Lagos and suffocating traffic congestion

Lagos, fondly described as a city of aquatic splendour and land of opportunities, is Nigeria’s commercial capital and the country’s ethnic melting pot that also harbours nationals of other countries of the world.

This aquatic splendour is gradually losing its appeal to an endless and suffocating traffic congestion caused largely by inadequate and bad roads in this city where every movement, consideration, attitude and effort is a scramble for perceived opportunities.

Lagos is a city-state that is unique in many respects. In terms of landmass, it is about the smallest in the country, but the largest population-wise. It is, arguably, Nigeria’s most complex and most challenging city where human activities exact enormous pressure on its over-stretched environment.

As a commercial and industrial nerve centre, Lagos broaches compelling fundamentals with over 2,000 manufacturing industries and over 200 financial institutions. It harbours about 60 percent of Nigeria’s total industrial investments and foreign trade while also attracting 65 percent of the country’s commercial activities.

Amidst these ‘endowments’ are so many challenges that are making living and working in the state very difficult. Today, movement within the state is a hard job and it does not matter whether one is driving or even walking from one’s house to the workplace or shop.

The traffic congestion here is no respecter of location and it is such that, save a few places in Ikoyi, every other place in and outside the city centre is on ‘go-slow’ mode day and night. From Okokomaiko to Victoria Island, Agege to Abule-Egba, Mile 2 to CMS, Ikorodu to Jibowu, Ikeja to Apapa, Iyana-Ipaja to Ikotun Egbe, the story is the same – jitters and stress in long hours of ‘travel’ from one point to another.

It is not difficult to see the main causes of this pain that has defined daily life in the city, and this is why we are alarmed that rather than improving with a new government in place, the situation seems to be worsening with each passing day. Roads in the state are in such deplorable condition that it beats the imagination how motorists survive the craters and ditches that are common features all over the state. Again, the number of vehicles in the state has increased significantly. It is estimated that there are over 5 million cars and 200,000 commercial vehicles on the roads, meaning that, on the average, the state records 327 vehicles per kilometre of roads daily.

It is painful to note that as motorists pass through this hell to get to their destinations, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials are scarcely seen on many roads. What this has done is to create chaos on the roads as reckless drivers have taken advantage of the situation.

We are not unaware of measures the state government has put in place to control traffic such as LASTMA, Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI), Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), traffic lights, and the Traffic Radio which provides information on traffic situation, but we want the state to do more.

Unconfirmed report has it that some LASTMA officials are not happy with some restrictive measures handed out to them by the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who, uncomfortable with the unprofessional way these officials conducted their business, directed them to apply caution.

Whatever is the grouse of these officials, we join the rest of Lagosians to ask that they come back to the roads and do their work before the state grinds to a halt.

We welcome Governor Ambode’s approval of N19 billion for the rehabilitation of inner roads, most of which are in horrible condition. It is our hope that the challenge posed by increasing number of vehicles in the city will peter into insignificance once the roads are made motorable with traffic officials controlling and checking reckless driving which, in itself, is a major contributor to the gridlock on the roads.