Traffic snarls, something residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were once spared, have since caught up with them, putting them in foul mood, reports GBENGA OMOKHUNU
All it once took to cruise from one end of the city to another was scarcely more than 15 minutes. Now, commuters in the nation’s capital get locked up in traffic for hours. It hurts.
If there was any refreshing relief Abuja offered its residents and visitors, it was the atmosphere of order and calm, which was lacking in some other parts of the country. Not anymore. Traffic jams in the city are giving residents nightmares.
Road users in Abuja are experiencing frustration in strategic areas of the city especially very early in the working hours. According to findings, checkpoints mounted by the territory’s Road Traffic Service (RTS) and bad traffic lights contribute to the sad situation.
Motorists who spoke with Abuja Review expressed dissatisfaction with the traffic control situation, which they say was badly affecting their daily activities.
Time was when Abuja roads were not only very decent and neat, but also largely free of heavy traffic. Major junctions were then serviced with functional traffic lights or traffic wardens. The streets were well paved. High sanitary standards were also maintained. The city smelled fresh. Now traffic snarls have crept in and made driving through parts of the city a horrible nightmare.
A commuter, Kadijat Abu said she had witnessed several checkpoints either by the RTS or the police.
She said: “Recently, a cab I boarded to Area 3, Garki almost had a head-on collision with another vehicle close to the National Defence College. The traffic lights showed green on all the stands at the same time, resulting in a maddening rush.”
A transporter, who shuttles between Berger and Wuse, said the deteriorating traffic situation is not making transportation business lucrative anymore as so many traffic lights in major areas of the city are no longer in working condition, adding, “This has led to constant gridlock, especially during morning rush hours with or without the presence of traffic wardens. Motorists feel more obliged to obey traffic lights than the wardens.”
John Odo, a commuter said: “Here at Bolingo Junction, traffic lights are not working and we have to wait for direction from the wardens who are not accurate sometimes, the situation is just very bad. The problem is not only that the traffic lights are not working but that the ones working are not strategically positioned. Where is the wisdom in putting about three traffic lights on a street? For example, Mississippi Street in Maitama has about four traffic lights. The traffic situation there coupled with the many intersections can only be imagined.”
It is not only the malfunctioning traffic lights that are making driving on Abuja roads an ordeal.
For those entering the city from the airport at night, the expanse of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Road, otherwise known as Airport Road, is only lit by head lamps of moving vehicles.
For months, some of the street lights on this major road that serves as the gateway to the city centre have not been working.
Abuja as the federal capital city, was created 40 years ago on February 4, 1976. It became Nigeria’s capital on December 12, 1991, when Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria’s then military president, took the seat of government from Lagos.
Abuja is divided into two parts. The entire territory is made up of 8000 square kilometres: 250 square kilometres of this is the federal capital city including Garki, Maitama, and Asokoro.
The remaining portion is made up of satellite towns where the majority of residents reside.
It can be recalled that a few weeks to the end of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, the capital City witnessed what most residents called an 11th hour’ fresh installation of traffic lights, in a move which seemed very suspicious.
Some of the new installations were at Jabi, Utako, Kado, Gwarimpa, Garki, Maitama, Asokoro, Kubwa and some satellite towns. The project was commissioned by the then FCT minister, Mohammed Bala.
However, since Muhammad Musa Bello assumed office as the 16th minister of the Federal Capital Territory, little has been done to improve the street and traffic light situation.
In fact, many of the existing ones broke down or started malfunctioning.
Abuja, ‘the fastest growing city in Africa’, as modelled by its creators, is gradually becoming a sharp contrast of its original plan. The infrastructure and public utilities in the city are deteriorating as the authorities seemed helpless.
According to the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 776,298, making it one of the ten most populous cities in Nigeria.
According to the United Nations, Abuja grew at the rate of 139.7% between 2000 and 2010.
With this development FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello said a solution to the traffic congestion in the Federal Capital City has been found.
Bello told Abuja Review during one of his functions that part of the solution is the construction of the southern part of the Abuja Parkway in 2017 while vowing that the traffic light issued will be looked into and rectified.
According to him, this 10-lane six-kilometer road will reduce the traffic problems in the city.
He also highlighted the many reasons for the construction of this project.
He said, “The Abuja Parkway project will be included in the 2017 budget because it is a very critical road that can reduce traffic problems in the city. One of the major concerns I share with you is the fact that I’m very worried about the condition of the road leading to your office. As a matter of fact, two nights ago, I went through the road quietly just to assess it and see the situation of things. We are trying to work toward ensuring that the 2017 budget takes care of that road.
“It is our intention is to continue the road that is under construction from the National Christian Centre, cross the Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, going by the side of your premises through AGIS and bursting out in Ring Road I by Gudu District. That is a very critical road within the city that we hope if it is completed will ease vehicular movement and also give people an option so that we can reduce the traffic congestion that we experience currently in the city centre,” he said.
It is the hope of residents that things will change as time goes on in the nation’s capital.
