Apapa, is, arguably, the opposite of the good development already on-going in Lagos. It is an ultra-dirty environment with uttermost reckless driving that has led to an avoidable loss of innocent lives, YUSUF BABALOLA writes
Apapa, an industrial suburb and outer harbour of Lagos which host two seaports on the shores of the Bight of Benin (in the Gulf of Guinea, Atlantic Ocean), is the most traversed city, using motorcycle, popularly known as okada in local parlance.
Daily, an average of 3000 okada ply the Apapa-Tin Can-Kirikiri Road, up to Mile 2, moving commuters in and out of the dreaded, patience-trying traffic. Unsurprisingly, the bikes are the beautiful bride of commuters, due to the traffic gridlock experienced on the ever-busy road.
Clearing agents, security agents, operators, clerical staff and, even, journalists, are among those who patronise feel the need to jump on an okada, in order to catch up with an appointment and have no time to wait for the containers and petroleum-laden trucks to give way before they get on to their ‘dos’.
The okada is, in away of speaking, a last option of some sort.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Sunday on the Apapa Road, a clearing agent, Ikechukwu Okafor, opined that the best way to connect two of the nation’s largest seaports – Tincan and Apapa – would be a commute on okada.
“You can have containers to clear at the ports, but the only way to get to the port on time is to use bikes, even though the two ports are not very far apart,” he said.
As easy as it may be to connect both ports with motorcycles, many lives have also been lost in the process.
In 2015, a middle-aged woman, billed to travel to the United Kingdom, was run into by an articulated truck which smashed her brain. She died instantly.
The woman, whose friends were at the scene, said she was on her way to West minster, Apapa, to get the phone she planned taking to the United Kingdom, before a reckless truck driver put an end to all that.
Also, just last week, a journalist, Segun Agbolade, met his untimely death on the same road, when a petroleum tanker crushed him to death.
Agbolade, a maritime journalist who took an okada in order to meet up with an earlier scheduled appointment in Apapa, fell off the bike after the collision and was eventually crushed to death by the on-coming truck.
He died before help could come his way.
In 2015, the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway was regarded as the most dreaded in Lagos, because of the day-long traffic grid-lock, unabated robbery activities, recklessness of truck drivers and rising death-toll recorded on the road.
Also, the unabated recklessness of ‘one-way’ traffic drivers continued to be a nightmare for commuters and pedestrians aiming to use the road.
Sadly, drivers resort to driving ‘one-way’ when the major expressway is blocked by the heavy-duty vehicles going to lift petroleum products, containers and other valuable from Apapa.
The problem is compounded by motorcycle riders who also take the one-way option, ‘one-way’, speeding, with little consideration for pedestrians trying to cross the road. This creates bedlam, making crossing the road a risky adventure.
One Joy Erakifu, who plies the road on her way to her office at Point Road, Apapa, said: “This road has turned into a nightmare for motorists and a death-trap for pedestrians.
“People die here frequently. It is quite unfortunate that people have to go through this just to get to Apapa. “There have been countless accidents along this axis, because of the uncontrollable traffic, as commercial buses and motorcycles have resorted to ‘one-way’ to avoid the heavy grid-lock. As a result of this, countless souls have been swallowed up on this road when crossing over to the other side.”
On his part, a clearing agent, Harmony Ubani, argued that the death-toll in the area had risen considerably since last year.
“From August to December, 2016, there were, at least, three deaths in one month, recorded along this road. I cross this road daily going to work at home from Ajeromi to Apapa and I had to stop for about 20 to 30 minutes, waiting for a good time to cross the road. Sometimes, I have to go through Boundary just to be on the safe side.”
Chukwudi Ozoadibe, who plies the road daily from Oshodi to Coconut, lamented that the ‘one-way’ drivers killed more people than even the trucks. “What is most dangerous is the recklessness with which the drivers taking ‘one-way’ drive, as if they have the right-of-way.
Sometimes, it is understandable that it is not their fault, but they don’t seem to consider the danger and risks they put the lives of their passengers.
“This makes it very difficult for people to cross the road without getting killed by oncoming vehicles from either side of the road,” he added.
Also speaking, another pedestrian, Jacob Lawson, narrated his experience seeing a bus driving ‘one-way’ kill a young woman.
“It was after Alaba Express Bus-stop. The lady was trying to cross to Fatgbems’ side when the bus speeding against traffic hit her and she crash-landed, hitting her head on the tarmac.
It was the goriest sight I ever saw. She hither head with force and crushed her skull was crushed in bits.
“Do you know how many people have lost their lives on this road?
Recently, at Otto Wharf, the media reported the death of a middle-aged woman, killed by a container that skidded off its truck. According to the report, the truck driver braked automatically when it tried to avoid an oncoming bus driving against traffic.