With commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as ‘okada’ taken over the Lagos and Arepo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, commuters have called on the federal government to save them from the chaotic situations and the attendant accidents that have continued to either kill or mame them.
For the past few weeks, the daily experiences have been those of wailing and regrets as the workers staying at the Ogun state end of the boundary between her and Lagos have been spending average of four hours on the road.
Some of the motorists who spoke in separate interviews with Channels Television demanded quick action from the Federal Government on the ongoing reconstruction works.
A road user who simply gave his name as John Emmanuel expressed deep-seated anger at the gridlock which has extended to Otedola Bridge.
“I was supposed to resume work by 9 am but got to the office by 10 am. I was held up in the traffic for 45 minutes between Berger and OPIC,” he said.
Maryam Hussein, whose office is along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, said the gridlock has affected her productivity at work.
“I came out this morning but went back because the road was completely blocked on Ogunnusi Road, on both lanes. I can’t go to work because of the traffic. It has greatly impacted my productivity because I want to go to work but can’t work. The government should create alternate routes,” she said.
Another motorist who gave his identity simply as Samuel described the situation as horrible, noting that traffic managers were barely seen in action.
“The experience was absolutely horrible, there was nowhere to turn, no alternative route; the roads were blocked. Many people are stuck, and can’t go back. There wasn’t any traffic official to help the situation. You’ll expect that with this type of situation, a lot of people should try to manage the problem but there is limited presence of these officials.
“To make matters worse, nobody has a clue of when this construction work will end. The pace at which they work is confusing; sometimes you pass and there is no work going on. You’ll expect that they will work through the night or significantly at night,” he commented.
Samuel further said, “It has affected my productivity seriously. Sometimes, I get into the traffic and if you are desperate to meet up appointments, you have to abandon your car which is not safe, sometimes you have to turn back. For instance, I spent two hours and still can’t get to work. I had to turn back after two hours wasted.
“The government should make it a major project; this is a road linking Nigeria with the major economic city. We need to see the seriousness with which the government is carrying out this project. We need to see the speed but that is not there. It looks like we are going to be in this for months.”
Another worker who resides in Arepo spent five hours to get to Allen on Thursday, haven vowed not to take Okada again in view of her experience on Wednesday.
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“This is a construction zone and if you move at about 30km per hour, you will get to your destination. But at times, some of these things do happen, breakdowns, accidents and the rest. So, people should just be very disciplined, give way, allow other vehicles, move in quietly and you will be out,” he said on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily.
“The whole stretch of Lagos to Ibadan will be completed, the main carriageway will be completed before the end of this year, 2022,” he added.
