OLORUNDARE ENIMOLA
Residents of Meiran, Adura, Alakuko and Ajegunle, few amongst the towns bestriding the Lagos side of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway in a concerted effort mobilised some youths on the Wednesday preceding the Eid-El-Fitri celebrations to express their angst at the rising number of voidable deaths and carnage on the highway despite several outcry to the Government to resume construction of the road.
The protest was spurred by the gruesome murder of a nursing mother and her child strewn on her back at about 7 Pm on a Monday three weeks ago at the Adura B-Stop by a hit and run commercial bus driver who was driving against traffic, avoiding the abandoned side of the highway that is no longer motorable due to abandonment of construction works by the Government contractor.
The protesters were livid that the government could be so inhumane to budget a whopping N1.06 trillion for the pilot phase of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which will remain under construction for the next eight years, when their ever busy highway is abandoned despite several promises.
They were at a loss as to why the Federal Government is not committed to completing the road despite the deaths, carnage, permanent injuries experienced by users of the highway on a daily basis.
Adejobi Teslim, a School Proprietor in one the highway’s towns, who spoke with Daily Independent, said: “It appears the government is actually overwhelmed with the state of that road and completely bereft of what to do to ameliorate the excruciating suffering of commuters who daily go through the most traumatic experience on any road that is in a terrible state.
“One wonders what could be running on the minds of government officials who ply the road at any point in time; are they playing the ostrich, because they know there is no immediate solution coming the way of hapless commuters plying the highway or are they hoping to keep using propaganda to distort facts and stifle daily public outcry?”, he queried.
Milton Osadebe, the Business Development Manager for a haulage company with corporate office in Ijesha area of Lagos, told DAILY INDEPENDENT that his company never had it this rough in many years since he joined the company, because of the loss of several of their logistic trucks along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway in the last one year.
According to him, “it is now a policy of the company not to honour patronage from companies or clients operating along the expressway due to the huge losses we incurred both on our trucks and the precarious liability incurred on the goods in transit, often times we incurs more cost than what we charged to deliver the goods and clients are not ready to increase or make further payments when our trucks somersaults on that very bad highway.”
The stretch of the road between the U-turn bus-stop in Lagos state and Singer bus-stop in Ogun state is about 10 kilometers, but, it is dotted with over 168 deep potholes looking more like emerging gullies and craters panel beating vehicles into grotesque shapes when you drive through that stretch.
In January this year, the Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed the death of one person while two others sustained various injuries in an auto accident that involved two vehicles at the Toll-Gate, Sango-Ota, on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
Similarly in the same January four persons including a toddler were confirmed dead in an accident involving a Toyota Corolla car and a low bed Mack trailer in Obada-Oko axis of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Another incident was recorded in January at Sango-Ota with a report from Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), stating that one person died in an accident involving a commercial bus at Joju area on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
In February, two persons were confirmed dead and six others injured in a fire accident involving a petroleum tanker at Bible College bus-stop along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway on Thursday night, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
On February 17, Eight persons were confirmed dead while a pregnant woman and a child sustained injuries in an accident involving a blue Toyota Corolla Sport car around Ewekoro Area on Lagos/ Abeokuta Expressway.
Also in February, a driver was crushed to death in an accident involving two trucks around Conoil Bus-Stop, along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
Three persons also died while one person sustained injuries in an accident involving a truck and a Bajaj motorcycle around Toll- Gate on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in the same of February this year.
In March one person died, while two others sustained injuries in a road accident that occurred at Onihale area, near Owode-Ijako, on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, while a young lady was knocked down to death at the Meiran B-Stop in Lagos a vehicle driving against traffic.
By April one person died in an accident involving a commercial bus at joju area on the Lagos Abeokuta expressway, another one died while two others sustained various injuries in an auto accident that involved two vehicles at the Toll-Gate, Sango-Ota, on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
On April 14 an unidentified motorcycle rider and many others were injured in a road crash that occurred at the Toll-gate end of the same Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
It is observed from different reports, that the spot with the highest rate of accidents on the Lagos – Abeokuta expressway is the toll gate axis, which accounts for more than sixty percent of the total accidents reported.
Alhaji Abegunde Ajayi, the CEO of Abex Logistics Nigeria Limited, with its headquarters in Sango Ota, said: “The road is nothing short of a nightmare and transporters’ worst enemy at the moment”.
He recalled how he lost over four million naira last year when one of his trucks conveying consignments for a client fell over as it entered one of those gully-like holes around Amje Bus stop and the entire bottled drink content was mercilessly shattered and spilled all over the road.
He added that, “It is unfortunate that the state of the road has contributed in no small measure to making transport business less attractive and less profitable, stressing that the life span of the average commercial vehicle is far less than what it used to be and cost of maintenance has quadrupled”. Abegunde concluded.
The situation of the road was so pathetic, pushing a group known as the Ado-Odo/Ota Concerned Citizens on Infrastructure to organise a Media parley in Ota, some few weeks to celebrate a statement by Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Ogun State Governor, who said he’s awarded the construction the Ogun State section of the expressway to a Contractor that will soon go to work.
The members of the group who obviously were delighted to hear such and are wishing it is indeed so, quickly organised a Press conference to appreciate Mr. Governor for the laudable move, but were quick to ask him to match his words objective actions. The release signed by Mrs. Olajumoke Odeyemi, the Coordinator, reads in part; “Firstly, we would like to commend His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR CON, the Governor of Ogun State, for his recent decision to award the contract for the reconstruction of the Ado-Odo/ Ota-Abeokuta Road.
“While we appreciate this laudable effort, it is crucial for the details of the awarded contract to be made public. Transparency is a key component of good governance and builds trust between the government and the citizenry.”
The release also contained requests to the Governor, asking him to provide name of the contractor awarded the project, the total contract value, specifics regarding the scope of the work to be undertaken, relevant timelines and milestones set for the project’s completion.
Adding, “By making these details public, we can ensure that all stakeholders are informed and can participate in the monitoring and tracking of the project’s progress.
“In addition to contract details, it is imperative that the take-off time and expected completion date of the project are communicated clearly to the public. This information is essential for proper monitoring and tracking by the citizens and ensures that the contractor and government remain accountable. We urge the government to provide a detailed project schedule, including start and end dates, to avoid any ambiguity.”
On Friday before going to Press I called on Mrs Olajumoke Odeyemi the Coordinator of the Group to find out if the Ogun State Government has given answers to the questions raised during the Press conference, she responded that they are yet to hear from the State.
In a chat with me, Hon Seye Sotunde, a former council official at the Surelere local Government Area, now residing in one of the towns serviced by the road, said, it is quite frustrating that a key economic road like this can be made to deteriorate to this extent.
Sotunde further said, the chassis of his vehicle has been badly impacted by the perennial topsy-turvy daily experience driving on the road to and fro his business place at Ikeja.
The reasons why this is so, stems from many factor amongst: convergence of sloppy road networks; convergence of potholes, crater-like spots, and very bad spots; convergence of high volume of articulated vehicles negotiating in and out of Ogun state; convergence of large number of passengers throughout the day; high concentration of commuter vehicles; and high number of recalcitrant drivers, defying road safety regulations, all at the toll gate.