Fire outbreaks have become a regular occurrence in Apapa and its environs. The latest was the conflagration caused by a fuel tanker in Olodi Apapa on Tuesday 7 January 2014. 15 people were confirmed to have lost their lives. Properties worth millions of naira were lost.
The last unfortunate incident was caused by an explosion at the MRS Oil Tank Farm on Tin Can Island last year. Loss of lives and properties are bye-products of the infernos that follow.
For how long will the Federal and Lagos State Governments wait before taking action to prevent these avoidable disasters. Absolute calamity may be nearer than we think
The increase in fuel importation gave rise to establishment of more tank farms. Almost all the land locations with access to the sea are now tank farms: from Kirikiri through Tin Can Island to Ijora, everywhere around there has been transformed into one massive Oil Tank Jungle.
With the nation’s poor safety record, ill equipped fire fighting outfits and slow response to disasters, if a fire of high magnitude breaks out from the freighters, land and sea, the calamity that will ensue will be highly devastating. The disaster will not be limited to one area . It will form a ring from Kirikiri waters through Tin Can Island, Apapa to Ijora. The residents of these locations will be trapped. The ring will form a furnace in which the populace may be incinerated. The Navy Town and the Naval Base in Apapa may not be spared. The catastrophe will be worse than the havoc wrecked by the volcanic eruption from Mt Tambora in present day Indonesia in 1812. For residents of Apapa, there may be no escape; even through the creeks.
The Ports located in Apapa and Tin Can Island are major revenue earners for the Federal Government; second only to the NNPC, yet, the access roads to these ports are in a poor state due to lack of maintenance. They are full of potholes and, in some places, the asphalt has disappeared. Broken down trailers, fuel tankers and other heavy duty vehicles are a common sight and form a permanent feature. They constitute obstacles to vehicular movement, and attempts to avoid these obstacles often cause heavy laden tankers and trailers to keel over, sometimes resulting in spilling their contents as was the case on 7th January . These unfortunate incidents occur almost on a daily basis on Tin Can Island -Oshodi-Isolo expressway and the bridge linking Apapa with the other parts of Lagos Mainland. In some cases, people are crushed in their cars when containers fall off their carriers often resulting in fatalities .
The roads leading to the ports are Federal Roads situated in Lagos State. Residents of Apapa and environs are domiciled in Lagos . Lagos State provides and maintains street lights for roads linking all parts of the mainland to Lagos Island but at night, Apapa is in darkness. There are no street lights. The major, arterial and minor roads are not lit at night.
The safety of the bridge linking Apapa from Ijora and Costain needs evaluation. The exit to Mobil Road and the Naval Base have been closed for over ten years; perhaps to avoid imminent collapse. The joints on the bridge keep widening. There is urgent need to carry out repairs on the whole bridge.
The Third Mainland Bridge , constructed 20 years after, with less tonnage crossing it, has been closed down twice for evaluation and repairs
Road mishaps and calamities are not caused by bad roads and lack of maintenance and infrastructure alone. Most of the vehicles, including private vehicles, are not road worthy. Less than 20% of tankers and trailers plying Apapa roads are roadworthy. This is why brake failure is prevalent. Some vehicles ply the roads without headlamps while about 90% of heavy duty vehicles are without rear lights . Lagos State attempted to introduce the issuance of “Certificate of Road Worthiness” to deter non-roadworthy vehicles from plying the roads some years ago but rescinded the decision , perhaps for fear of the electorate or blackmail from NUPENG/NURTW and other stakeholders. Yet, the State Government owes the populace a duty pertaining to safety on the roads by preventing all categories of non-roadworthy vehicles from plying the roads
The residents of Apapa, under the umbrella of APAPA GRA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION (AGRA), with membership of concerned citizens, have, over the years, appealed to the State Government to provide necessary infrastructure and get rid of unwanted non-residents who pose security risks to the well-being of the residents.
AGRA had to seek enforcement of the statutory laws governing Apapa in court . The court ruled in April 2013 compelling Lagos State to enforce the law within a month after the judgement . Till date, Lagos State is yet to act.
Most of the disasters in Nigeria are man-made, induced by warped religious beliefs or depravity , greed and poverty. There are terrorists in the North, kidnappers and pirates in the East and South-South while that of the South-West is confined to Apapa. While security forces are needed to prevent or stop the carnage in other parts, the Federal and State Governments only need to direct the relevant ministries and other agencies responsible for provision and maintenance of infrastructure in Apapa and environs to do their job properly and caringly.
Aided with maintenance of law and order, the Apapa area could be more conducive to residence and the conduct of business. The dynamism of business should be a blessing to the populace and not a curse.
By: Sola Ayo-Vaughan
