The nightmare called Apapa road
by Oki Samson
A bad portion of Tincan Island in Apapa Lagos
The significance of Apapa to the nation’s economy cannot be overemphasized. Thousands of Nigerians have their day jobs in this domain, with many business concerns located in the area. But the poorest roads in Nigeria are also found in Apapa. The roads have been left in shambles and utter neglect. OKI SAMSON reports
According to analysts, the Nigeria Ports Authority contributes 70% to national income and the Lagos Apapa port gives lion share of the income generation. Transacting business activities in the two most commercialized ports in Nigeria is a nightmare because of bad roads and gridlock experienced to and fro the environment.
Whether one enters Apapa through Mile 2-Tin Can or Ijora, the situation is nothing but bad roads and bad roads all through.
A regular fiveminute trip can last two hours. Recently, a protest took place at Apapa in which protesters visited the office of the Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority, Hajia Hassan Usman who swiftly attended to the protesters who had issued an ultimatum.
Although, she claimed the rehabilitation and construction of the road is not within the purview of her establishment, she, however, took a bold step to make a separate budget that includes the construction of the road.
New Telegraph found that business owners, organizations and concerned residents of Apapa have come together to contribute positively to the rehabilitation of the roads. For example, trucks which had the name AG Dangote, a subsidiary of Dangote Group of Companies, were seen doing some palliative works.
Nonetheless, they cannot assure when the repairs would be completed. Another worker said they have been mandated to fix every potholes and bad road in the area and other routes that link to the Apapa road.
Meanwhile, affected mini-business owners, residents, and other road users have accused tanker drivers and heavy duty truck drivers as major cause of traffic congestion and damage of the roads. When New Telegraph contacted Alhaji Isa Abdullahi, National Coordinator, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at their Apapa office, he stated: “Apapa is the heartbeat of Lagos and Nigeria.
There is need to put priority on this area. Mr. Babatunde Fashola was the Governor of Lagos state and now the Minister for Works, so he knows better about the situation of Apapa and has the capacity to address the challenges we are experiencing in Apapa. The situation is not helping our business operations.
The Government should do a reconstruction of the roads. The Federal government can give the state government the go-ahead to do the roads and reimburse them later all in the interest of the people and the country at large.”
On the suggestion raised by some stakeholders for government to concession the Apapa roads, Alhaji Isa said: “Concession of the roads is not a good idea because of the current state of the economy and the suffering of the people.”
He advised that there are other ways to go about the road projects rather than suggesting concession. Concerning gridlock on the roads, he said, he was surprised to hear that the state government banned the Vehicle Inspection Office and Federal Road Safety Corps on Lagos roads.
He pointed out that agencies are needed to curb gridlock on the roads. He suggested awareness and reorientation as way-out for the tanker drivers, commercial bus drivers, truck drivers and other road users on the road.
“The way and manner at which truck and tanker drivers behave while on the steering is terrible, some of them don’t respect lives. They should know that they are not the only user of these roads,” he said.
He also advised that the FRSC, LASTMA, VIO and the Taskforce team need to come together for an emergency meeting on the road, do like a workshop or seminar, interact with the drivers on the use of the roads and make the roads friendly for other users.
He accused some of the taskforce officials earlier constituted of abandoning their duties and turning to collecting bribes from the drivers and allowed them to continue to park anywhere on the road.
He concluded by saying that; “Government must work on Apapa because of the oil sector business. If they can repair the pipelines like the one in Kano state then I believe it will be better andLagos will be fully engaged again and improve its revenue.”
In a separate interview with Hon. Lasbat Mojisola, representing Apapa Constituency 1, she said that she doesn’t have the capacity to build infrastructure and that she can only lobby the government to do such and that is why we can see the state government in Apapa.
“Presently, we can see Flourmills, Dangote and others coming together to rehabilitate some portion of the roads already. She said before the end of the year, Apapa will have a better look and the business activities would have also improved.”
She explained further that, they are already working in the energy ministry to light-up Apapa. She advised that the way out is not rehabilitation but a complete reconstruction of the roads, “because we need something to stand the test of time.
Currently, arrangement are been made by companies to radio their trucks before driving down to the area. The idea is if it is not time to come to the depot you are not allowed to park by the road or around the gate.
You will recall that His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode constituted a taskforce to address the menace of tanker drivers on the roads. The taskforce are still very much on ground and we encourage the Governor to keep on the good works.”
Hon. Mojisola stated that the future of Lagos state is very bright as a megacity. “The people are working towards achieving greater heights all over the state. We can see how the government is carrying everybody along.
Though there is still room for improvements, this is a lifetime experience. As Lagos state celebrates her 50th years I wish Lagosians a beautiful celebration and encourage them to continue to pay their taxes to enjoin more dividends.’
Written by Oki Samson and First Published, in New Telegraph Newspaper
