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“In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow.” John F. Kennedy.
Over the years, Apapa, that hitherto calm, serene port city where both residents and export and import trading find meaning and flourished has turned into something unrecognisable: a decrepit wasteland where money is still being made but where virtually all infrastructure have been allowed by government to decay and collapse and where the environment has been degraded almost irredeemably by desperate merchants whose trucks and tank farms have overrun the city.
Almost surreptitiously, Apapa, the city of aquatic splendour where expatriates, corporate executives, the elite and top government officials found home along its well laid out roads and avenues lined with flowers and ornamental trees and renowned for its exquisite night life and attracted residents from other parts of Lagos, became a metaphor for stress, suffering and suffocation, devoid of any charm and consequently avoided like leprosy by those who do not have pressing need to go there. Going to Apapa became synonymous with ‘journeying to hell’.
Many businesses died in the city and many more still lucky to remain alive, fled to saner places in Lagos. Equally, Many residents who had the means relocated, leaving behind empty homes for rats, rodents and ‘lucky maiguards’ who now enjoy the comfort of castles and mansions.
But what has been the response of government: Hand-wringing and finger-pointing between the federal and state governments and among the various agencies of government. For years, officials of both the state and federal governments, who control billion of dollars in budget between themselves, have visited the place and promised several times to take action to reverse the rot and restore the beauty of Apapa; but those promises have amounted to nothing with the city deteriorating with each passing day. So bad did it get that even ministers and top officials of the state government complained privately to concerned individuals that the bedlam in Apapa has defied all solutions and may well remain so for the foreseeable future.
Enter Rear Admiral SAG Abbah, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy who was drafted in as a last resort, to attempt to restore order and manage the traffic and insecurity menace in Apapa and its environs. With no budget attached to the task but with only a rugged determination and excellent leadership and organisational skill, Rear Admiral Abbah, together with his men, in a short while, found the courage and the will to tackle the Apapa traffic helping to restore sanity and ensuring that other road users aside truck drivers have easy and quick access into Apapa. The logic he used was simple: The tankers and trailers were made to use only one lane of the road leading to and coming out of Apapa freeing the other lane for other motorists.
What seemed like an impossible task had been accomplished in so short a time drawing praise from different stakeholders including the Apapa GRA Resident Association (AGRA), businesses and port users. Even the trailers and trucks saw a change in fortune as the new order improved the turnaround time of trucks and trailers coming to pick cargo at the ports. The improved traffic situation and order also helped to reduce the demurrage and storage charges importers and manufacturers pay to shipping companies and terminal operators for delay.
With sanity restored, Admiral Abbah quickly withdrew his men to the barracks and handed over the task of sustaining the status quo to the police, LASTMA and other traffic management agencies in the true spirit of Military Aid to Civil Authorities, which does not allow sustained military presence on the streets. However, hardly had the Naval personnel gone than the old order returned with a vengeance. Tankers and trailers again took over the entire road making Apapa inaccessible once again. But the nuisance value isn’t restricted to the just blocking the road alone. The drivers and their motor boys used any available drain or space on these roads as toilets and places to wash and dump refuse. The hapless residents, workers and commuters, had to resort once more to bikes or Okada’s who also constituted a greater nuisance, to go into and out of Apapa.
This necessitated the return of Admiral Abbah and his boys to the roads. This time, there is unanimity among stakeholders that the Naval personnel should remain in charge of the roads for the foreseeable future.
Born Sylvanus Agada Abbah in Orido-Otukpa, Ogbadibo local government area of Benue state, Admiral Abbah enrolled at the National Defence Academy on July 5, 1982 at course 32RC and was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy on July 5 1985. He attended several military courses in Nigeria and Germany and held several positions including Director of Lgostics, Director of Naval Intelligence, Director of Administration, Nigerian Navy Headquarters, Navy Secretary and currently the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command. Rear Admiral Abbah has distinguished himself in all the positions he held in the Navy winning awards and decorations such as the Forces Service Star (FSS), Meritorious Service Star (MSS), Distinguished Service Star (DSS) and General Service Star (GSS).
While congratulating Admiral Abbah for the great work he and his men are doing in Apapa, we wish to remind him that the reward for good work is more work. It will be difficult to sustain the sanity on the Ijora axis of the road leading to Apapa without also finding a solution to intractable problem of the Mile 2 axis. Admiral Abbah has to reach into his military books of tactics to find an innovative way of clearing the entire stretch of the road of trailers and trucks. There will be problems; individuals and groups that have benefitted from the old order will constantly look for ways to sabotage the progress made in returning order and serenity to Apapa. But Admiral Abbah must remain strong and committed to the task of restoring sanity to Apapa even in the face of government neglect and with little or no resources.
Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie, Chuka Uroko and Chris Akor
