Still On The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

A lot has been written and said about the poor condition of the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway.  We have read and heard various accounts of the travails of commuters along the road. There have been occasions when people spent as much as six hours on the same spot on the road. And you will be mistaking if you think it is only the ordinary folks that bear the pains and agonies on the road. As far as the Lagos- Ibadan expressway is concerned, the rich and the mighty also cry. It is, however, disheartening that in spite of the various troubles being experienced on the road, there is nothing concrete on ground to suggest that the plight of commuters along the road will soon come to an end. Indeed, the situation on the road has become so bad, in recent times, that people living, working or travelling along the axis have had different tales of woes to tell. No thanks to the various failed portions of the road that have made it a driver’s nightmare.

The Federal Government signed a concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Limited (the Concessionaire) in May 2009, for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway modernization project. The project is aimed at improving substantially upon the current geometric standards of the road; expand the carriageway into a limited access eight lanes divided highway between Lagos and the Shagamu interchange and a limited access of six lanes divided highway between the Shagamu interchange and Ibadan.  Equally, modern expressway services and facilities to be introduced include dawn lighting, improved and new interchanges, a new drainage system, recessed service areas, lay-by emergency parking areas, footbridges in heavy pedestrian areas, weigh bridges, electronic traffic control and obligatory/informative signs. Under the DBOT, there will be no monetary costs to the government. Bi-Courtney is to raise all the required funding, largely through equity and long term loans and to a much lesser extent, from revenue generated from the operation of the highway.

However, three years after the agreement was signed, hope has given way to despair as the expectations of stakeholders concerning the road seem to have been dashed. The age long traffic problem experienced on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, particularly at Ibafo and Ogere, has continued to pose a great challenge to the socio–economic development and security of Ogun State and Nigeria at large, considering the nature and importance of the expressway in question.

Presently, it is not really clear who is actually in charge of the road. Bi Courtney, the concessionaire, seems not to be getting its acts together. The Federal Government, as it is, might be working on the perspective that the road is no longer its responsibility while the Ogun state Government lacks the needed capacity to provide the needed intervention.  One thing that is quite indisputable is that the road is in dire need of help. Users of the road don’t really care about who is not doing what. Their major concern is for the road to be rehabilitated so that this present cup of agony will pass over them.

What we presently have on our hands on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is an emergency that cannot wait for the usual Nigerian style of foot-dragging. If indeed, human lives mean something to us, the time is ripe for the Federal Government to tackle issues relating to the road head -long. Imagine the number of foreigners that ply the road on a daily basis. Imagine their perception of the country. For all our cries about attracting foreign investments into the country, if we cannot take care of minute details such as improving a major highway that could enhance such investments, then we had better forgotten it.

The present state of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is a serious disservice to the credibility of the country .Being the main expressway, providing the primary link between Lagos, the former administrative capital and major commercial centre and other parts of Nigeria and hence, a road of primary economic and social importance to the nation, it is imperative that the Federal Government takes urgent steps to ensure that the situation of the road improves.

The issues involved on the road are multifaceted. For one, it is in a real bad shape and needs urgent rehabilitation. No more, no less. Second, the nuisance of trailer and tanker drivers on the road is becoming quite alarming. Not only that they drive recklessly, but they equally pack their trailers indiscriminately. They have become a law unto themselves. Nobody seems to be capable of getting them to act responsibly. On the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, there is one law for other drivers and a different one for the trailer and tanker drivers. The indiscriminate packing of trailers on either side of the road is a serious factor in the painful traffic gridlock that commuters regularly suffer on the road.  Some of the truck drivers plying the expressway are reckless and recalcitrant, an attitude that has become a major cause of this age-long traffic challenge on the expressway. It is sad that most of the federal and state agencies that ought to ensure that the tanker drivers do the right thing are obviously overwhelmed by the situation. The end result is that the road has become one big animal kingdom where insanity is the order of the day.

Third, incessant cases of abandoned vehicles constitute a major hindrance to motorists on the highway. Also, the transformation of the axis into a vast business and residential hub, with emerging communities such as Arepo, Magboro, Ibafo, Asese, Olowotedo, Pakuro among others, has equally heightened traffic chaos along the road.  Of equal importance is the location of the international headquarters of many religious bodies along the axis. Although most of them have evolved strategic means of traffic control during their programmes, efforts need to be intensified to improve on these traffic management strategies.

The attendant road crashes occasioned by the dilapidated state of the road and the fall-outs-deaths, injuries and destruction to properties (vehicles, goods etc.) have, no doubt, come with enormous economic cost. In its most recent record, the FRSC disclosed that Nigeria loses three per cent of her GDP which translated to 17 per cent of current national reserves through road traffic crashes in 2009. The income loss from 2009 and road traffic crashes in Nigeria was more than GDP of over 20 individual African countries. No nation that is desirous of economic development and growth will handle with levity a situation where its vibrant work force and other citizens are wantonly wasted through otherwise avoidable occurrences as in the case of the carnage on Nigerian roads.

To put the Nigerian economy on the lane to speedy recovery and growth, the Federal Government would have to immediately commit itself to a result-driven programme that would make the road a driver’s delight.  There must be a time frame known and acceptable to Nigerians for the completion of this road if the federal government must convince the people that we are indeed in a transformational. This is the time to put an end to the pains and stress that commuters daily experience along road. It is delighting to note that some South-West governors recently held a discussion with President Jonathan on the issue of the road. What is, however, not clear is how soon the people will begin to witness the positive results of the said discussion. This is the time for all stakeholders to come together and ensure that sanity prevails on the road.

 •Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.