Old Ojo Road: Waiting for Ambode’s intervention
Deplorable state of old Ojo Road
Commissioner listed road among those that got rehabilitated last week
For residents of Mazamaza-Agboju-Satellite town axis of Amuwo-Odofin Local Council, navigating through the Old Ojo Road as they commute from home to their respective places of work daily is a grievous pain they cannot wait to have a relief.
The long stretch of road from Mazamaza that terminates at Abule Oshun has many sizes of craters dotting it. It is hard to drive for about 30 seconds without slowing down to navigate a pothole, making road users drive in a zig-zag manner. The areas most hit are Mazamaza-First gate, Pako-Agboju and Oluti-Abule-Ado. In these areas, the potholes could be compared to gullies.
The deplorable state of the road makes commuters wonder how some roads are selected for facelift as the old Ojo Road serves as an alternative route to the Mile 2-Okoko Expressway, which is under construction.
Ironically, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, on Saturday posted on his Facebook page, roads the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) carried out some maintenance and palliative works on during the past week and one of the roads listed under Amuwo Odofin Local Council is the old Ojo Road that our correspondent drove through on Saturday.
Reacting to the commissioner’s claim on Facebook, a resident on that axis, Muneerah Ijaoba Tiamiyu, asked: “Which part of old Ojo Road in Amuwo Odofin was fixed please?”
Chinedu Ezenogu, a commercial bus driver, who plies the route daily, said he was pained that despite the money the commercial bus drivers paid to transport union, no effort was being made by the government or the union to carry out some palliative work on the road. “I go to the mechanic every week for maintenance spending an average of N3,500 on chassis, principally due to the potholes on the road. We pay nothing less than N2,000 daily to the union on that route, yet the road is in very bad state.”
He, however, appealed to the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to come to the aid of residents by repairing the road.
Related
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
1 Comments
To the Editor:
Dear Sir,
I am writing this appeal to the state and federal governments in respect of the current state of the Apapa/Ijora bridge. This is the major artery for the movement of goods in and out of the country, and apart from the bad crater filled roads leading up to the bridge from the ports , portions of the bridge surface itself has eroded to such an extent that the metal skeleton is showing and the concrete surround has eroded clear through. This bridge has become a danger to all vehicles using it, as it’s very structure is being eaten away. It has, over the past 48 months borne a hellish stationary load that it was never built to endure, from the previous horrific gridlock caused by the petroleum marketers, and is now almost dead from over use and neglect, much like our nation. It is down to its bare bones, and will not last much longer. Almost every day containers fall while trying to leave the port, and soon, the if no action is taken, Apapa will actually be completely cut off from the rest of Lagos. The Tin Can/Isolo Expressway is now in reality an impassable trailer and tanker park, so the bulk of goods and petroleum products moving out of the port and tank farm areas have to go via this poor suffering bridge. The Apapa area, once a vibrant, beautiful and organised part of Lagos is now a rundown filthy slum full of empty houses and office spaces, which are slowly rotting away. What kind of people are we that would allow such drastic rotting away of the little infrastructure that we have, moreso, as this is the beating heart of the economy. Without access to a seaport, international trade in goods cannot go on. Isn’t there anyone in this Government of ours who can take positive urgent action to repair this key artery, before it is too late.
Anne Mumuney
We will review and take appropriate action.