The Lagos State governorship candidate on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says there are quick gains to be made from an efficient transportation and traffic management in the state.
Lagos economy is not being optimally exploited because of the chaotic transport system in the state, leading to congestion and gridlock which, on many occasions, have ground economic and social activities in the state to a halt.
Sanwo-Olu hopes that when the state’s transportation system improves and the traffic situation is properly managed, they will help a great deal in unlocking the state’s economic potential, leading to the growth of its GDP which, at the moment, is below optimum value.
“I am excited about the quick gains we will make in traffic management and transportation; my confidence comes from interaction with the right stakeholders and a deliberate plan to ease the lives of Lagosians”, the guber candidate said in his twitter handle, @jidesanwolu
Lagos as Nigeria’s economic and commercial capital has its peculiar challenges. This is the smallest state in the country with a land area of 3,577 square kilometers which is about 0.4 percent of total land areas of Nigeria estimated at 923,768 square kilometers. This small land area is inhabited by the state’s over 20 million population with a projected figure of close to 30 million in the next decade.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report says about 260,000 people come into Lagos daily while only about 20-25 percent goes back to their original places. Existing infrastructure and facilities, especially roads, are overstretched, leading to congestion and gridlock that have become major features of the city-state.
If population is all that defines a megacity, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and Africa’s most populous city with a population that is over 20 million, qualifies as one. But unlike other megacities of the world such as Kolkata, India; Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan; Jakarta, Indonesia; Delhi, India; Shanghai in China, among others, Lagos is a complex city with peculiar characteristics.
Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria with a land area of 3,577 square kilometers which is about 0.4 percent of total land area of Nigeria estimated at 923,768 square kilometers. This the area inhabited by the over 20 million population with a projected figure of close to 30 million in the next decade.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report says about 260,000 people come into Lagos daily while only about 20-25 percent goes back to their original places. Existing infrastructure and facilities, especially roads, are overstretched, leading to congestion and gridlock that have become major features of the city-state.
By sheer population, Lagos is a mega-city, but it is not fluid because transportation and the traffic system coupled with its large population are clogging movement and dragging the growth of its economy.
When the Economist Intelligence Unit, in its Global Liveability Index, ranked Lagos the third worst city to live in the world, the parameters considered included general living conditions, ease of doing business, security, infrastructure, health, education, transportation and economic stability.
Sanwo-Olu has, however, assured that he has plans to tackle the problems of gridlock and improve traffic management in the state if elected governor of the state next month, saying his government will build an inter-modal transport system by integrating road, rail and water transportation to solve the problem of commuting within the metropolis.
After Apapa which is the worst traffic spot in West Africa, Lagos has got a good number of heavy traffic flashpoints. At the forefront of this is the Lagos-Badagry Expressway where an apparently abandoned reconstruction work is going on. The gridlock on this largely distorted expressway is legendary.
“We will move very fast to complete the ongoing Blue Line rail project from Okokomaiko-Marina and in the process aggressively prosecute the rehabilitation of Lagos Badagry Expressway; we will also explore the realization of the Red line from Agbado to Marina. In preparing for rehabilating various inner roads, the three Asphalt plants will be turned around and made ready to put people to work in order to make our roads motorable throughout the year”, Sanwo-Olu assured.
At a public forum recently where he was represented by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, the governorship candidate added that as part of improving on the traffic experience of Lagosians, he had identified about 51 gridlock points in Lagos, each requiring different solutions.
These points include Adeniji Adele-Sura-Obadenle-Muson Centre-TBS; Apongbon-Eko Bridge; Maryland-Ikorodu Road junction; Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge-Admiralty Way and Lekki toll plaza; Ikorodu Roadabout; Oba Ogunji-Agindigbi-Awolowo Road -Allen Avenue; Oko Oba-Abule Egba; Ipaja Road Egbeda; Awolowo Road Ikoyi; Mile 12-Ketu; Ikeja – Oba Akran; Ijora-Apapa, etc.
CHUKA UROKO
