There was confusion yesterday in Apapa as truck carrying chemicals upturned on the bad portion of the Ijora-Apapa/Wharf road and trapped an okada rider, who narrowly escaped death following the rescue efforts put in by concerned Nigerians.
The fortunate okada rider got trapped in between two trucks as he tried to maneuver his way out of the traffic gridlock that characterised Apapa metropolis over the last few weeks as the situation of the roads leading to Apapa and Tin-Can Island Port worsened.
When BusinessDay visited the scene of the accident, many concerned Nigerians were sighted putting efforts together and succeeded in rescuing the trapped okada rider by discharging the content of the truck to be able to raise the truck. The victim was later taken away to hospital by an ambulance after he was rescued.
It was also discovered that barely two hours after the incident occurred, the victim only received help from good spirited Nigerian because no government agency except the officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), were present at the scene of the incident.
“Nigerians are dying every day on this bad Ijoro-Apapa/Wharf road because both Federal and State Government have refused to listen to the suffering of the people. The roads have been bad for months now and nobody is doing anything to repair it. Ijora-Apapa/Wharf road is bad, and Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is supposed to be an alternative route to the seaports, has been bad for years” said an okada rider, who identified himself as Yusuf Umar.
Umar, who gave an eye witness account of the incident, said that the trapped okada rider was a victim of system failure in Nigerian governance as people voted to represent the people refused account for the responsibility bestowed on them.
“The okada rider tried to bypass the truck and he was trapped. He survived it but nobody knows who it will betomorrow. It has been very difficult plying Apapa roads on daily basis,” Umar added.
Access into the two major ports in Lagos could either be through Apapa-Oshodi Expressway or Ijora-Apapa road through Western Avenue but both roads have been in a bad shape over years due to negligence.
Industry close watchers blamed both Federal Government and Lagos State Government for the bad state of the road. This is because, they say, doing business in Nigerian seaports has been difficult due to the deplorable state of roads leading to the Lagos seaports.
“The bad state of the roads has been very challenging to port users and operators, who lose quality man-hour to traffic gridlock and left the greater part of shippers’ goods damaged while on transit from the port to their warehouses,” said Tony Anakebe, a maritime analyst.
According to him, many families have lost their loved ones to pressure mounted on commuters and port users by the endless traffic gridlocks while the very unfortunate ones get killed by containers that upturned on transit due to gulley and ditch on the port access road.
