Mr. Ismail Omotayo [Maritime Stakeholder]
Mr. Ismail Omotayo [Maritime Stakeholder]
The government has given a 72 hours ultimatum to evacuate their tanker from the major roads, but I do not think it will hold water because these people have union and their unions seems to be stronger to some extent that if they decide to go on strike it will affect the economy .The tanker drivers and the union involved have the power in their hands. My advice is this, the government should measure up with the union by way of penetrating their leaders and dialogue with them on the way forward, they should persuade and maneuver the leaders of the union because the union leaders have a way of impacting decision on the drivers and with that it will reduce the present condition on our roads.
Chief Anosike Johnson [Telecoms Consultant]
There is nobody that will be satisfied with the traffic situation in the state. Spending two hours on a journey of 10 minutes is not right and I think the government should address the situation with seriousness .The number of tankers along the roads is increasing by the day because presently there is a new site for them at the Sanya/ Ijesha axis and it’s killing us gradually. Government should look for a place where the tankers will be called upon before loading and it is also applicable to the container drivers that are into haulage and logistics business.
Mr. Ekene Obeleague [Auto Dealer]
I am not satisfied with the present situation on our road; I must comment that the government should provide a holding bay for all the trucks, trailers and tankers outside the metropolis so that they can also park in order to decongest our roads. Another thing is that the government should provide a time frame in which the tankers should ply the roads, possibly at night when traffic will be lighter and less congested by other road users. For example from 11p.m till 5.a.m.Presently the Imo state government did something of such to address traffic situation and it is in the right direction. If they can be restricted to time frame it will help a lot in the direction of traffic congestion, accident and other menace by the tanker drivers. Another area is the loading of petroleum products along the Apapa/ Oshodi expressway, I think government should provide a holding bay for them and they should be loading in batches and with that it can reduced the menace on our road.
Mr Danjuma Imodu [Freight Forwarder]
Tankers are not supposed to be located in our cities rather they should be located outside the city because when you allow such to happen on the roads of Lagos State it further congest the city in terms of traffic. The planners have failed, but the government can still dialogue with the unions of all tanker drivers, container drivers and others on how to proffer solution.
Mr. Kayode Bankole [ISAN Executive]
It has become obvious to everyone that a lot of economic loses that cannot be measured are taking place on a daily basis as a result of the tanker drivers on Nigerian roads. A journey that should take me maximum of 20 minutes from mile 2 to Apapa where my office is located, sometimes takes me two hours simply because some of these tanker drivers decide to park on the road unnecessarily. A lot of lawless activities take place on Lagos roads and the tanker drivers constitute part of it. The Nigeria Navy has been able to bring in a level of sanity on the road when compared to the LASTMA officials, but again it goes beyond that. I will urge the government to take a precise decision and regulate the activities of the tanker drivers on our roads because it is getting harmful and detrimental by the day. Government should make a law without an option of fine, then it will checkmate their activities on Lagos road.
Theophilus Ekeson (Clearing Agent)
What I think the government should do about the situation is to fulfill its promise and evacuate all the tankers from Lagos roads, let them have a holding bay where they will be parking after which anyone that fails to comply should be punished, If the tanker drivers want to go on strike, let them strike, but justice must first of all be done, we cannot say because we don’t want them to strike and then allow them to be wicked to other Nigerians, the whole Nigeria is now suffering because we are scared of tanker drivers going on strike, if they want to go on strike, government should allow them, at the end of the day nobody will die, the strike will affect us and also affect them.
Earnest Duke (Petroleum Supplier)
To me I think government should set aside a body that will be monitoring the trucks, there should be some dedicated hours during which the tankers should be allowed to move and carry products, in doing this, government should carry all the depot managers along because they are the ones that draw the daily loading programmes for these trucks. Also, the tanker drivers themselves should be sensitized on the right conducts to adopt on the roads, they should be told where to park and where not to park their trucks, let them be given a parking space. This should be enforced at every area in Lagos where we have petroleum tank farms, the streets should also be monitored to ensure that they are not diverted to packing on Lagos streets; I think by so doing, it will help a lot.
Emmanuel Bradillo (freight forwarder)
If government can give them a parking space, I believe they will not be parking on the roads anyhow, but if they have been given a parking space and yet they refuse to use it, then government should act like the days of Abacha when government said that any tanker they found on the roads should be seized and the owner will come and bail it; if it is bail-able and also pay the penalty, if government could try this and you pay the penalty about two to three times, you will not want to park on the road. The tanker drivers are really causing serious obstruction on the road daily, people are suffering daily and yet this is one of the busiest roads in Lagos that fetch billions of naira to the government, it is affecting the economy. So if government can take a drastic action against them that no tanker should be parked on the expressway, they should go to their garage, process your papers, if the time comes for you to go and load, then you will be called upon.
Kingsley Iba (Petroleum Marketer)
I heard about the incident that happened between the tanker drivers and the navy last week, it is quite unfortunate, but I believe that in order to checkmate these tanker drivers from indiscriminate parking on the roads, the navy is still the answer, I said this because they are the only ones that can control hoodlums around this depot, their uniform alone is enough to put fear into you, the depot owners and the PTD also have their own task force which was constituted to replace the navy at one time, but it could not work because they were not respected by the drivers as they do not wear uniform, my advice is for the government to continue to use the navy to checkmate tanker drivers activities on the Apapa roads.
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