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Anger as truck accident grounds Lagos-Ibadan expressway

By Templer Olaiya and Kehinde Olatunji
16 January 2020   |   4:00 am
As early as 5:00 a.m. yesterday, there was a traffic advisory that warned motorists about the logjam on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Traffic snarl

As early as 5:00 a.m. yesterday, there was a traffic advisory that warned motorists about the logjam on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. If anyone thought it would abate as the day wore on after the early morning rush, it was a mistaken one as the traffic snarl continued to stretch longer both for those leaving Lagos at Berger and more especially for those coming into Lagos from Mowe, Ibafo end.

By 6:00 a.m. when the rest of the country was probably still in bed, many of those living in the Ibafo axis seeking to resume early at work in Lagos were also stranded on the highway. One Segun Adesanya had posted on social media that he left Mowe by 3:00 a.m. but was still trapped in traffic by 6:00 a.m. on Kara bridge.

Another posted: “If you are coming to Lagos through the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, please find another route. The whole witches and wizards in Nigeria are having their first AGM. That traffic is crazy, a standstill from MFM to Berger. I trekked from Mowe to Berger because of traffic and all the while, no vehicle moved an inch. I got to work very late and I have been useless since at the office. And to think I will still face the same traffic on my way home. I am just tired of Nigeria.”

For motorists plying the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Wednesday was a particularly harrowing day as gridlock grounded the stretch of the highway, forcing some commuters to abandon their vehicles and trek for many kilometres. Those without a choice groaned in traffic for hours following the traffic diversion that resumed after the yuletide break on Kara Bridge by Julius Berger, the construction giant handling the rehabilitation of the highway.

The bad situation was worsened by a trailer, which lost control and rammed into the concrete barricade used for road diversion at the diversion points crossing the two lanes reserved for the movement of vehicles.

According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), an early morning accident involving two articulated trucks at the Kara Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway caused a total shutdown of traffic. Explaining the cause of the gridlock being experienced on the highway by motorists a day after traffic diversion started, the FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone RS2, Mr. Samuel Obayemi, attributed the crash to impatience.

Obayemi, who frowned at the recklessness of some road users, urged motorists to be cautious of the diversion and exercise patience. He said: “A crash at the Kara end of Lagos-Ibadan expressway outward Lagos has caused a total shut down of traffic going outside Lagos. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has been contacted and they are on ground to remove the barriers that will aid the easy entrance of a tow-truck.”

Also, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said it rescued 12 victims of an accident that occurred at the Ogudu area of Lagos, while one passenger died. LASEMA spokesperson, Nisa Okunbor, in a statement yesterday, said the accident happened on Tuesday at Ogudu ‘under-bridge’.

The accident involved a blue commercial Volkswagen bus, popularly called Faragon, with registration number GGE 845XQ, which was fully loaded with passengers. “Investigations conducted by the team revealed that the bus lost control while on speed and as a result, rammed into the culvert at the incident scene killing one and injuring others.

“Following the incident, three of the injured adult males were taken to Gbagada General Hospital, another three adult males were also taken to the General Hospital Island, while the third set of three injured adult males were taken to the Trauma Centre, and others to unknown hospitals for treatment,” Okunbor said.

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