and clean

    For some time, Lagos water channels have become unsafe and perceived by passengers as channels of death, despite the government’s regulations and regular supply of life saving kits. This has stunted the sector’s growth, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    A life jacket is the most important ticket  for boarding a boat. No passenger boards without one. Why?

    All waterways users have agreed that the life jacket could save imperiled lives on the lagoon. But some operators still ply the waters without life jackets. The result, unfortunately, has been death and at an increasingly worrisome rate. None of the existing water routes have been immune from accidents– from Ebute Ero to Ipakodo, Ebute Ojo to Marina, Marina to Majidun, among others.

    Statistics have shown that no less than 200 deaths are recorded every year on the waterways; with many of them unreported.

    Why accident persists

    The waterways ordinarily ought to be the safest, but without life jackets it becomes deadly.

    First on the growing list of causes of waterways accidents has been operators’ and passengers’ attitude, many of who see themselves as experts at sea. “Even when you give them jackets, those in this category will tell you they can swim and do not need it,” a young woman who identified herself as Salimotu said at Ipakodo last Saturday.

    The result is ominous. During any turbulence on the waters, they in no time get drown, adding to the growing list of casualties on the waterways.

    Providing life jackets for passengers’ use, ordinarily should be the exclusive responsibility of operators, but Lagos State government in the last two decades has been responsible for safe jackets provision at no cost to anyone.

    Successive governments since the Bola Ahmed Tinubu era have invested heavily in the provision of life jackets across the five divisions of the state – Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe, all in the aim of ensuring that life is safer on its waterways.

    Lagos State Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary,  Dr Taiwo Salaam said this tradition, sustained by the Akinwunmi Ambode administration, has helped standardised the life jackets and benchmarked approved ones for operators to prevent proliferation of substandard jackets.

    According to Salaam, about 50,000 jackets are shared yearly among the five divisions to prevent costly incidents on the waterways, but despite these interventions, the state is still listed among those with most unsafe waterways in the country.

    Fresh intervention

    The growing incidents, Salam added, would  not deter the government from continued enlightenment and sensitisation as well as distribution of life jackets in its determination to make its waterways safe for all users.

    Last week, the State Waterways Authority (LASWA), distributed 1000 life jackets at Ikorodu, the first tranche of the 3,500 earmarked by the Akinwunmi Ambode administration before he winds off.

    The Lagos State Waterways Authority has commenced the distribution of a total of 3,500 life jackets to operators across major jetties in the state before Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s tenure expires.

    Ambode, who will be leaving by May 29, may be leaving unparaleled achievements in the transportation sector. With standard bridges at Alimosho, Lekki and Abule Egba, the Oshodi Interchange, the Ikeja Bus Terminal, and 10 others scattered around Lagos, the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) road  and the 820 medium and high capacity buses to replace the yellow mini buses called Danfo, there is a deliberate attempt to control public transportation and promote interconnectivity of land and water modes of transportation.

    At the distribution exercise last week, 85 boat operators in Ikorodu axis were given 1,000 life jackets. LASWA’s General Manager, Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said the agency started the distribution with the Ikorodu operators, the most viable axis, which has remained for a long time and recorded a high traffic frequency across the lagoon. What, however, was not mentioned was that the axis has been the most precarious, recording about 80 per cent of accidents.

    He also noted that good synergy now exist between LASWA and NIWA than before to ensure sustainable safety plans on the waterways in the state.

    The LASWA chief, however, disclosed that the life jackets were facilitated by the Equus Trade Logistics to ensure that the waterways on Ikorodu axis are safe to ease water transportation. He added that Ojo, Liverpool and Badagry will be the next port of call for the life jackets distribution.

    “The state government is committed to ensuring safety on our waterways, so we are donating a thousand life jackets to Ikorodu commercial boat operators,” he said.

    Besides the life jackets, the agency said it would be installing maker bouys along the navigable routes on waterways to enable all boats and ferries know the proper channel around the waterways. “We are not just giving life jackets, we are also educating them to know how best to kit their passengers and sustain them,” he said.

    Clean waterways

    Despite government’s efforts Lagos’ waterways have remained a major challenge to safe navigation. Although the government has been combating the scourge of water hyacinth for ages,  the waterways are becoming clogged with pet bottles and nylon sachets, creating a new regime of dirts on the waterways.

    Emmanuel said the cleanliness of the waterways is a collective responsibility, urging the people to be more conscious of the need to preserve and protect the environment.

    “Generally the cleanliness of the waterways is a collective responsibility aside the regulators NIWA and LASWA. As a people, we need to change our culture as regards littering our environment because the major dirts on the water comes from our indiscriminate disposal of waste.

    “Sixty per cent of the wastes on our waterways are pet bottles, which our people dispose indiscriminately. The state government has purchased machines for clearing the waterways. Some firms are also collaborating with us as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make the waterways safer for water travellers,” he said.

    According to him, LASWA is driving safety messages through radio and TV advertisements. “And we are also visiting schools to inculcate in them while young, the need to preserve our environment because any litter ends up in our waterways. The life jackets distribution, which we started in Ikorodu axis, will continue from Ojo to Liverpool axis and Badagry,” he said.

    Equus Trade Logistics’ (ETL) Corporate Service Director, Mrs Amina Agboola, said ensuring safer and cleaner waterways at all times was paramount in her firm’s involvement.

    According to her, Equus is the concessionaire for the Ikorodu ferry terminal and would continue to support and partner operators and regulators in promoting waterways safety.

    “We are giving life jackets to ensure safer waterways. We work with LASWA directions and set standards. We implement safety policy, including the manifest and ensuring that the passengers follow operational standards daily.

    Integrated Boat Association (IBOA) President, Pastor Jide Daniel, who is a seasoned seafarer, commended LASWA and its partners for the collaboration in making water transportation safer and more attractive to passengers.

    He also urged operators to keep the waterways safe and clean for the good of commuters. The National General Secretary of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Mr Munirudiin Kolade Adesiyan, appreciated the donors and LASWA for the continuous collaboration with its members.

    He said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has done a lot to relax harsh regulations previously existent in the waterways business.

    “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has done a lot in encouraging our operations. He relaxed the extant regulations. He has also opened up lots of jetties in Ikorodu, Badagry, Ojo, Bariga and Epe, but we want what obtained in Bangladesh here, zero water accidents as accidents most times drive away prospective passengers.

    “We also canvass for inclusion of ATBOWATON in the management of jetties for we have the required years of experience as we ferried 90 percent of waterway users.

    He also harped on the importance of engaging qualified boat operators licensed by NIWA, while pleading with LASWA to help get rid of dirts clogging the waterways.

    Besides floating dirts on the waterways, NIWA’s representative Mr. Precious Olorunfemi listed causes of accident on the waterways to include; water hyacinth, chemical-emissions from companies on the waterways, ergonomics, radiation and disruption of water body.

    He, however, charged all operators and passengers to ensure their safety while commuting, using their lifejackets properly.

    He restated that NIWA’s licensing is a prerequisite for operators and blamed many of the operators for evading it.

    Pastor Daniel, a seafarer who for 21 years  was in charge of the late Chief MKO Abiola’s fishing trawlers, cited the need for training and seminars to bring operators up to standard practice in sea faring worldwide.

    LASWA said life jackets are not ornaments to adorn homes, but a necessary tool in safe sea faring.

    It also indicated that it would provide more life jackets for minors, and teenagers, citing the discovery that children boarders of water vessels, especially school children are on the increase, which faces threats as a result of turbulence.

    The agency practicalised the use of children lifejackets at the five cowries jetty bay for the operators.

    Chief Traffic Officer Rotimi Dipeolu, who represented the Transport Commissioner Ladi Lawanson, said the state planned to move waterways transportation from less than 1,000,00 to 2,000,000 passenger traffic per month, adding that achieving this would be difficult if potential passenger are scared of waterways.

    Dipeolu said NIWA, LASWA and  the Marine Police Command have continued to sensitize against plying the waters without a life jacket as well as avoiding overloading their vessels and boats.

    The question on the lips of many users of the waterways is when will the waterways be made totally safe for navigation?

    The answer perhaps lies in the carrot and stick theory, said Patrick Adenusi, a safety expert.

    He said while government continues to distribute life jackets, it must not shy away from strictly enforcing its laws.  “Successive administrations may continue to be defeated, like Ambode, on safe waterways, if they look away from bringing offenders to book. With about 4,000 kilometre-stretch of waters, Lagos has a very strong comparative advantage on the waterways and the incoming government should better latch on to it to mop up the traffic  already choking road transportation,” Adenusi added.

  • A road legacy

    President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to open the Oshodi Interchange and the 10-lane Murtala Muhammed International Airport road next Tuesday. Their opening will give motorists and other users a new road travel experience, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    FOR two years, contractors worked to get the facilities ready.

    It came with discomfort for motorists,  and other road users, but now they are set to enjoy riding on the roads after being inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari next Tuesday.

    These projects are the Oshodi Interchange, the first multi-level and three terminal structure in the world, and the 10-lane Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) road, with five bridges, which will replace the two-lane road, which Governor Akinwunmi Ambode noted does not represent a smart city brand he is building for the state.

    Despite the problem with some Lagos roads  under his watch, the Ambode administration  will be leaving behind some audacious infrastructure meant to reposition public transportation and make it more friendly to the over 22 million commuters that it serves daily.

    From the removal of 10 roundabouts on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, to the laybys at some busy routes, such as in Ketu, Berger, and Oworo-Third Mainland Bridge, the two Jubilee bridges at Ajah and Abule-Egba, and the 28 roads and four bridges that opened up Alimosho Local Government, leading up to Badagry, Ambode has in four years taken development round the state – urban-semi-urban and rural areas – all in his bid to ensure even distribution of government’s presence, and to in his words, “put money in the pockets of the poor and those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.”

    Speaking on the philosophy of his administration, Ambode said: “I want to touch as many lives as possible. I don’t want to know them, but I just want them to feel and see that there is somebody somewhere that is thinks and care about them.”

    For a government that was birthed into the crunching recession, Ambode believes “the only way to exit inflation is to spend your way out of it,” and that he did, by spreading projects round the state.

    Why Oshodi?

    In ways that had been largely uncomplimentary, Oshodi had for close to half a century been known as the face of Lagos –  all wrong and ugly purpose. To visitors, Oshodi is that fearsome and tempestuous commune where anything and everything goes. Yet, none can do without Oshodi, as it is the home to 54 transportation hubs, each of which is controlled by many transport unions, whose activities and officials, often work at cross purposes, resulting to spontaneous crisis and avoidable loss of lives.

    Despite its unpredictable nature, Oshodi continues to serve as a  transportation hub for local, inter-state and the Economic Community of west African States (ECOWAS) sub-region and have remained even in its organic state – a cash cow for the government.

    Oshodi has a culture of violence. Hordes of street urchins who, most times, work as bus boys (bus conductors) and porters, swoop on buses entering Oshodi and in the melee, pick pockets of unsuspecting commuters and travellers, dispossessing them of their valuables.

    It was home to a troubling population of the homeless, with successive administration since the Second Republic battling with the menace called Oshodi. From Alhaji Lateef Jakande, who built the headquarters of the state’s Transportation system (LSTC) there, to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who began the sanitisation initiative, and Babatunde Raji Fashola, who smoked out the ‘bad boys’ of Oshodi, mounted a street light on the corridor and militarised it with a Police taskforce that worked round the clock to rid Oshodi of its crime and grime.

    Though Fashola also wrestled down the ubiquitous molue, which was Oshodi’s main stay and replaced them with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses, which began on March 17, 2008.

    When Ambode started a massive demolition in Oshodi to make way for the project in 2016, many took it as a huge joke. When the sod was turned a year later, same pessimism persisted  on the project. Now, 90 percent ready, the project, with a skywalk the covering of which is almost completed, has become an engineering marvel.

    From a violent enclave populated by street urchins, criminals, vagrants, miscreants and petty traders who have taken over the streets with their wares, a new Oshodi is gradually emerging that may be unparalleled in the whole of Africa.

    Ambode leaves no one in doubt he loves big  projects, the type that would leave the greatest social impact on the majority of the people.

    “If my government is truly people driven, I should be able to do projects that affect them and also have the greatest impact on their lives,” he said. One of such audacious project is the Oshodi interchange.

    Speaking on the Oshodi project, Mr Biodun Otunola, the Managing Director of Planet Projects, the contractor, said Oshodi, despite its huge potential, has been neglected by successive governments.

    He said the interchange with three terminals, each sitting on 30,000 sq metres, when operational, would serve at peak an average of one million people. Initially, each of the terminals would serve 300,000 passengers daily and every hour, 300 buses would be departing from the terminals.

    Otunola, who described the project as revolutionistic, said Ambode would be remembered for making available access to efficient, cheap, safe, and affordable buses, especially  those at the lower rungs of the ladder who cannot afford to buy their personal vehicle.

    For the comfort of the passengers, he said the three terminals, with multi-layer floors, would have lifts and elevators to ensure commuters can easily move from one floor to another. He further said this was aside all the terminals are linked by skywalk to ensure passengers could easily navigate the entire interchange, moving from one point to another with ease.

    He said for passengers not to wait endlessly for buses, two layover parks were created with the capacity to accommodate 70 buses, waiting to load at every point. He also said there would be room for park and ride, the reason a park was created, in addition to a taxi park so that the buses coming from the layover do not obstruct free flow of traffic when they need to connect Terminals 1 and 2. He said two tunnels had been incorporated into the project, where the buses from the layover would be driven through to connect the terminals.

    A revolution

    Otunola said the idea behind turning the interchange into a tourist attraction is to rebrand Oshodi. For him, when completed, any person who visit Lagos and has not made a stopover at the interchange has not visited the state.

    “This is because the entire place is built with the mind of turning Oshodi into tourists’ destination. This is why the adjacent Terminal 3 are shopping mall and a three-star hotel. A thousand light effects would also be installed around the interchange, which would be used to create effects, sometimes to reflect the mood of celebrations like Workers Day, Easter, Christmas and New Year and Independence Day.”

    When completed, the project, he added, would not only be iconic, but the nation’s pride. While the interchange is funded by the state government, the hotel and shopping mall, according to Otunola, would be executed by the private sector.

    The terminals are mutually exclusive, though commuters would move from one to the other via the skywalk or the escalators.

    While Terminal 1 would serve those travelling outside the state, especially the west coast, Terminal 2 will service commuters heading to Abule Egba and adjoining places,  and Terminal 3 would serve commuters heading for Anthony, Ojota, Lagos Island, Ikorodu and environs. All terminals have sitting areas, where commuters can buy their tickets, confirm their buses and wait for their vehicles in comfortable, airconditioned ambience, similar to the one available at the airport lounge.

    All terminals also have shopping arcade, food court, and ticketing counters. They also have connecting escalators and elevators for the comfort of commuters. To further promote its 24-hour economy, the interchange would also be served by a 50 bed hotel and a shopping centre.

    Ambode’s Chief Press Secretary Habib Aruna said the Oshodi Interchange would, ultimately, regenerate Oshodi, a development which would impact on the slum culture of the area and reposition its property market.

    He said the government achieved the feat without recourse to a foreign loan, a development that speaks to the governor’s shrewdness as an accountant.

    Quoting his boss, Aruna said: “If we have been able to secure the city, if we have been able to make life more comfortable for people, if we have been able to provide streetlights that make it possible for people to travel at night without fear, then the people have benefited from the Ambode government.”

    The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, said the government has been upbeat about the project because it is 100 percent local content. “Nothing about this project is imported and all the engineers are Nigerians. The Oshodi Interchange is a loud testament to Nigerians’ capacity to hold their own and the Ambode government is proud to be a pioneer of this new thinking which underpins the Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive order on Local Content,” Bamigbetan said.

    As he winds up, projects like the Oshodi Interchange could better be said to have summed Ambode’s persona, who on assumption four years ago, said; “I came here for a purpose to touch humanity. I have been successful in my career as an accountant. So, finding myself as the governor of a state, like Lagos is more or less like a divine call to touch humanity.”

    There is no doubt that with such project, if maintained, the governor may have written his name into eternity.

  • Lagos set for new bus experience

    The news that the bus reform initiative (BRI) by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode may soon begin operations is cheery to many, who have been looking forward to a more comfortable alternative than putting their vehicles on the road, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    When in 2017, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode vowed to banish the yellow buses from the high streets of Lagos, many thought it was another bogus promise. But last week, it seemed as if the dream’s fulfillment was just weeks away, as the state Transportation Commissioner Ladi Lawanson said the government would be rolling out 820 buses,  to signpost the administration’s determination to reform the state’s transportation architecture.

    Like former Governor Babatunde Fashola, who pushed the ubiquitous, but rickety Molue, away from the state’s transportation system with the Bus Rapid Transit, (BRT), Ambode may, with the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) bequeath a novel initiative, which if sustained could transform the state’s transportation landscape forever.

    According to Lawanson, the BRI is government’s way of seizing the transportation space that had long been controlled by private sector operators, who have formed themselves into “lords and untouchable masters of the road”.

    Government, he said, was set to begin a process of organising the sector and make it more responsive to the yearnings of moving a robust population of commuters in a safe, comfortable, cheap and properly regulated public transportation system.

    He said: “The bus reform project is designed to find solutions to perennial challenges of poor quality service by bus operators, unpredictable fare, unhealthy competition, high rate of accidents and unreliable service.”

    Under the reform, government, he said, would be replacing the yellow mini buses with air conditioned buses of uniformed specification that would run on predictable bus schedules and defined routes that would be supported by appropriate infrastructure.

    Read also: Ambode performs pre-launch of $50m factory in Lekki Free Zone

    Signaling this project in 2017, Governor Ambode said the state would be voting N30 billion to a rounded project that would include the provision of terminal infrastructure, 100 bus shelters and new buses that would provide comfortable alternative to commuters.

    Ikeja Bus Terminal became the flagship of the initiative and others soon sprang up at TBS, Yaba, Oyingbo, Ojota, Ajah, and Agege, with another proposed for Maryland. These are to be complemented by the world class and iconic Oshodi Interchange, the three first multi-storey terminals to be delivered by May.

    Indeed, the most audacious of Ambode’s impact on governance in Lagos may well be the bus reform.

    That made Lawanson to urge the people to take ownership of the project and guard against its misuse and vandalisation.

    In the first phase of the project, 75 out of the planned 100 bus shelters have been completed, to support the 820 buses that are ready to flag-off operation anytime soon.

    The third leg is the training of professional drivers and the acquisition of Intelligent Transport System (ITS), for a seamless operation of its rolling stock and travel convenience of commuters.

    From its initial roll off dateline of October, the BRI, which was supposed to intergrate 23 routes and  restore Lagosians’ confidence in public transportation, had suffered three postponements. The first was in October, last year, then January, this year, and later pushed  to after the election by the governor.

    While inspecting all the connected projects in January, Ambode had hinted that while government had imported the first phase of 820 buses, its intention was to ensure that the remaining buses needed for injection into the system would be rolled out of the plant at Awoyaya, in Ibeju-Lekki and Epe, where an assembly plant is presently sprouting.

    The buses, he said, would be managed by the Lagos Bus Assets Limited, and would be franchised to fleet operators, under whose canopy the present yellow bus operators with capacity to manage fleets could scale up their operations.

    “Let me again restate that this is not in any way a move to ban the yellow buses or take them away from the roads. It is to give to Lagos a modern transport service that befits a mega city.

    “All transport unions will be given an offer of first refusal because it will run on a franchise system where franchise operators will be allocated a multiple of 50, 100 to 200 buses.

    “Of the 3,600 large capacity, 1,400 would be medium capacity buses. The buses will carry between 30 to 47 passengers and come with modern facilities, such as wifi, mobile phone charging points, among other conveniences.”

    He noted that with the eventual take-off of the reform, there would be a re-routing of existing bus operators to service the inner roads.

    This, the commissioner said, would provide transportation alternatives closer to the residents.

    Available data from the Ministry of Transportation showed that the rickety yellow buses account for about three million out of the seven million vehicles on the state’s roads.

    With a population of 26.6 million, 12 million people depend on rickety private commercial buses and about eight million walk as a form of transportation. Providing acceptable, affordable and comfortable means of transportation for the common man has remained a major headache for successive governments.

    Transportation in Lagos State had been largely private-sector driven, with large fleet operators, dominating the space since pre-independence era.

    The intervention of organised operators in transportation services saw the introduction of more ‘modern’ large-capacity buses, which gave birth to molue, which survived for decades and many governments until the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s initiatives pushed them to operate on the fringes.

    With the cancellation of the Lagos Metroline project in 1983, the government had in 1986 diverted the World Bank assistance into the Bus Transit option, with the Lagos State Transport Corporation (LSTC), which injected 300 large capacity buses managed by LSTC.

    Although the LSTC failed, but from its ashes came Lagos State Bus Assets Limited (LAGBUS), and a much stronger and adequately-backed Lagos Area Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMATA) that spear-headed the state’s strategic transportation masterplan (STMP) since the turn of the millennium.

    That was why the governor said he would be rolling out a N100 billion bond to finance its numerous initiatives aimed at making the movement of people and goods painless.

    Of this, the government will provide N30 billion capital to elicit interest, while investors are to make up the balance.

    Ambode, by concentrating on deepening the roads, seemed to have convinced himself to go by the most plausible alternative that can bring quick returns.

    He said: “We decided that no matter the solution that we want to give the traffic management, we must also now provide a comfortable means of moving people, and encourage the middle class and majority of our people to drop their cars at home. That is the idea with this bus initiative, which is to prepare Lagos to be a global competitor.”

    Before Ambode, getting the upper and middle classes of the society to drop their cars and use other alternatives have been at the heart of a strategic transportation planning over the past two decades.

    From the era when bicycles made way for vehicles and the roads became less pedestrian-friendly, successive administrations have been trying to introduce initiatives aimed at restraining vehicular density in a state, whose vehicular density is 58 per cent above the national average.

    Some of the initiatives included the construction of roads with improved Intelligent Traffic Control Systems (ITS), roads with appropriate pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes have been experimented with.

    A number of stakeholders agreed that the rickety yellow buses have become an embarrassment to a state moving from a megacity to becoming a smart technology driven city.

    Mr Patrick Adenusi of Safety Without Borders said the yellow buses were a shame to the state’s megacity status. Arguing that the buses were not built for services to which they had been deployed, Adenusi said many commuters have been killed and others injured by the recklessness of their operators.

    Ambode said it might not be too long for Lagos to blaze a trail in public transportation where the people are given a new deal in land transportation.

    With two of the terminals ready, it may not be too long before Lagosians begin to enjoy a new dividend of comfortable, more organised public transportation that would meet the state’s status as the star of the black race and the third biggest economy in Africa by 2020.

  • Lagos-Ibadan highway: Pains of prolonged repairs

    For residents, motorists and others, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway has become a nightmare. Many dread being on the road to avoid being caught in the web of its unending repairs. They are, therefore, looking forward to its early completion, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    For 10 years, residents on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway have had to cope with the hazards of an unending repair that has turned using the arterial highway into a major nightmare.

    Just as they were looking forward to an end to their trouble in 2017, as promised by the Buhari administration, the government, hinging on new additions to the planned repairs, has extended the project to 2021.

    The Federal Controller of Works, Mr Fred Kuti, who announced the shift, said it was to capture the realities of the road and provide safety nets for the growing number of people using the road.

    Many residents have, in the last decade, devised ways of beating the heavy traffic on the road. Temidayo Lawal, who has been living with friends and his wife in a shop within Agege, have moved to their home at Aseese, on the corridor.

    Both worked in Lagos – Temidayo at Ogba, and his wife at Agege. They realised returning to their Assese home was the only way to beat the traffic and its attendant stress.

    Jide Idowu said living along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor had become hell for many residents. A media lecturer and publisher, Idowu who lives in Magboro, said he is considering moving over to Lagos to beat the traffic and retain his sanity.

    He said: “What is going on along the Lagos-Ibadan  Expressway is extremely frustrating to people living along that corridor. You go out most times but cannot say how and when to return home. If there’s no accident, there would be one event or the other from the many of the religious organisations along the corridor that would lock down the corridor.”

    He called on the government to be more serious and deliver the project to the relief millions of people who bear the brunt of the ongoing repairs on the corridor.

    Week in week out, residents and the people have been recording major lockdowns on the highway. One of such was recorded on Tuesday. It lasted till Wednesday. Many motorists caught in that nightmare spoke of how they were trapped for hours.

    A motorist said he could not get to Sagamu until 1am, that is, seven hours later. Another one, Joseph, claimed he missed his flight. His major concern is processing fresh documents and buying a new ticket.

    Jide said though the Tuesday incident was the worst this year, such  had become a regular feature since the Federal Government took over the repairs from Bi-Courtney, to which it was concessioned for repairs on a PPP in 2009.

    Before its concession, the road, arguably the country’s busiest road, which according to the FRSC, accounts for 25,000 motorists hourly, had become a death trap.The government’s intervention and the establishment of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) failed to scratch the surface of the rot, as gaping craters have continued to claim lives along the corridor, forcing the government to change the repair template.

    With the failure of the concessioning model, the Goodluck Jonathan government had no choice than to cancel the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), took over the road and broke its repairs into two.

    While the Lagos-Sagamu interchange was awarded to Julius Berger, the country’s most successful construction giant, the Sagamu-Ibadan interchange was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company (RCC).

    Section I of the highway – from Lagos to the Sagamu Interchange which cost N70 billion in 2013, has risen sharply to N134 billion, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing stated in December.

    For Damola Egbedeyi, the Lagos-Ibadan highway has exposed Julius Berger’s inefficiencies. Trusted by the government to deliver, the contractor has been prevaricating and may end up taking 12 years to deliver its job. Meanwhile, some of the portions already repaired have started failing, due to pressure of use.

    Conversely, while Nigeria may end up spending 12 years to deliver mere repair on one of its most critical highway, Chinese engineers four years ago delivered the reconstruction of the San Yuan Bridge, which links 48 routes in Beijing, from start to finish in 43 hours.

    The People’s Daily Online, which flagged the story, had reported that the road serves 200,000 vehicles daily.

    Undoubtedly, the economy is said to be losing to the unending project.

    Admitting that the project is causing pains to road users, Punch, which has its offices on the expressway, in an editorial demanded that the project be completed this year.

    It urged the Buhari government to mobilise resources at its disposal to deliver. It challenged the government to insist that the contractor deploy appropriate strategies in reducing the impact of the repairs.

    Founder of Safety Beyond Borders Mr Patrick Adenusi said the nation is hemorrhaging to the unending repair.

    Adenusi, who linked the crisis on Tuesday to gross road indiscipline occasioned by motorists driving against traffic, wondered what would happen if the state urgently needs evacuation when achieving sanity remains a mirage.

    He said: “Apart from unending project, one ugly thing that happened on Tuesday was the failure of the government to enforce the right use of the road. If we cannot enforce the law against one- way driving, and make such acts illegal, we may be faced with even more grave consequences.’’

    According to him, affected in the gridlock would be Nigerians who missed their flights as their planes would not wait for them. ‘’There may be those who are being rushed to the hospital, or those who need to meet appointment with their doctors. There may be those who are going for job interviews and other sundry needs, who were caught in the web of traffic. There are those who may suffer permanent consequences of the gridlock,” he added.

    He called for aggressive and massive campaigns against one way driving as part of ways to enthrone road sanity.

    Adenusi, who said this has become a national malady, asked the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to develop adequate strategies to fight the menace.

    People must be stopped from continuing to take the law into their own hands.

    He said Nigeria is losing heavily to this indiscretion, adding that on the average, a state like Lagos may be losing at least N2 billion monthly to traffic gridlock.

    “I did a rough calculation of our wastage on the transportation sector and I said ‘if about 100,000 vehicles are held up in traffic in Lagos daily and had expended over N1,000 on fuel, that is N100million wasted’. By Friday, it would have become N500million and if this is multiplied by four weeks, we would have lost N2 billion. Because we have more than 100,000 vehicles on Lagos roads alone, I know we are losing more than that.

    “We are not counting the man-hour, or the impact of the stress on motorists, or even on the vehicles, neither have we bothered to count the volume of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere all because of this lawlessness.”

    Dr Joseph Shojobi declared that the Lagos-Ibadan highway started when the Federal Ministry of Works abdicated its responsibility and allowed its right of way to be encroached upon by developers.

    “Rather than strictly enforcing the 500 metres setback along the entire road, people were allowed to encroach and they built even right into the road, creating a huge challenge of expansion and repair.

    Shojobi, who had been involved in transportation planning in the country since 1967, pointed at the structural as well as operational challenges that have continued to fester, making the road to turn out as it has become a monumental failure.

    Besides the encroachment on the road, Shojobi, who retired from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos in 1976, queried why Julius Berger could not provide alternate roads in line with global practices for such a task before it began the project.

    “The standard practice is to submit the design of such a road to the Federal Ministry of Works. We do not know whether this was submitted, but we do know that none has been created since they took over in 2013 and we do not know why the ministry has failed to demand for compliance to this very important element of a project of this magnitude.”

    He queried the absence of police traffic control department on the length of the route. He said traffic police and not the Road Safety Corps, ought to drive enforcement on the road and the failure to take ownership of the space have led operators to devising all manners of means to perpetuate illegality on the road.

    Shojobi identified poor compliance to regulations, arguing that many vehicles, especially trucks have no certificate of road worthiness a necessary document for all road users.

    The retired don, who has been in private practice since retirement, insisted that to get it right, the government must begin to move in the right direction and put machinery in place to put flouters of its laws in check.

    Founding Dean School of Transportation Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah, expressed disappointment at Julius Berger’s failure to accommodate the pressure on the road while its repairs were going on, by creating a parallel road.

    Exploring the opportunities further, Bawa’Allah said such a road unless not maintained, may be income earner as they may be tolled to generate more revenue for the government.

    He called for more private sector involvement in the provision of basic social infrastructure, if the nation is to bridge the gap of the deficit.

    Bawa’Allah, who recalled that the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had disclosed that the nation’s debt profile is one of the lowest in the world, called for massive borrowings  to fix the infrastructural gaps.

    He also called for more investments in pipeline networks to accommodate wet cargoes which are being ferried across the country by tankers.

    “We cannot continue to be transporting wet cargo by road. It doesn’t show that we are on the right path of economic development. Deploying pipelines to transport wet cargoes would reduce accidents, reduce pressure on the roads, and make the roads last longer, he added.

    The retired university don challenged the government to make road and pipeline development its main focus in the next four years.

    What has remained perplexing to industry watchers is that the same government that is achieving the Darman Miracle on the rail sector where the speed train which took off from scratch is well ahead of schedule by one year is finding the repair of the 145km Lagos-Ibadan highway intractable.

    The onus is for the government to prove that it is attuned to the prerequisites of good governance.

    One very sure way of winning back a waning goodwill is the timely delivery of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. One wish more work could be accomplished to hasten its delivery before the commencement of the rain.

    Would these remain only wishes?

  • Standard gauge as catalyst for diversification

    The proposed dry port and industrial park at the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan speed train project will activate the economic diversification opportunities of the standard gauge, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, seems set to regain its position as the economic and commercial hub of the old Western Region.

    At Olorisa Oko in Moniya, the terminal point of the ongoing speed train project, the state government has expressed interest to allocate 90 hectares of land to the Federal Government for the Ibadan Inland Dry Port (IIDP) and a cluster of industrial parks around the port side.

    Commending the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, for the initiative, Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi said developing an industrial park around the proposed port would stimulate the economic diversification of the Southwest.

    The project integration, it was learnt, has made the speed train project to outshoot its defined boundary of 156 kilometres by about one kilometre.

    Amaechi disclosed that no fewer than two million jobs would be created around the IIDP, while another eight to 10 million direct and indirect jobs would be created when the speed train corridor is delivered.

    According to the minister, the embedded opportunities in the speed train are huge, as it would not only stimulate a faster travel time for passengers, but ensure a quicker Return on Investment (ROI) for international trade, as businesses would connect faster and easier with their imports.

    He added that the project, when completed, will stimulate national and sub-national economic growth.

    The IIDP  location at the end of the project, he said, is strategic, adding that not only would it enhance the nation’s cargo handling and processing capacity, it would also provide additional means of integrating surface transportation of containers in the Southwest.

    Disruptive Innovations

    Though the standard gauge train tracks were former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration’s innovations, the IIDP’s establishment is among the many variations of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to make the project more robust and far reaching in its deliverables.

    Amaechi revealed that the dry port is one of the creative solutions to congestion at the ports, adding that by the time the project is delivered, the roads would be relieved of its cargo burden, thereby restricting truckers to last mile shuttles – the dry ports to warehouses and factories.

    The project, the Minister said, is aimed at diversifying the economy and making international trade more attractive and competitive.

    He assured that the Federal and the Oyo State governments would provide world- class infrastructure and facilities at the IIDP.

    Amaechi, who was accompanied by the Ghanaian Minister of Railway Development, Mr Joe Ghartey and Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) Executive Secretary Mr Hassan Bello, assured promoters of the project and others that the Federal Government would follow laid-down rules and procedures before concessioning the port.

    Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, and the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Ishmael Olalekan Ali,  said the project would create wealth, generate massive employment and boost Southwest’s economy.

    He urged Amaechi to sustain the tempo and ensure the train’s completion.

    According to him, the people are happy that the Federal Government is thinking of bringing such project to Ibadan,  assuring that despite that his administration was winding down, nothing would impede the progress of the work in the state.

    Bello said Ibadan being the former capital of the old Western Region, a commercial and industrial centre, which draws huge agricultural trade in local and export volumes, and a transportation/logistics hub, has all it takes to make the state a suitable choice for an inland dry port.

    The same factors, according to Bello, will contribute to making the port very viable. He said: “The Inland Dry Port has the potential of not only reducing transport cost and bringing shipping to the door steps of the shippers, but can also generate employment opportunities in the region of about two million jobs, which would boost the local and Southwest regional economy.”

    Speaking on the economic benefits of the project to the nation, Bello said: “It will enhance the nation’s cargo handling and processing capacity. It would also introduce modern and sophisticated processes and procedures for containerised cargo handling.”

    The IDP, according to him, will also serve as cargo consolidation point and offer Customs clearance services for export cargo originating from and import destined for the Southwest zone. It will equally provide cargo sorting centre and temporary storage facility among others.

    Bello said: “At the end of May, tracks would have been laid up to Ibadan, which would in itself open a huge bouquet of opportunities for private sector investment, especially in the building and management of the 10 railway stations.  So, there will be opportunity for employment as well as community involvement. The government is creating chains of opportunities and the employment content of this project is very high.”

    On how shippers will benefit from the railway, he said: “The shippers will benefit more than anybody because the cost of transportation of cargoes from the sea to their warehouses will reduce drastically. Trucking is the only method we have now. The truckers should, therefore, brace up for competition as the law of demand and supply will apply and then the security and safety of the cargo will improve. All of these would make cargo train more attractive and the government can better drive this by putting in place laws that make cargo movement by train mandatory.”

    Such a regulation, he said, would decongest the port because the nation hitherto has about 90 per cent of her cargoes movements on the road mode.  “When we have a cheaper mode, the other modes will be affected. With this project, Nigeria will never be the same again,” Bello said.

    The Ghanaian Minister said the speed train’s impact would reverberate across the continent and the West African subregion. Ghartey who said Ghana would be awarding contract for a 100-kilometre standard gauge from the Port city of Tema, to Takoradi, visited the Nigerian project last Friday for peer review. They were awed.

    “I have come, I have seen and I am very impressed,” Ghartey said, praising Nigeria for being blessed with “a very hard working minister”.  He continued: “I heard the project is well ahead of schedule by about one year. And you will agree with me that it is not usual that you have a project of this magnitude being  ahead of schedule.

    “How has he done it? He has done it by being hands on. He could have sat back at the ministry and be taking reports, but instead he comes here, following the project and pushing the contractors hard.”

    He said he came to Nigeria to learn, and more particularly, to show CCECC Ghana and its consultants that if CCECC Nigeria can do it, they must achieve same feat within reasonable time.

    Ghartey praised Nigeria for realising that the future would be determined by smart transportation as goods and passengers would rely on efficient, safe and affordable transportation and governments must provide the lead in making these available to the people.

    Read also: Railway interconnectivity may gulp $40bn – Amaechi

    He said Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa are leading other African countries with viable railway systems and commended Nigeria and Ghana for joining the league.

    “We are not as big as Nigeria in size, and so all our projects are not just in Ghana. As we speak, we have signed a treaty with Burkina Faso for a rail connectivity, which is about 1,300 kilometres, from the Port city of Tema to Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.

    Ghana, he said, is already doing about 100km of the first section of that line from Tema to Akosombo. Ghana is also thinking of a rail link to Eluhu, in Aflao, Cote d’Ivoire, and with such linkage, getting a rail link to Nigeria, may not be a mirage.

    “Even though I cannot say there are any concrete talks right now, it is very possible in the near future in our life time, to be able to take a train from Lagos to Accra and vice versa because once Ghana can link up to Cote d’Ivoire, linking Benin Republic and then Nigeria may just be a possibility,” he added.

    Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Senator Gbenga Ashafa said Amaechi has done well in driving the project. According to him, achieving about 30kilometres of rail tracks since the committee’s last visit in February was a sign that the minister is not resting on his oars. He also praised the project’s capacity to generate jobs. He said about 10,000 jobs have been created since it was flagged off in 2017.

    He assured that the legislature would continue to partner the executive to ensure that the project is not stalled.

    Amaechi allayed fears of the project being abandoned, adding that the government has fully paid its counterpart funding while the ChinaExim has released the fund for the project. Moreover, its success at the poll has guaranteed the project’s continuance.

    With that assurance, it is only a question of time for the project. The nation can hardly wait for its delivery for its huge attraction to the economy.

  • Tide against commercial motorcyclists, tricyclists

    With the arrest of no fewer than 115 commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, last week, the Lagos State Government may have reaffirmed its commitment to restricting their activities to last-mile shuttles, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes

    Alhassan Ahmed, a salesman, was running out of time for a business meeting in Ota, Ogun State.

    It was about 1pm, when he left his office at Ikeja, Lagos. He had to make it to Ota by 3pm. He stood by the roadside, contemplating the fastest route out of the traffic bedlam at Ikeja, when he saw the Gokada rider, a commercial e-hail motorcycle operator, in black with green Gokada helmet.

    He flagged him down, and negotiated the trip, mounted the bike and donned the helmet, which Gokada said is certified to the American Department of Transportation (DOT) standard. Within one and half hours, he was sitting comfortably at the company’s boardroom.

    Since that experience, Ahmed said he had “become addicted to Gokada”.

    He added: “Except on Sundays, I don’t see the need to go out with my car again. I move around the city, on a motorcycle. It is fast and affordable for anyone who does not want to spend eternity in the perennial traffic that has made Lagos a pain in the neck for many commuters.”

    Ahmed’s testimony is one of the thousands, who have turned to this two-wheeler alternative to beat the gridlock, which has become a permanent feature of movement around the metropolis.

    Also, a food blogger, Yewande, said she had been taking Maxokada, everyday from Maryland, where she lives, to her Broad Street office, on Lagos Island. According to her, the risk associated with riding such a very long distance pales into insignificance when you imagine the alternative of spending a minimum of three to five hours in buses or a taxi. “I have simply stopped thinking of the risk. I just hop on it because it offers me the quickest option of reaching my destination, though it costs more,” she stated.

    In Lagos, two brands – Maxokada and Gokada Gokada – have become ubiquitous, seizing the space from local operators, who have almost been snuffed out of the business by security operatives.

    Andrew, who works in a media house at Apapa, said he alternates between Gokada and Maxokada daily in and out of Apapa’s perennial traffic gridlock.

    Maxokada, which began operation in August 2015, said it has made over 300,000 kilometres and carried no fewer than 500 passengers. It has 1000 drivers on its platform.

    Similar milestone were reeled out recently by Gokada, which marked its forst year on the road recently. Other operators apart from these two are sprouting by the day, to cash in on the huge market caused by the perennial gridlocks that has made transportation a nightmare.

    The emergence of more organised fleet bicycle operators, have thrown a new spanner to the works as they all deploy machines that do not fall below the acceptable standards in running their shuttling business.

    Unlike the regular motorcycle operators, who have been forced out of business by the government, because of their use of low-capacity motorcycles, these new operators have a fleet of no less than 200cc engines which were approved under the Lagos State Traffic Law 2012, as permissible on its roads.

    Armed with the right kind of machine, the operators have claimed that they could go anywhere unmolested by the law enforcement agencies.

    While Maxokada promises a 70 per cent reduction in travel time on safe, and affordable motorcycle, known as Maxgo, Gokada on its website boasted it could get riders to any destination 50 per cent quicker than any closest road rival. Over the past four years, Maxokada, have also become the biggest logistics partner for major brands on its delivery service known as MaxNow.

    Life saving

    Though transportation and logistics experts are wont to agree that motorcycle, better known as para-transportation, is unknown to organised transportation system and would want it stamped out in Lagos, the “madness on the roads,” are making it alluring to those who needs timely delivery or requires fast-paced movement to move in the course of their business.

    With the Transportation Law 2012 in place, the government had restricted motorcycle drivers from plying major roads, highways and bridges. Eleven highways, 45 bridges and 502 roads were out of bound for them. The law also extends to tricycle operations.

    Operators of commercial motorcycles and tricycles, are expected to operate only the last mile, otherwise known as the inner city roads.

    According to the government, the enforcement of the law brought down the rate of motorcycle-related accident by as much as 70 per cent, and stopped its ugly underbelly of being used as getaway vehicle by armed robbers and other criminally-minded deviants.

    Instilling decorum

    Non- compliance with regulations, according to Safety Without Borders founder, Mr. Patrick Adenusi, could only be a recipe for disaster and a return to the state’s immediate ugly past where accident was the order of the day.

    He sided with Kola Egbeyemi led Task Force, for impounding 115 comercial motorcyclists recently.

    Like Egbeyemi, Adenusi believed operating on restricted routes, including the one-way around Ikeja, Ojota, and Maryland would further excercebate the traffic crisis to which the state has sunk.

    Egbeyemi differed, describing their operations as illegal. He wondered why they should be in business without valid documents or willingness to be regulated.

    “It was an eye-sore seeing operators of these newly branded commercial motorcycles (Gokada/Maxokada) competing for right of way with motorists on highways and bridges across the state,” he said.

    One of the arrested Gokada riders, Francis Ayeni, who claimed to pay N3000 daily to the firm, said they were not aware of any documentation with the government.

    Read also: Commercial motorcyclists, Police clash in Abuja

    Another arrested rider, Mr. Adebayo Adeniran, confirmed that he collected one of the newly branded commercial motorcycles Maxokada on hire purchase after presenting a guarantor.

    An indication that commercial motor cycle system has no place in the state’s transportation architecture is the fact that commercial motorcycle operation has no place in the state’s transportation master plan. The transportation policy being put together is silent on comercial motor cycle operation.

    An expert, Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah, insists that commercial motor cyclist has no place in the state’s transportation policy.

    He saidcommercial motor cycle operation is powered by poverty and unemployment, adding that though commercial motor cycle business remains the lowest end of the transportation business, it remains illegal and unacceptable as a means of transportation in a state aiming to operate a smart economy.

  • Tide against commercial motorcyclists, tricyclists

    With the arrest of no fewer than 150 commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, last week, the Lagos State Government may have reaffirmed its commitment to restricting their activities to last-mile shuttles, ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE writes

    Alhassan Ahmed, a salesman, was running out of time for a business meeting  in  Ota, Ogun State.

    It was about 1pm, when he left his office at Ikeja, Lagos. He had to make it to Ota by 3pm. He stood by the roadside, contemplating the fastest route out of the traffic bedlam at Ikeja, when he saw the Gokada rider, a commercial e-hail motorcycle operator, in black with green Gokada helmet.

    He flagged him down, and negotiated the trip. He agreed to the N1,200 demanded by the rider, mounted the bike and donned the helmet, which Gokada said is certified to the American Department of Transportation (DOT) standard. Within one and half hours, he was at the front desk of the company where he had the meeting. He was a bit ruffled, but quite on time.

    Since that experience, Ahmed said he had “become addicted to Gokada”.

    He added: “Except on Sundays, I don’t see the need to go out with my car again. I move around the city, on a motorcycle. It is fast and affordable for anyone who does not want to spend eternity in the perennial traffic that has made Lagos a pain in the neck for many commuters.”

    Ahmed’s testimony is one of the thousands, who have turned to this two-wheeler alternative to beat the gridlock, which has become a permanent feature of movement around the metropolis.

    Also, a social media networker, who wanted to be known as Yewande, said she had been taking Gokada everyday from Maryland, where she lives, to her Broad Street office, on Lagos Island. According to her, the risk associated with riding such a very long distance pales into insignificance when you imagine the alternative of spending a minimum of three to five hours in buses or a taxi. “I have simply stopped thinking of the risk. I just hop on it because it offers me the quickest option of reaching my destination, though it costs more,” she stated.

    In Lagos, two brands – Gokada and Maxokada – have become ubiquitous, seizing the space from local operators, who have almost been snuffed out of the business by security operatives.

    Andrew, who works in a media house at Apapa, said he alternates between Gokada and Maxokada daily in and out of Apapa’s perennial traffic gridlock. His dream is to buy a power bike, like some of his colleagues.

    Maxokada, which began operation in August 2015, said it has made over 300,000 kilometres and carried no fewer than 500 passengers.

    Same milestones were reeled out recently by Gokada, which celebrated its first year on Lagos roads last month. Such was the successes recorded by these operators that Gokada, for instance, is thinking of building a world- class testing and training centre in the state.

    The emergence of these operators, who operate an app supported hailing system has, undoubtedly, created a new paradigm in the state’s transportation architecture.

    Commuters have had to cope with the emergence of a new set of motor cycle operators, who are not only organised in their approach to the business, but are also deploying technology and higher-capacity engines to drive their commercial operations.

    Unlike the regular motorcycle operators, who use low-capacity motorcycles for commercial operations, and have been forced out of business by the government, which have been impounding their motor cycles since 2012, when it came up with its traffic law, these new operators are armed with high-capacity engines, usually from 200cc and above, which were approved by the Lagos State Traffic Law 2012, as permissible on its roads.

    Armed with the right kind of machine, the operators have claimed that they could go anywhere unmolested by the law enforcement agencies.

    The attraction that kept them in business remains capacity to maneuvre  traffic gridlock, thereby getting their patrons to their destination faster than the vehicular mode.

    While Gokada on its website boasted it could get riders to any destination 50 per cent quicker than any closest road rival, its rival, Maxokada promises a 70 per cent reduction in travel time on safe, and affordable motor cycle, known as Maxgo. “Gokada claims it travels 26 km/h inside traffic, while cars in Lagos traffic, travel at an average of 13 kilometre/hr.

    It also insisted that not only are its riders trained in defensive driving, they must pass driving as well as psychometric test before being allowed on the road.

    For Maxokada, besides the Maxgo, for passenger movement, it has introduced a delivery service known as Max Now, which makes moving goods, especially parcels, much easier and more affordable.

    Life saving

    Before the government took the drastic decision to restrict motor cycle operation, it had almost over run vehicular movement in the state.

    Though transportation and logistics experts are wont to agree that motor cycle, better known as para-transportation, is unknown to organise transportation system and they would not want it encouraged in Lagos, the first decade of the millennium almost pushed motor cycle operation to the point of obsession, as both state and the local governments officials and other top politicians, are giving motor cycles as empowerment items to young political party faithful who populate its ranks.

    The result was an alarming increase in accident rate across the state. Hospitals’ emergency sections, surgical and orthopedic wards are usually filled to the brim with victims of inexperienced riders, jumping to frightening proportion.

    With the Transportation Law 2012 in place, the government restrained from the banning of comercial motorcycle operations, as in Rivers and Delta states, but restricted them from plying major roads, highways and bridges. Eleven highways, 45 bridges and 502 roads were out of bound for them and any operator found on these restricted areas would have their motor cycle impounded with no benefit of retrieval. The law also extends to tricycle operations.

    Operators of commercial motor cycles and tricycles, are expected to operate only the last mile, otherwise known as the inner city roads.

    According to the government, the enforcement of the law brought down the rate of motorcycle related accident by as much as 70 per cent, and stopped its ugly underbelly of being used as getaway vehicle by armed robbers and other criminally-minded deviants.

    Instilling decorum

    That was why stakeholders agreed that though Gokada and Maxokada investors may have complied with the engine specification, and developed a more organised system to run motorcycle transit service, the government is right in bringing back the need to comply with the last-mile regulation. Non- compliance with regulations, according to Safety Without Borders founder, Mr. Patrick Adenusi, could only be a recipe for disaster and a return to the state’s immediate ugly past where accident was the order of the day.

    He sided with Egbeyemi, for impounding 115 comercial motorcyclists last week.

    Like Egbeyemi, Adenusi believed operating on restricted routes, including the one-way around Ikeja, Ojota, and Maryland would further excercebate the traffic crisis to which the state has sunk.

    Egbeyemi, however, disclosed that  of the 115 in its fleet, only 22 were branded Gokada and Maxokada.

    Egbeyemi also threw another controversy into the mix. While Gokada and Maxokada backers said they are engaged in legal businesses, Egbeyemi differed, describing their operations as illegal. He wondered why they should be in business without valid documents.

    The chairman reiterated that in accordance with the law, no commercial motorcycle operator is allowed to operate on the restricted routes, including highways and bridges across the state.

    Egbeyemi also enjoined the public to desist from patronising commercial motorcyclists on restricted routes as passengers are liable for prosecutions.

    “It was an eye-sore seeing operators of these newly branded commercial motorcycles (Gokada/Maxokada) competing for right of way with motorists on highways and bridges across the state,” he  said.

    One of the arrested Gokada riders, Francis Ayeni, who claimed to pay N3000 daily to the firm, said they were not aware of any documentation with the government.

    Another arrested rider, Mr. Adebayo Adeniran, confirmed that he collected one of the newly branded commercial motorcycles Maxokada on hire purchase after presenting a guarantor.

    An indication that commercial motor cycle system has no place in the state’s transportation architecture is the fact that commercial motorcycle operation has no place in the state’s transportation master plan. The transportation policy being put together is silent on comercial motor cycle operation.

    An expert, Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah, insists that commercial motor cyclist has no place in the state’s transportation policy.

    He saidcommercial motor cycle operation is powered by poverty and unemployment, adding that though commercial motor cycle business remains the lowest end of the transportation business, it remains illegal and unacceptable as a means of transportation in a state aiming to operate a smart economy.

    “Without doubt, the government has set the boundary beyond which no operator in the transportation industry should operate,” Bawa’Allah stated.

  • Managing land, waterway traffic by radio

    The start of train movements and waterways coverage, among others, on Lagos Traffic Radio last week may have set a paradigm shift in traffic planning that may help resolve gridlocks, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    The addition  of waterways and train movements reporting by Nigeria’s premier traffic radio station, Lagos Traffic Radio 96.1, established by the Lagos State Government, may have set a new tone in managing traffic patterns and movement advisory in and around Lagos, the nation’s economic nerve centre.

    Lagos State, with its 26.6 million people, is Africa’s fifth largest economy. Traffic gridlock on its roads, caused by over- concentration on vehicular movement for goods and passengers have thrown up the need to deploy technology and information in managing the traffic pattern.

    According to experts, road advisory by the radio station is meant to provide real time information on traffic situation to Lagosians and over the last seven years, virtually all residents of the state have had to rely almost exclusively on the state’s traffic radio.

    A resident, Akintayo Thomas, said only Google Map, an advisory platform, presently beats Traffic Radio in terms of timely information to road users, commuters and motorists about traffic situations, which in recent times, have become a nightmare to many residents.

    The station’s General Manager, Mr Tayo Akanle, said Traffic radio started seven years ago, with traffic coverage across the five divisions of the state.

    He said the station started broadcasting simultaneously in Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe, in 2011, adding that having won the hearts of Lagosians on vehicular transportation, extending its reach to the waterways, train and shipping advisory, seven years after its establishment, is to consolidate on its status as the pioneer in this specialised mode of radio broadcasting.

    Giving insight into how the new journey began, Akanle, who resumed at the station in September, last year, said after reviewing the station’s mandate, which clearly stipulated the coverage of all modes of transportation–road (vehicular, train), waterways and air, decided to extend its coverage to the other modes to further extend its coverage and “to offer our listeners a higher value for their time”.

    Coming, as the government is tinkering with transportation policy for the state, which among others recommended sensitisation and aggressive enlightenment operations, the radio may be pioneering the idea of using data and feedbacks to manage traffic patterns and gridlock across the state.

    At various fora, stakeholders have argued on the need for the government to take over the transportation industry from charlatans that populates its helms.

    Giving an insight into the origin of the journey, Akanle said: “After conceiving the idea, we invited the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA). We deliberated on how we can begin to create that awareness. We came up with the first step to train water guards and we trained water guard supervisors from 24 jetties and five terminals.”

    The training was to provide basic communication skills for those guards, who in turn are to provide basic information on movements on the waterways with boats and ferries that are privately owned, but regulated by LASWA.

    “After the training, we commenced the broadcasting with letting the water guards provide us with basic information, such as the number of boats or ferries available at a particular jetty, their destinations, their safety preparedness against hazards, and awareness creation to the waterways as a faster alternative of commuting.

    “All these information are being provided on all the jetties in Lagos State, so you can imagine that a boat from Ikorodu to Ebute Ero can spend between 15 to 20 minutes, whereas opting for road transportation may cost you between two to three hours. By creating the awareness it would help reduce vehicular movements or decongest our roads, and enhance their productivity. The operation started on February 25, they have started doing it the way we wanted them to do it,” Akanle said.

    He continued: “From 6am to 8am, the water guards would call into our station live, and report traffic activities on boats that are ready to move to different locations. For instance, from Ikorodu, boats move to Falomo, Apapa, Ebute Ero, CMS and Ajah, all from one location at Ipakodo Jetty. In Ikorodu, we have Ipakodo, Baiyeku, and Offin jetties. So, moving from that part of Lagos to other parts is now being covered live. And the feedback is that with enhanced travel time, productivity has improved from patrons as they can now achieve more than they could hitherto do.”

    Akanle said although the initiative is just a week old, the feedback has been very positive, as indication has shown that many who never knew about it  were showing interest in patronising the waterways.

    Akanle said: “For us, the bigger picture of water movement is through the development of all these other modes, so that when government eventually tapped into these sectors, our effective coverage would be seamless. People can move from Badagry to Apapa, from Badagry to Apapa, from Ipakodo to Apapa, from Baiyeku, Offin, all the way to Ebute Ero, Ebute Ojo and Falomo. We would like to see the deployment of barges on our waterways to address movement of goods and vehicles. The government has shown readiness to key into the water sector by building jetties and bringing ferries. Our initiative is to increase the people’s awareness that these options are available and are working and that government is working at making it more comfortable. We have also by this tried to optimise the value that we give people, not only on the road, but on other modes of transportation.”

    Added to this, according to Akanle, is rail coverage. Trains movement from Kajola, Ijoko to Apapa and the time of departure are being reported daily. The programme, which started the penultimate week, was as a result of healthy relationship with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, which supplied the station with the information being relayed to the people. “They gave us the fare, the originating train and destination and the time of movement, which gradually is helping Lagosians, who love to use the train to plan their travels. We relay live commentary of movement of train and this also started in February. We run it concurrently with flight schedules, we now do more of local flight schedule from Lagos to other parts of the country. We do these four times a day. We are trying to broaden our outlook and with this we have gained more audience and more revenue to our coffers,” Akanle said.

    Asked if the traffic radio have capacity to deliver on its mandate, he said the station believes it has, adding that the station would continue to work on its synegies with transportation related agencies to bring more exciting travel experience to Lagosians, using any of its modes of transportation. The station, Akanle said, is reaping massively from its collaboration with LASTMA, adding that it is looking ahead of greater success on the waterways as the waterguards would be performing similar roles covering the waterways for the station.

    He added that the station would continue to train all those to be deployed on reportorial skills, either on the waterways or train services. “We have even delved into shipping position to give information on the kinds of ships that would be berthing, even the kinds of commodity that they are bringing into the country. So that people would be aware of what is coming into the country. We are trying to cover all the modes that are within our mandate, not necessarily digressing and we are doing in concert with all the connected agencies. We have become a household name and we want to leverage that credibility. People rely on us to move around the state,” he said.

    Transportation and logistics stakeholders have said it is high time the state began to exploit its comparative advantage in waterways transportation. With over 70 per cent of its landmass covered with water, creeks and lagoons, Lagos, which is said to have about 143 kms of waterways, they argued, is better positioned to be a leader in waterways transportation.

    “On our water reporting, we are even trying to generate data, and we are seeing that the capacity of the water way is very massive if fully tapped. Our correspondents are also looking for the compliance to security measures on the waterways,” Akanle said.

    Industry watchers said more collaboration between LASWA and National Inland Waterways Agency (NIWA), could only be to the benefit of Lagosians, who both agencies are meant to protect.

    With the construction of modern jetties, the plan to dredge the waterways, bring in new ferries, and the massive removals of impediments on the waterways, there is no doubting where government focus is in terms of the development of the mode.

    Besides, Traffic Radio, Akanle, said is becoming the fastest growing community on social media, using the multi-platform approach. “We are bent on creating more awareness on how to achieve safer movements across all modes of transportation. We keep on increasing; we have done more than 100 per cent followership increase in the last six months.

    To put an end to gridlock, which he traced to impatience, Akanle said motorists and other road users should use the road responsibly. “If there’s traffic we should have the patience to follow through rather than jump lanes and drive against the traffic. One way of beating impatience is to leave your house early so that you can get to where you want to go to on time. There is also lane indiscipline and general bad driving attitude of commercial drivers. If all these are put on checks, Lagos roads may return to the days of old when roads are very pleasurable as reckless stopping at illegal places to drop and pick passengers, thereby constituting hindrance to free flow of traffic, would be a thing of the past. The only thing is a nagging doubt whether only radio campaign for attitudinal change alone can drive the change required to bring sanity to the road and the waterways.