I am undertaking a 6-month Industrial Training at a large company in Victoria Island. I could leave my apartment at 6.45am drive and make it to work by 7.20am. I spend a little over 35mins to cover about 23km.
I live in Ajah. I work with a company in Victoria Island, a mere distance of 23km, which can be covered in 35minutes in the absence of gridlock. However, I would need to leave my apartment by 5.15am to do so. Leaving my apartment at 6.45am, I would spend no less than 120mins on the road.
As expected, people have migrated towards this axis, road users have increased, cars have multiplied and as with a typical Nigerian government, little or no planning has been done, and hence the short stretch of road is now reminiscent of the Israelites journey of Bible days.
Until the removal in late 2017, the 13km road running from Lekki to Ajah had 7 gigantic roundabouts. To say that was a design flaw is stating the obvious. After so many years, the flaw was realized, and in making the correction, the citizens had to bear the brunt.
Construction works began in a bid to remove six of the seven roundabouts. The choice of day, over the night time, was pretty difficult to understand. In the absence of alternative routes, I had to adjust my itinerary, getting out of bed by 4.30am daily, to hit the road by 5am. 5am is not a guarantee that I’d be at work by 8am.
Infact, on a certain Monday morning while construction was ongoing, driving, I left my apartment at 5am and didn’t get to work till 10.15am.
The reasons for this gridlock is pretty obvious. A single stretch of road links Ajah to the rest of Lagos. Three proposed alternatives are yet to see the light of day. One routes has been taken over by private estates, another by business owners who have make Beaches of the road. Another being a bridge across the waters is yet to see the light of day.
It is saddening that the government thinks widening the exisitng roads is a solution. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Wider roads are short-term fixes and long-term headache.
It is a cycle – The roads are widened, citizens see this as less gridlock, buy new cars, clog the roads and worsen the issue.
The sight of private cars that ply the route is identical. One person per car or a driver and passenger. It is unbelievable that the government is yet to invest in a Mass Transit system in that axis.
Travelling on this road could be devastating, especially since there are no alternatives. A car breaks down – Traffic. Flooding, caused by rain – Traffic. The rain subsides, and everyone leaves their homes at about the same time – Traffic. Fuel queues at filling stations along the road, with queues taking up two lanes of road – Traffic. Overflowing waste bins along the road, taking up one lane – Traffic. Traffic. Traffic. Traffic. The Lekki-Ajah Road breathes Traffic!
A look at Google Map and you can literally go insane. Using Google Maps, the distance from Ikorodu to Ajah (as crow flies) is 18km. However, using the constructed roads, you would need to travel 56km, more than 3 times the distance. The average Lagos resident assumes that these two places are the extremes of Lagos, whereas an 18km bridge is all than separates the two places.
Indeed, Lagos Traffic is simply a result of poor planning and stupidity!
Perhaps, a Metro. Perhaps a dedicated Mass Transit lane. Perhaps, safer roads and encouraging cycling or power bikes. Perhaps, safer sea transportation and encouraging the use of the waterways.
Population is growing. Traffic has worsened. Valuable man-hours are spent on the road. Stress levels are increasing. People are getting under-productive. The government and citizens are doing nothing. Little or no planning, and it could only get worse.
If nothing is done, our offices will become our homes. Our children will only see us over the weekends. We will be severely underproductive as individuals, as a state and as a country.
A stitch in time...