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Tag: Lagos roads

  • Neglected Lagos roads

    Neglected Lagos roads

    Sir: The condition of some inner roads in Lagos is nothing short of disappointing. These roads, which connect homes to major highways, are heartbreaking. It is as though the people who use them every day don’t matter.

    The truth is, this is an issue particular to all states in Nigeria. So, whatever I am going to say applies to all other states. The situation in Lagos might even be way better than all the other states, but I want to talk about Lagos because it is where I reside. It impacts me directly.

    To be clear, there are areas where inner roads are in good condition; others have been reconstructed, and some are undergoing construction, at least from a few conversations I have had. Credit must go to those responsible for the progress. But this piece is not about those.

    This is about inner roads that remain neglected, particularly in areas like Ajao Estate, Ejigbo, Oke Afa, Alimosho, Ikotun, and their environs. These are not just obscure parts of Lagos; hundreds of thousands of people live in these places, work and do business there. Yet, in too many corners, the roads have muddy puddles, uneven surfaces, and look more like war zones.

    Read Also: Nigeria needs $100bn annually to hit 2050 GDP target — FG

    Do we even realise the damage these roads do? Mechanics have become more familiar than friends, while incomes are already stretched thin by the harsh economy. And where are the councillors of these areas in all of this? What are our local government chairmen in these areas doing, if anything? They seem to have gone on an extended holiday. I think it’s time we paid closer attention to local government elections, which, by the way, are scheduled to be held in July in Lagos. The people we put in these offices wield real power to improve our day-to-day lives, or ignore us completely. Why does it feel like inner roads fall outside their radar? They now receive direct allocations, so what’s the excuse?

    The Lagos State Public Works Corporation also needs to step up its efforts. Are they even present in these areas, because their presence is barely noticeable? The inner roads are not just bad, they are not motorable. And during the rainy season? They become a soggy, slippery mess and a very serious health risk.

    I think we underestimate the power of good inner roads to ease traffic. If these roads were in better condition, more people would confidently use them as alternatives to the main roads. Traffic would be spread out. Commutes would be shorter. Life would be easier. But because these inner roads are unusable, everyone is forced to clog up the same few major highways every morning and evening.

     For example, the traffic from Canoe to Airport Road is often a frustrating crawl. It could be significantly eased if the inner connecting roads in and around Ajao Estate, Oke-Afa, and beyond were in good condition. People would have more route options. And let us not forget the security risks. When roads are abandoned (and poorly lit), they become breeding grounds for crime. Small businesses also suffer as delivery riders refuse to enter certain areas, and customers stay away. How many times have you heard, “Oga, I no fit enter that road” while booking an Uber? It’s a common refrain, and it shouldn’t be.

    The Lagos State government must start treating inner roads as a critical part of development, not an afterthought. People live on these roads, and they deserve better.

    Fixing inner roads is not just about cars. It’s about health, safety, and dignity. It’s about time.

    •Chiechefulam Ikebuiro chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com

  • Loonies on Lagos roads

    If education is expensive, goes that popular quip, try ignorance!  If a penalty is “harsh”, have folks considered how grave and grievous the offence or infraction may have been?

    Since the Lagos government, under new Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, rolled out a new zero-tolerance-for-traffic-offences temper, a good part of Lagos has hit its default setting — the default setting of I’d-rather-toy-and-make-an-ass-of-the-law, since I could always get away with it!  Hence, these-penalties-are-too-harsh lamentation all over the place.

    Well, even assuming without conceding (as lawyers are wont to say) that the traffic penalties are indeed harsh, how is that the headache of anyone who doesn’t intend to break the law?

    Maybe a passionate pitch for perhaps the victim that accidentally breached the law without intending to?  Or perhaps the notorious bad faith, which is never far from Nigerian law enforcers, this time the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) cadres?  Hardly without merit!

    Read Also: Photos: floods take over Lagos roads

    Still, the “harsh” mindset appears coming folks who are daily captives to traffic terror by lowly Okada and  Keke Marwa operators; and yet would be the first to raise their voice against facing down the menace.

    Imagine: those reckless commercial bus and private drivers whose lack of consideration for other road users has morphed into a culture of brazen outlawry on Lagos roads, yearly claiming invaluable costs in lost lives, severed limbs.

     

    Or those outlaws, commercial and private drivers, that routinely dent your car by reckless driving, cock-sure begging and rank sentiments would make you pay for their own recklessness?

    Or even those lunatics that drive their Okada, flush against traffic, on a major expressway,  from which they have been outlawed?  Or their kindreds, at Ojota, that ram their bikes against the high median, crossing from one side of the expressway to another, risking not only their lives but those of other law-abiding road users?

    These are the unfazed outlawry on Lagos roads the new government must face down.  Any modern economy must rein in the conduct of its road users.  Anarchy on the road, which leads to losses running into billions of Naira yearly, can’t be a part of the agenda for a city-state, which had no choice but becoming a thriving,  modern and sane mega-city, by virtue of its thumping population.

    The fight against traffic outlawry in Lagos is four years behind schedule.  Former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode tried his best and made his own mark.  But  he near-completely lost it on the road, by trying to play the gentleman, going soft on traffic anarchists, thereby rolling back the hard-earned gains of the Babatunde Fashola years.

    Order must be brought back to Lagos roads, even in the most outlying inner roads.  But you can’t do this by pandering to rank sentiments.

    Still, the Lagos government must ensure the LASTMA troopers are above board in the conduct of their duties.  That it should ensure by constant and effective monitoring to weed out the bad eggs.

  • Resolving gridlock on Lagos roads

    Will a formal policy improve transportation architecture in Lagos State? The government says yes, writes
    ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    THE huge financial cost of gridlocks on Lagos roads was grimly painted by Patrick Adenusi, Founder, Safety Without Borders.

    According to Adenusi, if only 100,000 vehicles are held up in traffic and each driver buys N1,000 fuel, they would have spent N100 million daily. If this is done for just 20 days only, no less than N2 billion would have gone into extra fueling alone in a month, and N48 billion in a year.

    Adenusi said: “Such amount spent to sustain traffic daily, in Lagos, is wasted.” He canvassed that the government take steps to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians by attending to all the factors that promote gridlocks, such as bad road networks, the completion of ongoing road expansions, the declaration of a state of emergency on the roads and the activation of the public bus reform being  worked on by the Akinwunmi Ambode government.

    Under the bus reform project, 5000 buses are slated to be injected into the transportation system in the next five years. Already, 850 medium and large-capacity buses acquired by the government to kickstart the public transportation system would roll out next month.

    Adenusi, who spoke at the presentation of Lagos State’s draft transportation policy, earlier in the month, urged the government to be firm on enforcement of traffic regulations.

    The safe road campaigner said Lagos is home to the most brazen undisciplined drivers, as a result of poor enforcement.

    He said no union should constitute itself into a lord on the road, if law enforcers are not compromised.

    “The government should stop giving excuses for their failures to sanitise the roads. No driver or union should constitute himself or itself into a law on the road; otherwise, the government should fold up and allow self-help by all road users,” Adenusi added.

    Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) official Mr Babatunde Ruwase at another forum  shared some thoughts on road regulations enforcement as a major panacea to gridlocks in the state.

    Ruwase, who was represented by Mrs Johanna Maduka, said the government should place high premium on the quality of drivers on its roads.

    “A trained driver is key to safer roads and reduction of crashes on our roads. He is also critical to driving the transportation sector in the age of smart city where almost everything, including transportation, is driven by technology,” Maduka said.

    The LCCI’s position on driving sanity into Lagos roads was strongly canvassed at the workshop on “promoting road safety in a smart city through continuous driver education,” which the Ministry of Transportation held for drivers operating in the state in collaboration with the chamber.

    Unveiling the transportation policy document, the chairman and lead consultant to the project, Prof Kayode Oyesiku, said the policy was in draft form to enable more robust contributions by all stakeholders in the transportation industry, looking at the gamut of the sector – road, rail, water, air, and pipeline transportation.

    He said: “Though the document had been put together by seasoned experts and technocrats of over three decades, whose expertise spanned all the modes of the sector, they have thrown the outcomes open for more debate, to get more input from other operators to make the document more robust.”

    He expressed the view that when the document is eventually adopted, it will ensure that all the sectors comply with international security and safety standards.

    One of such experts, who have spent over 50 years in the state’s transportation sector, is Dr Tajudeen Bawa’Allah. He described the draft policy as a landmark, and thanked God for permitting him to be alive and for being part of the five experts who put the document together.

    Bawa’Allah, who said Lagos’ transportation system began as a family business, said a handful of operators had been on the scene until the coming of the Osinowo Transport, and the Elias Transport in 1915 and the coming of the Sapaz family Transport in 1926.

    He added that the Lagos Town Council later acquired the Sapaz Transport, thereby signifying the state’s and Nigeria’s first transport service named Lagos Municipal Transport Service.

    “When Lagos State was created in 1968, the Lagos Municipal Transport Service was changed to Lagos Transport Service Limited (LTSL), which later became Lagos State Transport Corporation (LSTC), and then Lagos Bus Assets Company, operators of the LAGBUS.

    Bawa’Allah said the new policy, which sought to streamline all transportation modes also seek to regulate the sector. According to him, not only was the use of motorcycle outlawed as a means of public transportation, adding that they are regarded as para-transportation system.

    He said one of the initiatives of his team in the document is the recommendation of the creation of Lagos State Transport Authority (LSTA), the regulator of transport systems and operators in the state.

    Bawa’Allah insisted the LSTC Building being used by the LASTMA be renamed Transport House, adding that all agencies as well as the regulator of the transportation sector should have an office.

    The LSTC house was built by Bawa’Allah in 1983 when he was the LSTC Managing Director.

    Presenting his input into the rail system Dr Alade of the University of Lagos said though the until recent modernisation initiative of the Federal Government, the nation’s march in the railway sector had been rather sluggish (since 1898, when the British started the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan railway line), said with a population of over 26 million, Lagos has a  huge cargo and passenger traffic on which a viable railway system could thrive.

    He said though the state’s journey into the rail metroline system, which was kicked off by the Alhaji Lateef Jakande on July 16, 1983, was aborted, by the Federal Government, the state has continued to suffer gridlocks as a result of its poor inter-modality of transportation.

    He listed as challenges that must be frontally tackled, poor integration of its land use and the poor integration of transportation systems.

    On Pipeline Transportation Dr Bolaji Olaseni said Lagos, with five  percent of the 5,200 kms of Nigeria’s pipeline, said Lagos could raise its stake in pipeline transportation to about 15 percent as an oil producing state.

    On the Aviation Transportation, the team said the state, which is coming up with its own airport on the Lekki corridor, has the potential of becoming the hub for economic activity in the sub-region with a technology driven airport for passenger and cargo services.

    According to the team, the airport could effectively compete with the local airport owned by the Federal Government.

    Lagos State University School of Transportation Studies (LASU STS)  Dean Prof Samuel Odewunmi, whose team worked on Institutional Framework for the new policy said the government must work on synchronising all the operations of  agencies in the transportation industry.

    Odewunmi argued that a seamless operation of all agencies and the coordination of transportation activities in the state, under a regulatory agency LSTA, would help bring sanity to transportation in the state, as well as deepen the its strategic transportation masterplan, which must continue to be coordinated by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Area (LAMATA).

    Transportation Commissioner Ladi Lawanson, who described the event as “a new dawn,” said the forum was to enable the consultants working on the document to collate the stakeholders’ opinions of the policy.

    “The document is in tandem with the government’s avowed commitment to continual improvement of the citizens’ welfare as it touches on other modes of transportation, hitherto, unfathomed in the state’s transportation subsector.

    Lawanson said the policy designed to address the challenges plaguing the transport sector occasioned by the rapid population growth and migrants from other parts of the country, was vital to the growth of the state and will ensure the development of the transport sector in light of the realities of the global/national economy and state fiscal situation.

    According to him, transportation plays a significant role in shaping and growing economies and in this case the Lagos economy.  He said the policy will set the state on a better course.

    He said the document would provide the framework within which transport infrastructure and services in the state can be used efficiently utilised.

    “This will lead to a safe and environmentally-friendly manner of operations capable of buoying the private sector’s confidence to invest in,” he said.

    Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary Dr. Olufemi Salaam said it would complement the initiatives being put together by the government to promote safe and affordable public transportation.

    He also stated that the Ministry is  negotiating with Industrial Bank for the Transport Trust Fund to help transporters meet set standards.

  • Cleric decries parking of trailers on Lagos roads

    THE Dean of Apapa Deanery, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, the Very Rev. Monsignor Anthony Einle, has urged the government to stop the parking of trailers on roads in Apapa and its environs.

    Rev Erinle, who addressed reporters in Amukoko, Lagos said: “We, the Christians, living in Apapa, Olodi-Apapa, Ajegunle, Kirikiri and Amukoko decry and express our utmost displeasure over the blockage of our roads, streets, houses, shops, churches, among others, by drivers who park trucks, trailers, tankers and other heavy duty vehicles on the roads. This action is causing danger to our lives.”

    He said hoodlums, popularly called area boys, hid in the parked vehicles and containers, attacking residents.

    “We have recorded cases of killing, stealing and robbery, among others. Miscreants and cultists have taken over our streets. They perpetrate evil by raping young girls, stealing money, phones and other belongings”, Erinle said.

    He said it is difficult to drive freely on the roads, as they are blocked by the parked vehicles, adding that doctors and others on essential duties find it difficult to operate.

    According to him, Catholic priests, pastors and other clerics find it almost impossible to carry out evangelizing because of the blocked roads.

    Rev Erinle said the streets had been damaged, drainage blocked by refuse, thus flood is imminent, as the rainy season is fast approaching.

    He said the entrances to churches had been blocked by the trucks and containers.

    “If we tell the drivers not to park their vehicles in front of our churches, they become violent. These heavy duty vehicles are run on diesel and petrol. Parking them in residential areas is risky, as fire may break out. Residents are exposed to health hazards, as they inhale carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other combustion products on a daily basis,” the cleric said.

    He appealed to the local, state and federal governments to stop the drivers from parking vehicles on the roads.

  • Gridlock: Lagos Assembly calls for intensive traffic control by LASTMA

    Owing to perenial gridlock on Lagos roads, the State House of Assembly has urged Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to direct officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) to intensify traffic control in the state.

    According to the Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, the traffic situation in the state has become worrisome.

    The Speaker,  who raised the matter on the floor of the House during plenary yesterday, said it was the responsibility and duty of the state government to ensure free flow of traffic in the state.

    “This is one of the duties of LASTMA. We should call on LASTMA and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to order the leaders of LASTMA to ensure free flow of traffic in the state.

    “LASTMA officials should stop folding their arms, while motorists and okada riders do whatever they like on the roads. Any official that fails to perform his or her duty should be sanctioned. We need to take adequate steps on this,” he said.

    The Speaker also ordered the clerk of the House, Mr. Azeez Sanni to write the family of the LASTMA official, Adeyemo Rotimi that was killed by an officer of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Joseph Oki in Iyana Ipaja area of the state in November 2018.

    He added that that the House Committee on Transport should pay a courtesy call on the family of the deceased.

    “Something must be done about the gridlock all the same. The LASTMA officials are paid salaries. We know that this is Yuletide period, but we must ensure that there is free flow of traffic in the state.

    “We will write the Governor to call on LASTMA and VIS to ensure free flow of traffic on all our roads in Lagos State while motorists should also obey traffic laws.

    “We sympathize with LASTMA for losing one of their personnel, and we want the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state to initiate a process of compensation for the family of the deceased,” he said.

    It will be recalled that a police inspector attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Ikeja allegedly shot dead an official with the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) while controlling traffic on Wednesday 28, November, 2018.

    Read Also: LASTMA officials as endangered species

    Sources said that the LASTMA official, named Adeyemo Rotimi, was shot dead at Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos.

    The LASTMA official was shot dead when he challenged the policeman, identified as Joseph Oki, for disobeying traffic rules.

    The victim, popularly known as ‘Baba Ibeji’, had stopped the police inspector who was driving a cream coloured Highlander jeep with registration number plate LSR 277 BJ to allow free flow of traffic.

    It was gathered that the LASTMA official reportedly scolded the policeman for flouting traffic rules.

    According to sources, the policeman, who felt insulted by Adeyemo’s warning, allegedly pulled a pistol and shot the LASTMA official in the eye, killing him on the spot.

    In his contribution to the matter, the Chief Whip, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (Shomolu 2) advised that residents of the state should behave themselves on the road.

    Abiru stated that the vehicles on the roads are not all owned by the government, adding that this is ember period and that there are more activities in Lagos.

    Also contributing, Hon. Bisi Yusuf (Alimosho 1)  said that the manhour lost on the road is much. “We should appeal to the state government to return the power of LASTMA because they cannot arrest traffic offenders now. The way LASTMA officials are killed on our roads is inhuman.

    “Just three weeks ago, a LASTMA official stopped a vehicle that was going on one way, then a police officer shot the LASTMA official at close range. The state government should give LASTMA power as it happens in others places. They have been subjected to serious humiliation,” he said.

    The Leader of the House, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade stated that it would be proper if the letter of condolence was handed over to the family of the deceased LASTMA official by the Chairman of the House Committee on Transport.

    He said that the FSARS officer, who shot the LASTMA officer should be sanctioned post humously. “We should demand on behalf of the LASTMA family that died that the police should compensate members of his family,” he said.

  • Police launch operation to restore sanity on Lagos roads

    The Lagos State Police Command yesterday declared war against traffic offenders in the state, particularly those who drive against traffic.

    Te Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal  said the ‘Operation Restore Sanity in Lagos’ is to ensure all motorists, no matter their status in the society to adhere to traffic rules, or have their vehicles impounded. The exercise, according to the command boss, is expected to begin today, between 6am and 6pm.

    At a meeting with stakeholders comprising members of transport unions and other traffic agencies, at the Police Officers Wives, POWA hall, Ikeja, Edgal, disclosed that 650 policemen had been deployed to man and arrest offenders at designated routes in Lagos.

    He said any motorist, motorcyclist or tricyclist, be he private or commercial, caught driving against traffic or found without driver’s licence, will be arrested. Lamenting the menace caused by traffic offenders in Lagos, Edgal said “the impunity with which traffic laws are being flouted has called for caution and it won’t be acceptable anymore, even with law enforcement officers. Lagosians and visitors disobey traffic laws as regards driving against traffic, driving on BRT lanes and driving without required documents. We must collectively fight this in order to restore orderliness on our roads”.

  • Task Force gives trucks till Monday to quit Lagos roads

    From Monday, articulated vehicles without call-up cards from the ports will be cleared off Lagos roads and bridges, the Presidential Joint Task Force on the Apapa gridlock said yesterday.

    The task force Chairman, Commodore Okon Eyo, said at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT in Apapa, that enforcement took this long because the team was waiting for terminal operatorsto buid holding bays.

    He said: “Before now we have been holding meetings to see how these things could be resolved. We are going to return empty containers that are on trucks to the holding bays from Monday. Containers bearing trucks should no longer proceed directly to the port because that is not the best practice.

    “From the holding bays, management of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), terminal operators and shipping agencies should work together to generate call-ups from the holding bays. Operatives on the road will start checking the call-ups from Monday and it will be better that these trucks comply.

    “I do not want to think that they will not comply because sanctions will be meted out to them.”

    Eyo said errant truck owners would be sanctioned.

    Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Chairman Ayoola Fatai lamented that residents suffered a lot from the gridlock.

    He said he offered 26 hectares for the building of container terminal.

    The NPA, he claimed, rejected the offer because it was not allowed to build such a facility near a existing port.

    His Apapa Local Government counterpart Elijah Owolabi urged the government to work towards easing traffic in the area.

    Many of the truck owners blamed the terminal operators and the shipping companies for the problems. They said terminal operators were not ready to receive trucks as when due.

    Amalgamation of Truck Owners Association Chairman Mr. Olaleye Thompson said truck owners were not being carried along, adding that they requested to be included in the task force, but they were rejected.

    He said: “We the truckers know the problem and how to solve it. The solution is that our people should parley with the task force to tell them how the problems could be solved. Secondly, we should prioritise some days for the containers and see how the truck should be going to the ports on designated days.”

  • Ending menace of tankers, trucks on Lagos roads

    Despite all efforts to stop them, tankers and containerised trucks have for years converted Lagos roads and bridges to illegal parks, causing intractable traffic gridlock and throwing commuters and residents into untold hardship. But, the Lagos State Government and stakeholders are determined to dislodge them through ‘Operation Restore Sanity on Lagos Roads’ which begins in the early hours of today. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE, PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU and ROBERT EGBE report.

    For many years, commuters and residents of Apapa and environs have suffered horrendous bedlam. No thanks to indiscriminate parking by drivers and owners of articulated vehicles moving in and out of the sea ports.

    They had watched helplessly as truck and tanker drivers took over all the routes leading into the axis, leaving their vehicles on the bridges and streets, thus blocking access routes, unmindful of the implications of their actions.

    Gradually, Apapa, which hitherto, boomed with businesses during the day and a beehive of social activities during nightfall, started crumbling. Business concerns started relocating their headquarters off the area, while nightclubs and other relaxation spots began to wind up. Tenants who could afford relocation started moving out as the once booming region gradually lost its steam.

    Little care was paid to the cries of the residents until the truck drivers developed further wings, stretching to occupy major highways and bridges. From Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, they extended to Western Avenue into Mobil Road and then Ikorodu Road up to Eko Bridge, Lagosians wasted several hours in gridlock orchestrated by these articulated vehicles.

    Aside the traffic, it was gathered that most of these drivers, who were usually armed with knives and other dangerous weapons, usually attack road users at night, dispossessing them of valuables.

    Tales have been told of how pregnant women being rushed to hospitals died in Apapa traffic because of the blocked access. There have also been instances where motorists suffered traffic-induced heart attacks and died on steering.

    However, each time the state government tried to rid them off the bridges and major roads, the drivers, particularly, those under the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) unit of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), who embark on national strike, thus leading to fuel scarcity and forcing the government to relax enforcement.

    The Nation learnt that the traffic gridlock worsened on Monday following a 10-day suspension of four major shipping lines by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The suspension which took effect from July 14 affected four major firms – Maersk, Cosco Shipping, APS and Lansal.

    Others factors include bad roads, port concessioning and alleged over-charging of truck drivers by port authorities as demurrage, among others.

     

    Residents, business

    owners frustrated

     

    The indiscriminate parking articulated vehicles on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway affect Oliver Eze in two major ways – they block access to his electronics shop at Berger area, off the expressway, thereby warding off customers and they cost him friends and neighbours at his Kirikiri Town, Apapa resident.

    Eze told The Nation that some of his neighbours, who could not cope with the chaotic traffic, have moved out.

    He said: “Some houses in my area are empty, because of the roads.”

    Emeka Azubuike’s car dealership is just a few metres away. His problems are similar.

    Azubuike said: “Everywhere is blocked. Making sales has not been easy since these trucks started parking here some months ago. Buyers used to stop here by themselves, walk in and buy vehicles. But, now, we have to go out and persuade them to come and look at the cars. After buying, we beg and beg the tanker drivers before they allow us to move customers’ cars out of this place.”

    Eze and Azubuike’s plight, just like that of other Lagosians, is the result of the about 13,000 trucks and tankers parked illegally in parts of the nation’s commercial hub.

     

    Tankers’ plight

     

    Even the tanker drivers are not happy about the situation. But, they are helpless.

    Godwin Efiko stood beside his container-laden Mac Truck on the Mile 2 section of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, inward Tin Can Island/Apapa. He peered at the endless rows of articulated vehicles parked bumper to bumper ahead of and behind him.

    “I joined the queue at Second Rainbow Bus Stop on Wednesday morning and I have been here since Wednesday night,” the Abi, Cross River State-born native said yesterday with a sigh.

    Efiko’s destination is the same as other trucks’: the Tin Can or Apapa ports.

    But it does not look like he or any of the other drivers around him will get there anytime soon. Some of them were seen chatting on the pavement beside their trucks or buying food from hawkers.

    “May God help us,” Efiko said, clambering back into the vehicle to begin another round of waiting.

    His closest neighbour, who identified himself only as Moroof, was only a few metres away in the next vehicle.

    Moroof’s left foot was on the window of his truck as he leaned into his seat, listening to the radio. He seemed resigned to his fate.

    According to him, he joined the queue on Sunday at Cele Bus Stop.

    Pointing at the distance ahead of him, Moroof said: “If they can help us to fix Berger Road, the line will move faster.”

     

    Causes of gridlock

     

    According to the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Taiwo Olufemi Salaam, there are 65 tank farms in the Apapa axis, each loading between 100-200 tankers every day.

    Salaam said: “Imagine each of the 65 tank farms loading 200 tankers daily, that is about 13,000 tankers every day. The other illegal activity the tank farm operators do in that axis is that if they have the capacity to load 200 tankers, they would go and collect money from drivers and call in 500 tankers and where are you loading the 300 extra. The remaining 300 would be on the road.

    “We have tried so many times to sanitise the system but what we have seen is that this is a syndicated issue. What we have seen is that people are staying in Abuja and causing us problems in Lagos. We don’t care anymore; we are determined to clean them up; let them invite us to Abuja so that we would be able to sort out this menace.”

     

    Lagos talks tough

     

    To Salaam, the vehicular menace was unacceptable. H said: “The situation at the ports which has locked up the roads and bridges in Lagos is totally unacceptable to this government. The Lagos State Government has given them a long rope and it seems they are taking us for granted.

    “A situation where people would not be able to get to their homes and spend long hours on the road is unacceptable. They have given their sovereignty to the government to protect them and that is what we are determined to do.

    “A situation whereby accidents occur at will with all the monies we are spending on equipment and road infrastructure to reduce crashes on our roads is unacceptable.”

    According to him, the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) are to blame.

    Salaam said: “The problem is with the Nigeria Shippers Council and the Ports Authority. They are the regulators but it looks as if they are helpless to check this crisis.

    “They have two main entries; the first entry has six gates and the second has eight gates at each point. They locked all but one, so, at each of the two entries, they are using only one gate.

    “Last week they did not operate at all because they had an issue with the workers who went on strike, and that led to the backflow along Western Avenue and Ikorodu Road. As we speak now, that thing has back flowed up to Iyana Itire. What will happen tomorrow, only God can really know.

    “Therefore, we need to take the bull by the horn, and deal with them. By tomorrow night, by 00.00 hour, which is 12 midnight, we are going to start operation.”

     

    End in sight

     

    Despite the hardships, the government has assured of respite in the nearest future. Salaam said: “We are cleaning them up. By 12 midnight on Thursday (yesterday), we are going to begin ‘Operation Clean Lagos Up’.

    “We are going to clean Lagos of these tankers and trucks menace on our roads and bridges. We will not let the cat out of the bag, but definitely we are doing something and by Sunday night, Lagosians would be able to move freely anywhere thy want to go within the state.

    “We as a government cannot go and operate at the port because it is a federal territory. We are not the one clearing the shipping companies. All the shipping companies are under the Shippers Council and  apart from the dry cargoes, we also have the wet cargoes.”

     

    Restoring sanity

     

    The police and relevant stakeholders also assured Lagos residents that steps were being taken to address the lockdown occasioned by the activities of the truck drivers.

    This assurance came with the announcement of a joint stakeholder operation, ‘Restore Sanity,’ billed to have kicked-off at midnight.

    The joint operation was one of the decisions reached at a stakeholders’ meeting on the lingering bedlam triggered by the movements of articulated vehicles in and outside Apapa.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting yesterday, Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said 1,000 cops would be deployed for the operation.

    The meeting, which was held at the command headquarters in Ikeja, had in attendance representatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Amalgamation of Container Truck Owners Association, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Association of Transport Operators (NATO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), among others.

    Aside the 1,000 policemen, LASTMA would supply 500 officials, FRSC volunteered 120 personnel, NSCDC will supply 100, 250 personnel from the military and 50 each from NUPENG, NARTO and amalgamated truck owners’ association.

    Also, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) would provide necessary equipment for the operation as well as deploy 20 officials throughout the exercise.

     

    An unacceptable

    national disaster

     

    Edgal described the Apapa gridlock as a national disaster that has raised major concerns, adding that the operation was necessary to prevent complete breakdown of law and order.

    He attributed the situation to the sorry state of federal roads, bridges linking the ports, port operational problems, activities of tank farms and shipping lines, who do not have holding bays as stipulated by law, diversion orchestrated by ongoing construction, among others.

    Edgal said it was gratifying that all stakeholders unanimously agreed that the operation should commence with immediate effect, while the NPA and other relevant agencies work to fashion out permanent solution to the issues within the Ports which gave rise to the gridlock.

    He said: “Everybody is aware of the madness going on on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway that has been completely blocked by trailers and tankers. The same problem we have on our bridges in Western Avenue, Iganmu and Apapa axis.

    “However, it would be irresponsible of us to continue to watch and allow Lagosians go through these period of untold hardship without coming up with strong palliative, security measures and strong joint effort to at least, ease the traffic problem and allow for free flow, while agencies that are responsible for these problems sit together like I hear they are doing currently and fashion out permanent solutions.

    “We have held series of meetings between yesterday (Wednesday) and today (Thursday) and we have come up immediately with a resolve to start ‘Operation Restore Sanity On Lagos Roads’.

    “This operation which kicks off by early hours of Friday (today) is intended to move trucks and containers from our roads, highways and bridges to designated locations.

    “Thereafter, inventory will be made. The shipping companies themselves will be called to send their representatives to take inventory of these containers and at least have records that the containers have been taken to the designated locations so that they can continue their activities from there.

    “One thousand policemen would be deployed to move trucks and containers from bridges and roads to designated locations for ease of traffic. This operation needs a lot of manpower and requires cooperation of all sectors in charge of transport.

    “Between now and Monday, there will be free movement of motorists and Lagosians will have easy access to their works and homes.

    “On Monday, we will go to another level of engagement with relevant authorities so that we do not have a repeat.”

    The police commissioner appealed to maritime workers to shelve their planned strike, adding that they should put the country first.

    LASTMA’s General Manager, Olawale Musa, assured that normalcy and order would soon be restored, adding that his personnel had fully been mobilised.

    He said: “Just to tell Lagosians that as a government, we are very responsive and for a situation that is beyond our control and not our doing, we are nonetheless making all efforts to ease the problem.

    “We are on ground and we are going to ensure that sanity is restored on our roads. If the people are suffering, we are also suffering because for me to get to Apapa is a big problem to access the road but with all stakeholders coming together to solve these problems, we assure Lagosians that very soon we are going to restore order.”

     

    Moving forward

     

    National President of AMARTO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi backed the government’s efforts to solve the problem, noting bad roads as a major constraint to their operations.

    Ogungbemi said: “Virtually all roads within and outside Lagos State are very bad and we are hereby calling on the National Assembly to amend all relevant laws that would make it possible for the Federal Government to cede all its roads within the state to the state government. If this is done, the state would be able to ensure adequate maintenance.

    “Secondly, the environment under which we operate is very volatile and unconducive for truck owners and drivers. Our drivers spend time to come to Lagos ports and stay on the roads for between four days and two to three weeks just to gain entry into the ports and another three weeks to exit.

    “They don’t sleep well and weariness often leads to accidents on the roads. Because of the extremely unfriendly environment in which they work, some of our drivers are hardly differentiated from lunatics, or like someone who escaped from the prison yard. Their clothes are often dirty and crimson with grease.

    FRSC Sector Commander Hyginus Omeje said stakeholders had agreed to free service lanes from Oshodi to Apapa of all hindrances.

    He added: “We are going to have the trucks on queue and they are going to be on the express section of the road so that people living on the expressway, such as Oshodi, Cele, Ijesha, Isolo and Okota among other, would have easy access in and out of the service lanes.

    “We have been able to identify some holding bays, whether private or concessioned. The truth is any available spaces we see we are going to push those vehicles there.

    “Over five holding bays have been identified and some of them are being currently used as a private concern, but we are not going to be bogged by those details for now as we are concerned about clearing those vehicles off the roads. We need to address this because this is a national issue now.”

    A logistics and maritime expert, Tunji Olaosun, urged the government to resolve the challenges that make ports’ operations cumbersome.

    Olaosun said: “As an operator, who has once been an insider, I can tell you that we have all the answers to resolving the traffic gridlock at Apapa. The answer lies with the Shippers Council. If we let the Shippers Council work, we would resolve the bottlenecks within the ports and this would have an effect on the roads. In a short time you will discover that the traffic bottlenecks would be tackled and Apapa would return to its old golden age.”

     

  • Flood sacks Motorists on Lagos roads

    Flood sacks Motorists on Lagos roads

    Motorists and commuters had a hectic time travelling on major Lagos roads on Monday.

    This follows a torrential rainfall that started at dawn and lasted till mid-day, leaving all major roads flooded on Monday.

    The flood became a major headache on such roads as the Agege Motor road (as the flash flood practically took over three major bus terminals – Ladipo, Shogunle and PWD, on the Ikeja bound axis of the three lane expressway.

    Several vehicles which could not navigate the flood, broke down and were seen been attended to by their owners inside the flood.

    The flood left a major traffic gridlock that snaked from Ladipo to G. Cappa, on the outward bound carriage of the express, as well as from Ladipo to Capitol Road, on the Agege Motor road, and up to Egbeda, on the Iyana-Ipaja end, inward bound Oshodi.

    Many motorists bemoaned the terrible traffic situation that has become a common feature along the Agege Motor road, a federal road axial in the state.

    They recalled a similar occurrence last Thursday, which left the entire axis prostrate for about 20 hours after similar rainfall.

    Solomon Oladele, a commuter said he spent five hours on a 35 minutes distance (Agege to Oshodi).

    Lamenting what he described as a recurrent nightmare, Oladele wondered why the government has remained unconcerned to the plight of Lagosians who make use of the road.

    When reminded that government had awarded a contract for the construction of a BRT lane on the Oshodi road, Oladele said the contractor should show more sympathy to the plights motorists and commuters using the road, by urgently carrying out remedial work on the spot causing gridlock on the road.

    “Let the state government direct the contractor to begin urgent remedial works on the collapsed drainage that was causing the flood in the area, while the continue the major work on the road. That way, they would convince us they do not intend to see us dead before the new road is delivered next year,” Oladele said.

    Similar gridlock was recorded across the state. Many stranded commuters were trekking, when it became apparent they could not get any bus to their destination.

    A middle aged woman backing a baby broke down in tears when speaking with our Correspondent. She said she had trekked from Ikeja to Ladipo and was lost how she could get to Oshodi from where she could pick a bus to FESTAC Town.

    “I am tired, I trekked from Ikeja to this place (Ladipo), and am still going to FESTAC Town, I don’t know how to make it to Oshodi,” she said breaking down in tears shortly before a good Samaritan motorist offered her a ride.

    Many motorists living around border towns with Ogun State told our Correspondents that the rain has added to their travel challenges. They said they may not return to their various homes on Monday as they cannot face another round of stress on the road.

    “I have called my wife and told her I may not return home tonight.” Tunde, told our correspondent on Monday.

    Another motorist said he might have to wait till midnight before going home to prevent stress.

    The state government have however urged motorists and other road users to exercise patience as normalcy would soon return to the roads. Government says the traffic gridlock is the usual pattern along the area, any time there is rainfall.

     

     

     

  • Lagos roads: Turning a nightmare into delight

    Lagos roads: Turning a nightmare into delight

    With the construction of 83.92 kilometres of roads in one year and another 99.147 kilometres in the pipeline, the Lagos State Government has left no one in doubt of its commitment to battling traffic congestion, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    In just 18 months, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has shown that he  does not waste words.

    Within that time, he has delivered on his promise to improve Lagos roads. “We are committed to seeking and funding substantial and comprehensive solutions to traffic challenges, we are ready to take tough recommendations you come out with,” he told participants at the Lagos Traffic Management and Transportation Summit on November 26, 2015.

    Then, many could wager a bet, and even laugh at him. Reason: He didn’t look like one with the Midas touch.

    Despite the huge investments by past administrations on deepening road infrastructure, and the enactment of the Lagos Traffic Law 2012, the gridlock remains intractable.

    Traffic congestion was the norm across the city centre, the satellite towns and communities, making travel time hellish for residents. Lagos was practically swimming against the tide of sanity on the roads, leaving its economy tottering on the brink of collapse.

    The ease of travelling using affordable, reliable and safe means, which are critical to the state transportation have taken a flight, and despite strict adherence to its strategic planning, transportation remained largely intractable. That was the dark cloud hovering over Ambode’s promise.

    “We need to go back to the drawing board and agree on how our transportation sector can be effectively and efficiently operated to support the kind of trade and investment we are poised to continually attract,” he told the gathering.

    He charged them to think out of the box and bring out innovative solutions that could help the state, adding that he had his mind set on delivery better institutional framework and quality transportation infrastructure that could support his vision of a smart city state.

    “We owe it to the people to ensure that Lagos works for all. Tackling traffic is a good place to begin the significant change that the people expect from us,” he enthused at the event

     

    Construction theatre

     

    Between then and now, Lagos simply became a huge construction site with work going on everywhere. The government was busy planning, designing and implementing road infrastructure that can meet the future needs of the state.

    Working under the mandate to develop motorable roads, and increase their capacity to ease traffic congestion and reduce travel time within the metropolis, the government embarked on a short-long-term remediation strategies with the short term being the regular maintenance of all existing roads, an assignemt discharged by the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC), the medium being the sustainability of existing roads through rehabilitation, upgrading and expansion while the third is the expansion of highways and the construction of new bridges.

    The strategy paid off handsomely, as the government completed 83.92 kilometres of roads spread within the state in one year.

    At its ministerial press briefing last week, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Infrastructure,  Temidayo Erinle, an engineer, said the roads were spread around the three Senatorial districts.

    To complement these are another 99.147 kilometres in both the rural and urban areas of the state. The governor, according to Erinle, has approved the construction of more roads to ease traffic and improve the economy of the state.

    Also completed in the year are five pedestrian bridges totalling 0.47 kilometres, aimed at improving the safety of pedestrians on the roads, while three others are ongoing at various locations in the state.

    He listed some of the completed roads to include the Ajah Flyover/upgrading of the Freedom road to Admiralty Road in Eti-Osa Local Government, the flyover at Abule-Egba, Upgrading of strategic Arterial/Inner roads in Epe, Ayetoro Road in Alimosho, Ishefun, Camp Davies New market roads in Alimosho as well as the laybys and slip roads at Ojodu Berger.

    Other completed pedestrian bridges listed are the Anthony-Gbagada foot bridge by TREM, the reconstruction of the Cement foot bridge, the rehabilitation of Mile 12 foot bridge, and the construction of the Steel Bridge at Ojota to complement the existing one that became insufficient due to the barrier mounted on the road.

    The Ojodu Berger pedestrian bridge, which strides across the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Ogunnusi Road has a total span of 98m with illumination. It has 150m length of laybys on both sides of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 500m length of retaining wall with varying height ranging from 3.5m to 7m to separate the infrastructure of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at grade with Ogunnusi, PWC and Olowora roads.

    Other features of the projects include two multi-bay bus park/bus laybys on Ogunnusi Road with public convenience and a food court.

    The upgraded roads in the projects are 650m slip road from Oando Petrol Station by Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to Omole/Olowora Junction, 700m Ogunnusi/Wakatiadura dual road from Kosoko Road junction to Lagos-Ibadan-Expressway, 250m PWC Road to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

     

    Street lighting

    and Signalisation

     

    Also included in the projects are streetlighting on all the roads and the multibay bus parks with signalisation of all junctions.

    The government said the project was expected to enhance the socio-economic development of both Lagos and other neighbouring states as it would reduce travel time on the road, man hour loss and ensure safety of lives, especially that of pedestrians with the construction of the flyover. It would also have a positive effect on the health of road users who would no longer be subjected to the stress associated with the road in the past.

    The Public Works Corporation charged with repairing the roads, Erinle disclosed, worked on 807 roads, delivered over 532, aading that work was ongoing on the others.

    Erinle said Ambode had awarded the contract for some roads in the state among which are: Rehabilitation/upgrading of Ebute-Igbogbo road Phase 2, The strategic arterial/inner roads in Epe Phase 2, the dualisation of Bisola Durosimi Etti/Hakeem Dickson in Lekki, the rehabilitation and maintenance of Lekki-Epe Expressway, rehabilitation of Alhaji Akinwumi Street, Mushin, upgrading of Obagun Avenue Mushin, dualisation of Irede Road in Amuwo-Odofin, construction of Aradagun-Iworo, Ajido Epeme Road with Bridges in Badagry.

    The state is proposing to construct and rehabilitate important roads to serve as links for the citizens. Among them are the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Igbogbo-Igbe Road in Ikorodu Local Government, Ilaje Road and Odunsi in Shomolu.

    Others are Agric-Isawo-Konu-Arepo Road to link Lagos-Badagry Expressway and the Fourth Mainland Bridge, among others.

     

    Fourth Mainland Bridge

     

    A lot has been said about the government’s revocation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the consortium of contractors handling the Fourth Mainland Bridge.

    The Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, who oversees the Works and Infrastructure Ministry, Adebowale Akinsanya, said the government, had been disappointed at the pace of work and decided to cancel the contract.

    Akinsanya said the state was shopping for replacements with bidding  coming in from Japanese, Chinese, American and British conglomerates to fast-track the construction of the strategic bridge that would be the signature project that will redefine the state’s robust transportation strategies.

    Akinsanya said contrary to speculations making the rounds, the government had not cancelled the Fourth Mainland Bridge, but was merely looking for new partners to actualise it with the least pain to residents.

    Transportation and logistics experts contended that the state’s roads are quaking with congestion because they had failed to meet the state’s growth pattern. With 22 million population and home to three of every vehicle in Nigeria, Lagos, they argued, required more than the antiquated single-lane roads that were its lot until recently. That explained why efforts were aggressively made to expand the roads to two or three lanes, while efforts are made to construct more multiple lane highways to deflood traffic.

    Outside the listed road delivered in the year, the government was able to tackle transportation crisis that had laid traffic along the Lekki-Epe Expressway prostate over the past decade. The removal of the entire roundabouts along the major junctions, residents said have brought sanity to the axis.

    A source, who asked not to be named at Planet Projects, the contractor handling the junctions improvements along the axis, confirmed that the road failed principally because it failed to capture future developments along the axis, despite the rush by developers and the mushrooming of residential estates in the area.

    He said the road, which was built to cater for 50,000 vehicles daily had hit 750,000 vehicles, resulting in the congestion. “What the removal of the roundabouts have done is to further expand the roads, thereby improving its carriage capacity,” the source said.

    An indigenous contractor, who also requested not to be mentioned, said much of the traffic crisis in the state could be addressed with adequate signalisation and signages.

    Harping on the need for Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS), to be incorporated into the transportation architecture of the state, the contractor said with ITS, road users, especially motorists, would make better use of the roads with the least encumberance. The source said Lagos is big enough to adopt the best international practices added that much could be achieved with intelligent redistribution of traffic than by constructing bridges.

    Another innovation that has changed the narratives of traffic in the state is the introduction of laybys. With its introcution at Iyana-Oworonsoki, travel time from Lagos Island to the mainland on the Third Mainland Bridge, which used to chalk a minimum of two hours before, had been reduced to 45 minutes, leading to its introduction on the inward Island carriageway.

    The introductions of the laybys and slip roads, which have also been applied to Ojodu Berger with maximum impact on decongestion of the roads have started in Ketu, to deflood also traffic on the Ketu-Ikorodu BRT corridor.

    The pace of developments in the state in the past year seemed to have earned  Ambode a soft spot in the hearts of his people. For him, there is no slow down until traffic congestion is tamed.