WITH just a day before Christmas, Lagos residents are experiencing unprecedented traffic jam. The gridlock has been attributed to last -minute Christmas shopping. Also, there is increase in fleets of interstate luxury buses transporting residents to their hometowns across the country to celebrate the Yuletide. Such places include Maza-Maza, Jibowu, Ojuelegba, Bolade, Ojota and others where their terminals are located.
Meanwhile, the agony of Lagosians deepens whenever an articulated vehicle falls, forcing traffic to a standstill.
Such was the case on Tuesday. It was a painful day for motorists heading towards Anthony Oke on Oshodi-Oworosoki Expressway as articulated vehicle conveying rims of cable fell in the middle of the expressway. The bedlam spilt onto other routes such as Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road, Ikorodu Road and others, causing a total standstill on some of the routes.
A resident, Mr. Bola Yusuf, said: “The effect was so terrible from Cele Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway to Oshodi that there was no movement for hours.”
It could be recalled that a similar situation happened barely a week ago when another articulated vehicle fell on top of the flyover.
Despite efforts by relevant authorities to curb such horrible experience, the monster is still rearing its ugly head. Traffic congestion within the metropolis has refused to go. It is so severe in some areas that sometimes, movement would grind to a halt. Now some residents are forced to relocate since they cannot endure the pains any longer.
From Mile Two to Apapa, the pain caused by traffic deepens, as the number of articulated vehicles heading to Wharf multiplies. To worsen the situation, drivers of articulated vehicles have taken over the service and part of the fast lane to park their vehicles, leaving other motorists to move bumper to bumper.
Many residents are familiar with the daily traffic chaos from the Third-Mainland Bridge through Iyana-Oworosoki to Oshodi.
For the residents of Isolo, Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Ikotun, Ijegunand others, the gridlock has become a phenomenon. Residents go through severe pains to carry out their daily activities. Motorists drive from “bumper to bumper” for hours. Sometimes, chaos and confusion set in due to impatience typical of Lagosians, bringing the movement to a halt.
It is common to see motorists violating traffic rules at ease to beat the traffic. What comes to the rescue of some residents, are the motorcycle riders otherwise called okada, who maneuver their ways through any narrow openings. But then, their exorbitant fares are killing. For passengers who cannot afford the fare, they share the seat, which is barely enough for one person. From Iyana-Isolo to Ikotun-Egbe, the cost sometimes goes as far as N500 for one passenger.
It appears there seems to be no escape route for motorists as the traffic from that axis also stretches through the flyover in Daleko to Mushin and through Iyana-Isolo to Toyota on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road.
Lagos residents are not alone in this traffic agony.
Lagos-Abeokuta Road is sometimes a reminder of when “hell lets loose”. Most times, the bedlam begins at Oshodi Bus Stop and stretches through Agege-Motor Road to Ikeja along the road, Iyana-Ipaja and Lagos-Abeokuta Road till Sango-Ota.
On some strategic places such as Iyana-Ipaja and U-Turn, Abule Egba, where there are webs of road connecting to the expressway, motorists spend more hours, forcing many vehicles to drown in heat.
For some motorists, their daily journey always spilt over to another day, forcing them to spend the night on the road. With residents going for their Christmas and end-of-the-year shopping, traffic chaos has doubled even on those routes where traffic is usually light.
A resident, Saheed Ajao who lives in Ipaja area said he wanted to relocate due to the stress of being in the hold-up for hours.
“It is not as if the place I am living is not comfortable but the volume of traffic we experience daily is very stressful. There are times we have total standstill that you see yourself reaching home the following day in a day’s journey.”
A similar situation goes for many routes on the Lagos Island. Areas such as Kingsway Road, Awolowo Way in Ikoyi, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island also experience traffic jam. The traffic situation is overwhelming on Lekki-Epe Expressway from Jakande and stretches through Ajah and beyond.
A motorist, Mr. Livinus Eboh, who lives in Ajah area of Lagos Island said: “The volume of traffic hold-up has now shifted towards Jakande Round-about. Just a 15-minute drive on normal day , turns to several hours on the road on such bad days.’ Motorists going to Ajah now terminate their journey at Berger Bus Stop instead of the Garage due to hold-up.”
Ikorodu Road is not spared of the gridlock. Ketu and Ikorodu area sometimes witness a total standstill. The gridlock always begins from Ojota and sneaks to Ketu and Ikorodu.
At Ikorodu, the Agric Bus Stop, is particularly known for causing pains to motorists because of the volume of traffic they go through daily. Among motorists, tales of suffering on the axis abound, forcing them to clamour for an alternative route at Agric Bus Stop through Isawo Road to Link Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. They called for link bridge and a dual carriage-way.
An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) who preferred anonymity said the agency’s officials are always at strategic locations to ensure there was free-flow of traffic.
“The problem with Lagosians is that they are always in a hurry and do not want to obey order,” he said.
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