LAGOS LOCKDOWN: In Search Of A Way Out

LAGOS occupies a unique position in Africa. It is the economic and financial nerve-centre of Nigeria, the biggest economy on the continent. It also accounts for over 70 per cent of the country’s industrial and commercial establishments and has extensive infrastructural facilities, such as, international airport, seaport and the most extensive road and telecommunication networks in Nigeria. It is also host to the most active Stock Exchange in West Africa. Lagos was Nigeria’s administrative capital until December 12, 1991 when Abuja became the seat of the Federal Government.

Like most African colonial cities, Lagos did not develop as an industrial centre, but only emerged to facilitate the extraction of commodities and to provide the political administrative system on which British hegemon depended. It fulfilled the functions of Britain as administrative and commercial centre, thus, transport infrastructure, especially, railways, developed to connect the hinterlands.

Though, Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands, it has one of the highest populations in the country, which is over five per cent of the national estimate.

Despite its economic importance, the environmental sustainability of Lagos has not received the kind of attention it requires. The surging population of Lagos has persistently put a strain on its social and economic infrastructure.

The state has a total road network of 5000km comprising of 675km of Federal roads and 4,325 km of state and rural roads. 632km of roads in the metropolis fall under the Declared Road Network (DRN). In addition, the state has about 30km of rail network.

The road network density of Lagos, put at 0.6 Kilometres per 1000 population, is low, even by the standards of other African cities. The network’s efficiency is low, with a limited number of primary corridors carrying the bulk of the traffic.

Interestingly, the large volume expressways in Lagos are a consequence of the post independence urban planning of the city around the ‘L shaped road systems’ that stream traffic through the three bridge bottlenecks, which connect the mainland and the island.

The L shape connection is a result of the Otto Koenigsberger-led UN Technical Assistance Team proposal that a road system that would shape the city into an ‘L-shaped metropolis with Lagos Island in the centre at the bend on the south-west corner’ was necessary for Lagos.

This configuration was suggested in 1964 when the population of the Lagos Metropolitan Area, according to ‘preliminary figures’ from the 1962 census, was estimated at 726,600 at an average yearly growth rate of 14 per cent from the 1952 census estimates.

TRAFFIC congestion has been the major problem in Lagos, which invariably, is the result of poor infrastructural development arising from urban congestion. A problem that in fact led to Abuja’s emergence as the new capital.

In the 70s, there were ‘odd’ and ‘even’ number days for movement of vehicles to reduce heavy traffic on the road. But this did not stop the gridlock on major roads of Lagos.

The Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande-led government awarded a contract to build a metro line for Lagos. Unfortunately, this project was cancelled by the incoming military government (on the allegation that the contract was over quoted).

During the administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola, there was attempt at decentralising the city from a monocentric to polycentric city based on eight ‘new mini cities’ that might serve to break the ‘unidirectional’ traffic flows, between the districts of the mainland and island.

Roads and transportation was top on the list on the Lagos State Ten Point Agenda (TPA) and this underscored the importance government attaches to the sector. Free movement of goods and services through the provision of adequate and functional transport infrastructure is critical to the economic development of the state and its transformation to the megacity status.

In the TPA, strategies to improve transportation are: Integrated mass transit programme with emphasis on road, rail and water transportation services involving private sector partnership, Aggressive road rehabilitation in all local council areas, Construction of new roads/bridges, Strengthening of traffic management mechanism, Stimulation of private sector investment in ferry services, 4th Mainland Bridge (Eti-Osa to Ikorodu), Coastal road, Execution of the first state-run rail services: from Alagbado-Iddo to Lagos Island, Okota-Itire Bridge, Lekki-Osborne Link Road, Mende-Opebi Link Road, Dualisation of Ikorodu-Itoikin-Epe Road, Ejigbo-Ajao Estate/Airport Link Road, Re-designed and commenced the reconstruction of Lagos-Badagry Expressway to incorporate a seven-line rail road network.

The state government also invested heavily to make water transportation attractive, particularly to decongest traffic on Lagos roads. In fact, in The Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) 2013 and 2015 presented by the former Commissioner of Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, in November 2012, the state proposed an expenditure of N496, 286, 812.1 million in 2013, N1, 634,782,800 billion in 2014 and N1 billion in 2015 on waterways.

The immediate past governor, Fashola, also ensured that the state concessioned some water terminals so as to encourage many more Lagosians to use the waterways. About eight operators were licensed to operate in any government jetty in the state. That the government was playing the role of a facilitator for active participation of the private sector in development of this mode of transport, which has tremendous potential was further given a lift in 2011, when the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) issued approval in principle to 10 firms from Asia and Europe to operate jetty services in the state’s waterways.

To facilitate ease of operations for the new operators, the authority completed the dredging of Ikorodu-Osborne and the Badore-Osborne ferry routes.

Opeifa noted at the MTSS presentation, “poor driver behaviour, public transport operators’ indiscipline, unsafe vehicle conditions, uneven road conditions, poor street lighting, lack pedestrian facilities and poor enforcement of traffic rules and regulations and lack of appropriate mechanism for dealing with deviant behaviours among road users (both institutional and infrastructure) and poor maintenance culture all combine” to make Lagos roads congested.

Part of Lagos State government’s response to some of the challenges of the transport sector include, provision and upgrading of road transport infrastructures, between 2013 and 2015, N5,340,000,000 billion was proposed for road rehabilitation, expanded public transport services, regular road network maintenance and rehabilitation, construction and rehabilitation of bus laybys within Lagos metropolis, construction of median barriers and improvement of gridlock locations.

Recently, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, lamented slow execution of road projects in different parts of the state, thereby directing the contractors to put palliatives in place to reduce what the residents were going through.

While acknowledging that some of the contractors had completed the first phase of the project they were executing, he pointed that their second phases “are too critical to the residents of the states.”

He expressed concerns while inspecting different road projects in Alimosho, Bariga and Oshodi alongside the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Olatunji Bello and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Bade Ajibade among others.

The governor explained that the state government “will not accept anything that will make life unbearable for the residents of Lagos. They have explained that they had challenges relocating some of the services on the road.”

He has also ordered officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Vehicle Inspection Office and the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) not to harass or forcibly take over citizens’ vehicles.