Apapa gridlock: Ajegunle residents count ordeal

Residents of Ajegunle in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, a community that links Apapa with Lagos Mainland and Island, are counting their sufferings as tanker drivers have taken over all major roads into the community, converting streets and drainage to public toilet.
The truck drivers have over the last two months converged on Ajegunle in response to the Apapa gridlock. Due to the traffic situation in and around Apapa, and in a bid to gain access to the ports in Apapa, the truck drivers had resorted to parking on the streets of Ajegunle neglecting signposts and residents’ outcry on the menace.
The plight of residents of the communities that made up the area has been raised over unlawful parking of tankers and trucks in Ajegunle, which has reduced the passage pace thereby hindering the free flow of traffic and movement of commercial and private vehicles to and from Apapa.
The indiscriminate parking of trucks on the highway has resulted in hike in fares by commercial bus operators, who now charge double the initial price of commuting within Ajegunle.
However, the truck drivers on the other hand are also seeking the support of the government to find a lasting solution to the unending Apapa gridlock. The truck drivers who were displaced from parking on the bridges are seeking remedy to the Apapa gridlock.
Ismail Aliu, a truck driver, whose truck has been parked along the road leading into Ajegunle, in narrating his ordeal and that of other truck drivers, said, “I have been here for the past three days. It has not been easy. The government should do something about the road leading to the seaport to enable free movement of tankers.”
A police officer in the community, simply identified as Johnson, took the gridlock rather sarcastically, saying, “the reason trucks and tankers are parked this way is because there is money in Nigeria. If there is no money in Nigeria, you will not see these trucks and tanker here.”
However, despite the menace caused by truck drivers making it difficult for commuters in Ajegunle, some residents of the area said it was not the fault of the truck drivers, rather putting it on the doorstep of the government.
“The government is the cause of this problem, because all the reserved areas meant for parking of trucks have been sold out by the government, so it is left for the truck drivers to hang along the road. The only access road to the port is damaged, and the government cannot put it in order,” an anonymous resident said.
Speaking further, he said, “These truck drivers pay for road worthiness in Liaison office; so they are entitled to park anywhere they want to.”
The Apapa gridlock and the indiscriminate parking of trucks in and around Ajegunle should serve as a wake-up call to the government, both national and state level, to develop other seaports in Nigeria, so as to avert ‘tankjestion,’ that is the congestion of Lagos roads by tankers and truck drivers, and also to improve infrastructure in all parts of the country.