Burma Road residents cry for help over chaotic traffic

The Burma Street Residents’ Association in Apapa area of Lagos State has appealed to the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to take decisive measures against the menace of articulated vehicles and trucks causing chaotic traffic in the area.

The worried residents and aggrieved business operators in the area lamented that until something urgent is done by the state government to address the recurring menace, “our lives and businesses would continue to be endangered, not just by the traffic chaos, but also by the nuisance and threats constituted by weird-looking motor buys some of whom have been attacking and robbing innocent people along the area.”

Several business outfits were said to have relocated and some folded up due to the traffic situation. The association therefore called on Governor Ambode to take time out of his busy schedule to visit the area like his immediate predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, did when same issue was brought to his notice.

The Guardian learn that the vehicles, in an effort to load at Apapa Wharf terminal, occupy the entire Burma Road for days, completely making movement impossible for other motorists and pedestrians.

Apart from the traffic nuisance, it was also discovered that the drivers and motor boys of these articulated vehicles defecate on the road whenever they are pressed, since they spend close to four or five days on the queue waiting to load.

In a letter dated January 11, 2017 and signed by the chairman of the association, Alhaji Adetola Lawal, and 13 other residents to the governor, they called the attention of the state government to the development in the area.

The residents also accused the task force and police officers expected to maintain orderliness of compromise and aiding the ugly situation. According to the letter, “both the task force and police seem not to bother about this chaotic situation. Some trailer truck drivers and their assistants often violently boast that they have paid their dues to the task force, who were expected to control them.”