It should have been sometime in December 2017 or so when bulldozers and other heavy-duty construction equipment moved in to the heartlands of Agege, a densely populated suburb of Lagos, pulling down structures that had earlier been marked for demolition, to clear the way for a flyover that would crisscross Oba Ogunji Road/Pen Cinema area over a railroad crossing and landing in Agunbiade Street/Oke-Koto area of the community. This was, no doubt, a laudable and timely intervention project in an area that had become notorious for intractable human and vehicular gridlock, which is compounded by the many road intersections and an avalanche of open and locked markets – both structured and spontaneous, as well as unscrupulous elements such as pickpockets having a free day both at daytime and nightfall. And so, the joy of the residents and many commuters around the popular Pen Cinema area knew no bounds, as they could see an end in sight to their daily grueling experience of living in or passing through the labyrinth that the suburb has become.
The residents had every reason to believe. At least, they had witnessed, within the last three years or so, how the construction of such a structure at nearby Abule-Egba, a sprawling neighbourhood on the ubiquitous Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway had not only given the area a facelift but also helped in no small way to scale up the quality of life in the area. I have heard testimonials of people, who had not been to Abule-Egba in a while, scream to high heavens at the transformation that came the way of the suburb. It really opened up the area and the adjoining neighbourhoods. So, this was the kind of transmogrification that Agege residents were looking forward to in no distant time.
I am not sure I can quote successfully the delivery timeline set for the Agege Flyover project, but the local media is awash with evidence of commitment to an early delivery. For instance, as picked from an online edition of Vanguard Newspaper of April 12, 2018, the contractor handling the construction work had promised the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, that the flyover would be delivered by December 2018 “as special end of the year gifts to residents and visitors,” which was a piece of cheery news to all who had been salivating for the bridge to be completed and commissioned for use.And the pace with which the work was being executed from the beginning tended to lend credence to that. In no time, the substructures were fixed, the bridge support structures in form of columns and piers began to spring up and the beams laid at the set-out point. Before long, the superstructure were being fixed and the flyover was beginning to take shape, at least for the first half of it at the Oba Ogunji side, peaking at Pen Cinema Roundabout.
However, this initial pace notwithstanding, it soon dawned on the people that their waiting has just begun, as it became evident that the site has been abandoned and no work whatsoever is going on there. And that is my very axe that one has to grind with the Lagos State Government or whosoever is behind the stalling of this well-intentioned project. Agege is a densely populated area, aside from being a major road and rail transport terminus. What this implies is that the teeming populace that traverse the locale are constrained to undergo a daily gridlock of human and vehicular traffic, while the construction work lasts. This underscores the imperative of speedy completion of the job, which could only be made possible by working round-the-clock at the site. But that has not been the case!
The result is that commuters and other wayfarers on that stretch experience unbearable and excruciating pain on daily basis to cross the hurdle of Agege Pen Cinema and the railroad crossing to their various places of engagement. The gridlock,which starts as early as circa 5:30am each day, especially on weekdays, is further compounded by the debilitating state of most adjoining roads such as Iju Road, Abeokuta Motor Road, Capitol Road, etc., many of which are littered with craters and crevices. This causes corporate workers, traders, students, travelers and all other road users to fritter productive hours, while hoping endlessly for the crawling traffic to move. It is a common sight for these different classes of people to trek upwards of three kilometers or more to navigate the intractable traffic that dots the Agege landscape most days. And that is in spite of the yeoman’s sacrificial job being done by the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Police Motor Traffic Division and other security outfits, both at regular and irregular hours of the day.
This is the real bone of contention. It goes without saying that workers, traders, students, etc. who undergosuch unpleasant experience before getting to their places of engagement would most likely have their productivity compromised. Also, one can further rationalize that passing through such unbearable encounter months after months has grave health implications for the victims. With Nigeria’s life expectancy data put at a comparatively low rate of 55 years, and Lagos State’s figure even much lower, subjecting the populace to avoidable drudgery is a major threat to longevity and quality life.
As to why the seeming abandonment of the project, there are different shades of opinions, but none substantiated yet. While some easily attribute the snag to what they described as the seeming phlegmatic disposition of the Ambode administration on account of his inability to secure his party’s second term ticket, others finger the Governor’s political overlords who were alleged to have raised the red flag for him to discontinue the many developmental projects he embarked upon during his four-year single term. However, all this still amounts to mere speculation, which is often the case in the event of lack of official pronouncements or prevalence of tittle-tattles.
The point need be made, however, that the real issue here is not the inconvenience the work itself is causing the people. Such discomfort is a price to pay for development works especially in a built-up area, and so would be borne with equanimity in anticipation of the relief that would soon come. The real grouse is the abandonment of the work site for well over 3 months now and still counting, while the rains are beginning to set in. This can only worsen the plight of commuters who are stuck with that route, and make life more tedious for residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods. It is in view of the foregoing that one would call on the Lagos State Government authorities to, as a matter of urgency, mobilize the contractors back to site with a view to relieving the populace of the daily grinding and groaning on the stretch.
Adefioye wrote in via abiodefi@yahoo.co.uk
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