7th December, 2011
Lagos traffic jam is no respecter of the high and mighty in the society, and so it was for a former Head of Service of the Federation, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, on Tuesday.
Afolabi, who was chairman of a public lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, was forced to trek almost a kilometre to beat traffic jam.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former Head of Service abandoned his car and driver in a traffic gridlock at Bonny Camp and trekked to the venue of the public lecture to avoid getting there late.
The public lecture organised by the NIIA was entitled, “Regional Integration: The East African Experienceâ€.
Afolabi came into the event hall and narrated his harrowing experience of not even being able to get a commercial motorcycle, popularly known as Okada, to transport him to the place.
He expressed disappointment at the traffic congestion between Bonny Camp and the NIIA that lasted for about two and half hours.
He explained that in order to meet up with the appointment, he left home at 10 a.m. for the lecture scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
“We are used to Abuja, where you can predict your movement. I did not predict there would be problem between Okada riders and LASTMA officials. It was even impossible for me to get an Okada down here.
“To meet with my appointment here, I got down from the car and trekked the rest of the way here,†he said.