APAPA TRAFFIC: OUR PAINS AND THE WAY OUT

Aisuodionoe Fidel (business man)
One of the problems of this road is that the weight or tonnage of vehicles going through it is uncontrolled, some trucks coming out of the ports and the depots carry 45 to 50 tones of content only, if this is added to the weight of the trucks bearing you will have up to 60 to 70 tones: there is no were in the world where such tonnage is allowed to go on a tarred road constantly. The roads have expired and this has led to its degradation.

Apart from trucks falling everyday on these roads and spilling their contents thereby making business men lose millions of naira, we the Nigerian populace that use this road from our houses to the office lose man hour everyday. We spend more than five hours going to work. People working in this vicinity can no longer keep two appointments in a day. It has become a nightmare for us to come to the office and even to go home. So also trucks that struggle to come in to this area may take another 24hours to get out of it, so it’s really a problem.

We expect the government to come and dredge the canals around here so that more water can go in there, so that when this road is resurfaced, it can stay alive for another 10 years, Also a weigh bridge is very important for the Apapa road, they should go back and create a weigh bridge where trucks can be weighed before they are released to pass through the roads, otherwise there is no repair that is carried out on the roads that will stay for five years again.

David Oladimeji (maritime reporter)
The major cause of the traffic problems in Apapa as it is being experienced at the moment is lack of drainage system. Apapa is the main hub of Nigerian economy and so we expect that urgent steps will be taken to ease this bad traffic. The initial plan is to link the ports with rail system and this would have further taken the pressure off the roads, but for the past eight years, government has been unable to find solution to it. My candid suggestion is that efforts should be made to link Apapa roads with rail lines as it is done in other countries.

Ugochukwu Osuji (MD, Guyglo Oil and Gas Ltd.)
Nobody likes to be held up in traffic, but I must confess that it has become synonymous with Lagos and almost everyone who has business dealings in Apapa can tell you that it has not been easy going and coming.
Also, the federal government, knowing that the depots and the sea ports are situated on this axis; I expect that they should be able to do something. In any case, I am very confident in Governor Babatunde Fashola on this, and since he has reached an agreement with the President and they have concluded that renovations will start by August, I believe we will see changes soon. But first of all, let the portions of the road that are bad be taken care of.

Sunday Eleri (maritime consultant)
Coping with traffic situation in Apapa has been a big problem for everyone and it is really affecting work and daily activities. This now means that whenever there is rainfall, one should not go to work, it is a pathetic situation.

The government, in its wisdom should think about constructing a drainage system directly into the river in order to further reduce the dangers of having to drive through water. We can see that during the past two weeks, a lot of containers worth millions of naira have fallen on the road due to flood and the bad state of roads. As I am speaking to you now, another one container load of car engines has just fallen. This is the time that we really expect members of the Lagos Ports Access Monitoring Unit (LAPAMU) to come and help in controlling the traffic.
I will also suggest that all shipping companies, banks, customs, tank farms owners and NUPENG should come together in order to assist the government in renovating these roads.

Olanife Adeoye (petroleum marketer)

Can you believe that one day last week I left office at about 6pm and I got home after 12 midnight? The roads in Apapa was blocked for more than four to five hours without any movement and some petrol tankers were at the tank farms for more than 24 hours; unable to go out.
However, the citizens too have a role to play in this issue. I am aware that Julius Berger reconstructed this road in 1996, the drainage was big and deep enough, but now so many people are putting tires, water nylons and the corn sellers drop their refuse every where- we all have our own parts to play, both people living and working around here to ensure that nothing is blocking the drainage, so that whenever there is rain fall it can dry fast.
In addition, there is need to construct a canal between Sunrise bus stop and Ibru outer jetty, if government can construct a canal leading to the lagoon, then it will help us a lot.

A.C Mbuba (NAGAFF, PTML command)
You and I can testify to the fact that it has not been easy during these past weeks, as a matter of fact I leave home by 8am and I don’t get to work until 12 noon because of the traffic starting right from Ijesha bus stop and first rainbow bus stop, all these things cumulate into waste of energy and a lot of money.
We are not really happy about the situation because we deal with time and they say time is money, once its 4pm everybody starts to go home in order to beat traffic and this can even lead to congestion in the ports again or lead to economic waste.
I advise that the state government should reconstruct the road and should not wait for the federal government.

Akande Olaniregun (clearing agent)
It is not easy to cope with the traffic situation in Apapa any longer; it seems to be getting more difficult by the day. Last week, I spent hours on the bridge between coconut bus stop and trinity bus stop and when it was around four o’clock in the morning armed robbers attacked us. I was driving but I had to take cover leaving my car behind.

We employ the government to come and do something about the situation, goods worth millions of naira pass through these roads daily and also a lot of money change hands every day, yet see the way the road is. I believe that it is something that even the local government should be able to handle. It is now that we want to see the effects of wharf landing fees and other taxes that importers are made to pay. It seems that we can not rely on the federal government over this matter any longer. So, between the local government and the state, let them handle it.
You will also discover that the traffic has become an avenue for transporters to hike their fare; between Tin Can second gate bus stop to coconut bus stop, commercial buses charge N100 whereas, they are supposed to collect maybe N30. It is really making life unbearable for the masses.