Deplorable state of roads in Lagos
THE recent pronouncement by Minister of Works Adeseye Ogunlewe that no new road contracts will be awarded by the Federal Government expectedly came at the most auspicious time. This is in consideration of the general deplorable condition of roads nationwide which has become a source of pain to the public. According to the Minister, effort will in the meantime be concentrated on the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing roads in all the states.
Consequently, all the Federal Controllers of Works and Chief Maintenance Engineers in the 36 states and Abuja have been directed to step up action and rehabilitate the roads in their domain before the end of the year.
Laudable as the Minister's "end of the year package" seems to be if implemented, the roads in Lagos definitely require special attention. As a primate city in the country, Lagos plays a dual role as a state capital as well as the commercial nerve centre of the nation. A conurbation with a population of over 12 million inhabitants, and a vehicular traffic estimated at over one million, Lagos is ranked among the fastest growing cities in the world with the likes of Jakarta and Bandung in South East Asia. The Apapa port is the second largest in Africa after Duban in South Africa. Perhaps, to brace up with its strategic position, Lagos has the highest concentration of federal roads.
In contradistinction to its status as a metropolis, the road network is in a very negligent state of disrepair and utter abandonment. A trip round the city shows that all parts of the metropolis are affected. The roads are dotted with depressing potholes, muddy puddles and disintegrated asphalt. Broken down or over-turned heavy duty trailers are a common sight which in turn block free flow of traffic. This problem is compounded whenever there is a downpour as flood takes over the entire city. Worst affected among these roads are the Apapa end of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Isolo-Ikotun link road, Ago-Okota road, Idi-Araba road, Kirikiri road, Iddo Motor road to mention but a few.
The catalogue of woes suffered by Lagosians on dilapidated roads bears on everyone without exception. People are stressed up daily in unending traffic congestion. Enormous man-hour loss takes its toll on the economy. Life expectancy is shortened through stress. Furthermore, late arrival at work and late return home tell on people's disposition. At the height of the crises, especially when it rains or during rush hour, people are forced to trek long distances to their homes in the dark. A journey that would normally take 15 minutes takes up to three hours. Hoodlums and robbers take advantage of the chaos and unleash horror on commuters. Vehicles trapped and abandoned in the middle of muddy sections of the roads block traffic and commuters are forced to pay higher fares by the uncompromising bus operators and their conductors. Lack of efficient public mass transport system compounds the problem. There is general clamour and disenchantment by Lagosians for something to be done to put the roads in good condition.
The Tinubu administration on assumption of office put road reconstruction and maintenance high on its agenda. Some structures were put in place to tackle the problem. Three road maintenance agencies thus were created in the state namely: the Public Works Corporation (PWC) an off-shoot of the Direct Labour Agency; the Operation Patch It Well (OPIW) under the auspices of the Ministry of Works, and the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). Added to this is the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). Each of these authorities is working within the framework of its mandate to address the road maintenance problem in Lagos.
Notwithstanding the existence of several agencies in the state, the problem of road maintenance remains hydra-headed with apparently no solution in sight. The responsibility of who should maintain which road in the state seems to be the fundamental issue at stake. Statutorily, there are three categories of roads in question. First is the major expressways and fly-overs which are under the control of the Federal Ministry of Works. Second is the adjoining class B state roads, and third is the Class C local authority roads.
With the movement of the capital from Lagos to Abuja, the Federal Government abdicated its responsibility in the maintenance of roads in Lagos with its focus shifting to Abuja. Similarly, local council authorities have no road maintenance agenda. The result is that this category of roads which connect the nook and crannies of the state are to say the least an eye-sore. With the federal and local government councils abdicating their responsibility, the burden of road maintenance in Lagos falls squarely on the State Government.
The State Government is and should not deny the fact that it is the "landlord" in Lagos. This lends credence to the Tinubu administration's effort to salvage some decadent roads within the metropolis. The Simbiat Abiola Way linking Ikeja with Ojota is one typical example, which deserves commendation. Besides, LAMATA and the other state government agencies charged with this responsibility are noticed in different parts of the metropolis repairing sections of dilapidated roads. Notwithstanding these, the State Government must do more because the bulk of the responsibility lies on its head. Nor should it be discouraged by the unhelpful posturing of the Federal Ministry of Works which wants the state government to keep off federal roads. The pity is that while this petty politics is at play, Lagosians are suffering the effects of bad roads.
The state government should take full responsibility on the matter of road maintenance otherwise, it stands to share much of the blame. It would also appear that while much effort is being made and much resources expended, the impact is negligible. LAMATA recently claimed that it had spent almost $30 million so far, yet there is no significant change to justify such huge expenditure. There should be transparency and full accountability by everyone who expends public funds. The local council authorities have shown no commitment whatsoever in road maintenance. The only visible function they perform is to mount road blocks on devastated roads to collect unauthorised levies from members of the public. The Federal Controllers of Works and Chief Maintenance Engineers must fully implement the road recovery programme under the 'Operation 500' roads in 2004. The state and local council authorities should follow up and implement a similar programme. Under the new dispensation, the use of direct labour should be preferred to contractors.
The Lagos State Government is planning to fix many roads after the current rainy season. Similarly, the Local Government Councils should identify roads in their jurisdiction for repairs. This effort, however, will be thwarted unless government officials live above board in approving reconstructed roads. Poorly reconstructed roads should be disapproved because they are prone to failure during heavy rains. In rehabilitating the roads in Lagos, the peculiar water logged nature of the soil should be taken into consideration. Without proper engineering reinforcement, the roads are prone to failure especially, with heavy vehicular compaction. Proper parking lots should be provided. The State Government should avail itself of the assistance of such multilateral organisations such as the World Bank in funding this project.
