Every day, 27-year-old Adisa Olawale, a marketing executive living in Lagos, rises at 5:00 a.m., well before the city fully awakens. The early start is a necessity, not a choice, as he prepares for the daily challenge of navigating through Lagos’s notorious traffic.
Adisa’s journey takes him from his home in Ojodu Berger, a bustling suburb, to Victoria Island, the heart of Lagos’s business district.
The trip, which ideally should take about 45 minutes, often stretches into a two-hour ordeal. As he drives through the quiet streets of Ojodu, the commute starts smoothly, but as soon as he hits the Berger-Oworonshoki Expressway, traffic grinds to a halt.
The highway, packed with cars, buses, and motorcycles, becomes a sea of frustration. Adisa braces himself for the familiar struggle—an hour of inching forward, surrounded by honking horns and thick exhaust fumes.
The gridlock turns into a marketplace, with street vendors selling everything from snacks to phone accessories. Adisa sometimes buys plantain chips, not out of hunger, but to break the monotony of the endless wait.
By the time he reaches his office, the day has only just begun, but the traffic has already drained his energy. He sits at his desk, battling fatigue, knowing that the evening will bring another round of the same exhausting commute.
Adisa’s story is far from unique. Millions of Lagosians endure this daily grind, navigating a city where traffic, coupled with a rising cost of living, is a test of both patience and resilience.
The traffic congestion in Lagos is exacerbated by the city’s rapid urbanisation and inadequate infrastructure.
The increasing number of vehicles on the roads, (1.6 million vehicles ply Lagos roads on a daily basis according to an official data in 2019), coupled with the limited capacity of the existing road network, has led to severe traffic congestion.
The government has implemented various measures to address the traffic problem, including the construction of new roads and the improvement of public transportation.
Read also: Third Mainland Bridge, Abuja-Keffi Highway rank as roads with highest daily traffic
Lagos State government has made significant progress in developing a multi-modal transport system with good roads, rail and water transportation infrastructure in some parts of the state.
But some worn spots appear to taint the state’s transport ambition of building a road infrastructure network that would place Lagos as a megacity.
However, the challenges remain significant, and many residents continue to face long commutes and significant disruptions to their daily lives.
The traffic jams, as observed by our correspondents, are often caused by impatience among road users, ongoing repairs & construction and sometimes total neglect of roads by the government.
Worn out expansion joint worsens gridlock along Ogudu-Oworonshoki highway
Commuters have lamented the worsening gridlock along Ogudu-Oworonshoki highway, caused by a worn out expansion joint.
The gridlock, according to some of the stranded motorists and commuters, has now become a daily routine, with many vehicles spending productive hours on a less than five minutes journey.
A visit to the area by our correspondents on Friday confirmed that a worn out expansion joint before Ifako accounts for the incessant gridlock within the axis.
According to Saheed Agbaje, a “danfo” driver, the bad spot was not as dilapidated as it is now, faulting the government for waiting till things go worse before taking action.
“We have been facing this traffic for weeks now,” Agbaje said while cleaning off beads of sweat on his face with a handkerchief.
“The government has not done well in this regard. Must things get worse before they are done,” the mid-age commercial driver said.
Spending longer periods in traffic costs extra fuel, especially at a time when petrol scarcity has become a ritual in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer.
This has compounded the woes of citizens who are reeling from a worst economic crisis in decades.
Many of the motorists around Ikeja, Maryland, Ojota, Ogudu and Adeniji-Obalende axis of Lagos who were questioned by our correspondent stated that they bought fuel between N800 to N900 per litre at pump prices.
“We spend hours that could have been used to cover our trips on ‘go slow’. This has reduced our turns and led to an increase in transport fare,” said Ayo Badejo, a Maryland-Ojota driver.
“Sometimes we hardly get the actual money we ought to deliver to the owner of the vehicle let alone making profits,” another bus driver said with a rather frustrating tone.
Read also: Traffic congestion stalls Lagos business owners’ activities, drivers hike transport fare
“Maintenance routine,” repair works worsen Lagosians plights on Ojota-Odo Iya Alaro, Adeniji-Obalende roads
Motorists plying the Ojota-Odo Iya Alaro axis in Lagos are continuing to grapple with severe traffic congestion caused by the ongoing repair work.
The gridlock has resulted in significant losses for transporters and commuters alike, while hawkers have seen a surge in business.
The Lagos State government in July announced a 90-day repair and diversion of traffic on Odo-Iya Alaro Bridge.
The Odo Iya-Alaro Bridge is a major commuter road connecting, Ikorodu, Surulere, and the Third Mainland Bridge extension
Transporters operating along the axis have expressed frustration over the time-consuming traffic caused by the repair, which has negatively impacted their daily income amid cost of living crisis in the country.
Many drivers have reported spending hours stuck in traffic, reducing the number of trips they can complete and cutting into their earnings.
“This traffic is killing our business,” lamented Olabode Adewale, a commercial bus driver. “It takes us hours to cover a short distance, and we end up losing a lot of money.”
In contrast, hawkers selling snacks, drinks, and other items in the traffic have seen a significant increase in sales.
The prolonged traffic has created a captive audience for these vendors, who have capitalised on the opportunity to generate additional income.
“The traffic has been good for business,” said Mohammed Hamad, plantain chips vendor. “People are hungry and thirsty, so they are willing to buy whatever we are selling.”
A state traffic official overseeing the area acknowledged the challenges faced by motorists and commuters but urged patience and understanding.
She attributed the worsening traffic situation to the impatience of motorists who often try to overtake or drive through closed lanes, leading to further congestion.
“We understand the frustration of motorists, but we urge them to cooperate and follow the traffic rules,” said the official on the condition of anonymity. “Impatience only makes the situation worse.”
Similarly, a repair of some expansion joints along Adeniji inwards Obalende highway has continued to spread long traffic jams towards the Third Mainland Bridge, forcing motorists to spend more time than necessary, our correspondent gathered.
This is the major road that links Lagos Island to the mainland part of the commercial city. But motorists have got no choice even as they grapple with long queues at the fuel station due to lingering scarcity.
A senior technician with CECC construction who was supervising the repair says the “maintenance routine” may extend by a week or two.
“We’re trying to speed up the work to ensure that people stop facing heavy gridlock here. But by my estimate, we may finish the maintenance routine in a week or two,” the supervisor who identified himself as Mark said.
The reporter observed that there were presence of security and traffic officials at each point of the repair to ensure free flow of traffic and compliance.
“The traffic is well controlled by our officers as you can see. We are also here to protect the construction engineers from undue harassment,” one of the police officers who didn’t want his name mentioned said.
For vendors selling consumables, especially cold drinks, it’s a blessing in disguise as their sales boom on high demands.
Godfrey Stanley sells just two to five packs of packed plantain chips per day prior to the now daily gridlock but sells over 10 times more, increasing his profits and providing him with his daily needs.
“We sell over 20 packs now that there’s traffic. The ‘go-slow’ might be delaying road users but our sales are growing,” said Stanley, folding wads of cash around his fingers.
As the repair works continue, transporters and commuters along the axis are bracing for more traffic disruptions.
The completion of the project is expected to alleviate the congestion and improve transportation in the area.
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