From all indications, the Lagos state government is bent on passing a new law to regulate movement of container-laden trucks on Lagos roads. The story is that the state’s legislature is working on a bill “for a law to repeal and re-enact the road traffic law and to make provisions for road traffic and vehicle inspection in Lagos state”.
From all indications, the Lagos state government is bent on passing a new law to regulate movement of container-laden trucks on Lagos roads. The story is that the state’s legislature is working on a bill “for a law to repeal and re-enact the road traffic law and to make provisions for road traffic and vehicle inspection in Lagos state”.
It seeks to outlaw movement of container laden trucks in the state between 6am and 7pm, it says that, “no trailers other than petrol tankers and long vehicles used in conveying passengers shall enter into or travel within the metropolis of Lagos between the hours of 6am and 7pm”.
How and why did the law makers decide to pass this law? Events of the recent past will probably justify the law makers.
There are two identifiable causal factors of vehicular traffic that affect the Nigerian maritime sector, they are tankers that come to Apapa from all over the country to load petroleum products, and there are also trucks that load containers from the two Lagos ports of Tin Can Island and Lagos Port Complex.
The city of Apapa is home to Nigeria’s two foremost ports which are currently being managed by nine terminal operators. Between the two ports called Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port, more than 65 percent of dry cargoes and about 90 per cent of the nation’s liquid (petroleum products) are handled. This is because it hosts about 23 tank farms (and still counting). These are in addition to the many shipping companies/agencies, licensed customs offices and numerous other businesses that are located in this port city. On a normal day, Apapa is a busy city, with heavy vehicular and human traffic; this is in addition to other human endeavours that take place there. The port city of Apapa equally plays host to countless number of banks and several port- related activities.
The port city is sandwiched in between highbrow residential areas like Apapa GRA, Beachland estate, and low income residential areas such as Ajegunle and Ijora, it also shares boundaries with a couple of riverside settlements.
Apapa is linked to the rest of the city by two major highways; the Apapa – Oshodi expressway and Apapa-Ijora road. Of course, it can also be approached by water from Mile Two (on the mainland) and Marina axis (on the Island). Apapa also services as a good link for motorists going to Lagos Island and beyond, serving hundreds of such from many local governments.
Certainly, the new bill will have effect on all stakeholders in the maritime industry who have (for a long time) suffered in the hands of drivers of articulated vehicles in that the roads would be freer for them between the hours of 6 am and 7pm.
While we do not condemn the Lagos state government for the decision to regulate movement of articulated trucks on its roads, we however wish to call attention to the adverse effect of this on cargo delivery in the ports.
Coming at a time when the nation’s seaports are being reinvigorated, the move to actualise this bill will lead to congestion as there will be a backlog of containers.
Apart from the congestion of backlog of cleared containers that will be at the ports, another major problem is insecurity. If the bill sails through, it then means that containers carrying cargoes worth billion of Naira will move out of the ports to their consignees only in the night.
In a country (and state) where there is gross insecurity, no one can guarantee the safety of the cargoes, the driver of the truck and the truck itself.
We think that rather than ban these vehicles from the road between the hours of 6 am and 7pm, what government can do is to give them dedicated lanes and probably ban them from certain roads.
As much as we appreciate the responsibility and concern of the Lagos state government (as represented by the state legislature) to ensure that the menace of drivers of articulated trucks are curtailed, by applying measures, we also do believe that the losses attendant to the proposed law will outweigh the gains if it is eventually passed.
And since it is all about container carriers, it may be appropriate to ask the state government what it has done with proceeds from the ‘wharf landing fees’ that has raked in millions of Naira since 2010 when it was introduced.
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