Lagos — One of the inexplicable paradoxes of the Nigerian situation is our penchant for neglecting our proverbial geese that give us golden eggs. The gross underdevelopment of the Niger Delta and the impoverishment of its citizens, despite the fact that the region gives the nation the bulk of its yearly revenue, is a case in point.

The other case is the Apapa maritime district, generally regarded as the economic nexus of the nation. Despite the fact that this axis harbours two of the nation's major sea ports, which together handle more than 60 per cent of the export - import activities in the country, it appears to have receded in government's reckoning. Its link road has been abandoned over the years with its resultant collapse and the dotting of major portions of the highway by potholes and craters that make it mostly impassable even at the best of times.

The Apapa - Oshodi Expressway, a federal highway, is not only an eye sore, it has in fact become a long stretch of death trap and a cog, rather than a facilitator, to smooth movement of people and goods to and from the nation's busiest sea ports ---- the Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports.

Such is the level of dilapidation of this road that anytime it rains, the entire stretch becomes a huge whirlpool inside which an armada of vehicles of all shapes and sizes forage for rights of way with attendant chaos. Indeed, the chaos that motorists daily experience on this road is enough to discourage anybody from venturing into the ports, a situation that could have very grave consequences for the nation's economy.

The problem is often compounded by the ubiquitous trucks and petrol tankers, most of which are rickety and often bearing carelessly strapped containers that trip off at will and fall over unsuspecting smaller cars, causing uncountable fatalities in the process.

Also contributory to the chaotic situation in Apapa is the massive distortion of its original master plan with the indiscriminate siting of tank farms in mostly built-up and already congested areas.

To be sure, the problem of Apapa did not just start yesterday. It has been there for some time, especially since the past 10 years. The flagrant neglect of this economically crucial road defies any logical explanation. Such is the levity with which the federal government takes this road that it didn't consider it necessary to include Apapa expressway in the N373 billion mega contracts it recently awarded for the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of various roads across the six geo-political zones of the country.

Not even the recent precipitate directive by the Presidency to the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to "take immediate measures to commence limited maintenance works" on the road could solve Apapa's problem. To us, the directive appears too superfluous and, if carried out at all, would only amount to scratching the problem on the surface. For, what that road urgently requires is a comprehensive reconstruction or at worst serious rehabilitation and not mere patchworks.

We therefore urge the federal government to view the Apapa - Osodi road as a national disaster that requires emergency solution. If not for any other thing but for the huge economic loss that the present state of the road is causing the nation on a daily basis, that road deserves a priority attention from government.

Also, the menace of trucks and fuel tankers on the ever-busy road could be curbed by putting serious measures in place that would check the operations of decrepit and rickety haulage vehicles. These should be barred from plying such a busy road. But the ultimate solution to this menace is the rehabilitation of the rail system, which is a more dependable and safer means of transporting bulk goods and petroleum products. Nigerians are tired of the rhetorics about putting back the railways on track. The railways must be fully rehabilitated as soon as possible to remove some of the pressures on road transportation. This will also have the added advantage of helping to prolong the life spans of the roads.