Abdulhakeem F. Akinola
29 June 2008
With the arrival of the rainy season, the nagging problem of traffic congestion in Lagos metropolis has become more pronounced. In this report, Abdulhakeem F. Akinola writes about motorists' experiences in the city believed to be the economic nerve centre of the country
For most residents of Lagos, wadding through the traffic jam that confronts the city after office hours is a harrowing experience. Apart from the human suffering, there is loss of precious time and sundry economic losses simply unquantifiable.
Kayode Olagunju, the Lagos State sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) simply described the situation as bad. He said the situation is caused by broken-down vehicles, human error, abandonment of construction materials, repair of vehicles on the road, deliberate parking of commercial vehicles on the major roads so as to pick passengers and wrong parking.
An officer of Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) who said he was not competent to speak to the press said the Lagos traffic congestion is peculiar due to the large population of motorists, over-speeding, bad condition of vehicles as well as the poor drainage system.
The LASTMA official explained that past governments in Lagos State since in the 1970s made spirited moves to check the menace by the introduction of odd and even number system. That time, vehicles with even registration numbers were allowed to ply the roads on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the odd number plates were permitted to be on the roads on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
In view of the system, some rich residents in the city state decided to buy two or more vehicles in order to beat the "even and odd" number directive. There was no end to the Lagos traffic problem.
Kunle Daramola, a journalist based in Lagos, described the road condition as unbearable and blamed both government and the motorists for the plight of the common people. He complained that while most of the roads do not last long after construction, some motorists, particularly the commercial bus drivers, cause over 80 percent of the traffic trouble.
Mr. Ajani Kamardeen, a businessman lamented that last Wednesday, he spent three hours between Okota and Mile 2. The same trend is observable in other busy roads such as Yaba, Agege motor road in Mushin, Oko-Oba road, Agege and other roads adjoining markets.
According to Kamardeen, wrong location of markets is one of the factors responsible for the slow pace of vehicular movement. Mile 12, the biggest foodstuffs market in the state, is a case in point. The market is so close to the road that there are no parking spaces for vehicles.
Monitor of the roads in Lagos mid last week revealed that so many roads have been narrowed down from three to two lanes as a result of traders displaying their wares right on the road. Affected roads in the city include: Ikorodu road at Onipanu bus stop, Lagos-Abeokuta expressway particularly at Iyana-Ipaja area, the entire Bariga road at Abule-Okuta, Agege Motor Road, particularly at Oshodi central area and so many other roads across the city.
Anyone passing through the Oshodi-Apapa expressway particularly on Tuesday that is Aswani market day, would always curse authorities for allowing blockade of the expressway on both sides by the traders.
On Aswani market day the chaotic transport situation starts at about 7:00am and it does not abate until after 8:00pm. It is also the same situation in some suburbs.
While this happens, motorists and commuters spend long hours manoeuvring through Ikotun-Egbe road, Isolo road en-route Iyana-Ipaja or Cele-Okota road. With the arrival of rain, the traffic congestion has been worsened as most of the roads are flooded due to poor drainage in such areas as Ikeja bus stop, Gbagada expressway by the Mobil filling station, Mushin, Ejigbo, Akoka, Agege, Ilasamaja, Ebute-Metta, Mile 12 and a host of others.
Chief Sarumi Adekunle, a chieftain of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPA), one of the main opposition parties in Lagos State, last week told our correspondent that a lot still needs to be done in the area of cleanliness and control of traffic jam.
"Quality time is being wasted by workers and businessmen because of regular traffic jam in the metropolis. Chaotic transport situation in Lagos is the negative aspect of living in Lagos and it is giving the city a bad image to those who should have come down and invested in the state's economy," Sarumi noted.
He called on the state government to put in more efforts towards the reduction of street trading and the menace of social miscreants particularly the agents of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) saying, "The existence of these undesirable elements on major roads in Lagos does not only cause traffic jam but constitutes security risk on the roads."
Alhaja Memunat Ajidagba, a resident of Okokomaiko area of Mile 2 said when it rains heavily, her husband who works as a casual worker in Ikeja comes back from work around 11:00pm because of road congestion.
A motorist, Mr. Ahmed Audu who was trapped in traffic jam on Ladipo Street in Mushin for over one hour on Tuesday said, "I hate coming here. This is what I refer to as madness of a sort in Lagos. There are too many people and too many vehicles to the extent that disorderliness is the order of the day always."
Chief Adekunle was optimistic that the situation would improve if indiscipline of the commercial drivers is dealt with accordingly.
On deterrent, the Lagos sector commander of FRSC said the law at present seems not to be strong enough to serve as deterrent. Under the FRSC regulations, for example, breaching the law attracts only a N300 fine or six months imprisonment or both. The law needs a review to discourage traffic obstruction.
A cross-section of Lagosians who spoke on what needs to be done said emphasis of government should be more on construction of new roads and provision of more communication facilities to LASTMA officials to enable them communicate effectively and decongest troubled areas.
Added to this, residents talked about localisation, location and relocation of industries in relation to transformation plan by the present government. Location of most industrial establishments in Lagos, according to Lagosians, has been concentrated on the Lagos Island, Apapa, Ikeja, Iganmun and Oshodi areas. As a result of this, traffic has been on the increase in these areas with the resultant congestion on the roads.
"Government should prevail on industrialists too to invest in road construction or road rehabilitation in their firm's areas to lighten the burden of road maintenance in the metropolis," Mr. Anozike Okafor advised.
Okafor, a trader at Oshodi market said the traffic congestion in Lagos will continue for a long time to come as a result of high population which arose from the influx of people into the city from every part of the country. He likened the available roads in Lagos to a man who married so many wives and raised so many children.
"There is no way a man who has married many wives and has so many children within a decade or two can still expect the house he lived in when he was a bachelor to still contain him and his family. Lagos is the commercial nerve of this country. The state government needs to summon courage and embark on construction of more roads to swallow the regular traffic jam in the city," he emphasised.
Speaking on the need to decongest Lagos roads recently, the Lagos State governor, Barrister Babatunde Fashola said the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative is to ensure that car owners keep their cars at home and move round the city in more comfortable buses with stipulated time frame of movement.
The governor asked car owners to patronise the BRT buses so that Lagos roads would be lighter.
Fashola had advised residents in Lagos, particularly those who have nothing important doing on the roads during the peak periods, before noon and in the evening, to refrain from adding to the traffic congestion by embracing the use of telephone facilities to make not so important contacts rather going on the road.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
