Sir: Gridlock is a daily reality that can’t be totally avoided in today’s Nigeria. It’s a phenomenon that occupies centre stage amongst road users. From the tiny Bayelsa to the vast Sokoto and Niger States, trucks and gridlock constitute a formidable threat to businesses, learning, lives and properties, thereby styming growth.
Too many trucks and a chaotic traffic situation on our roads are features of urbanisation, which itself is an offshoot of overpopulation. The influx of rural dwellers into the cities, in response to urgent economic demands, is taking heavy tolls on our society.
The narrative becomes deeply concerning when emphasis is shifted to the routes that connect the Onne Ports Authority to Port Harcourt. Onne is a town in Rivers State near Port Harcourt and has been acknowledged as one of the world’s largest Oil and Gas Free Zones (OGFZ). Small in size but mighty in name, Onne houses multiple companies that have created jobs for Onne natives and non-natives.
Tonimas Oil has a base in Onne; WACT/APM also does. Dangote Cement, Indorama, Intels, WAV, WAS and other companies are there. For these companies, however, business operations can’t be said to be hundred per cent smooth due largely to gridlock, reckless truck drivers and improper planning. Many trucks and their operators that ply the ports roads, as far as safety is concerned, are Grim Reapers that revel in ruining people’s schedule and endangering lives.
The risks posed by gridlock include accidents, potential job loss, burnout, poor sleep, inability of workers to meet companies’ targets, emotional trauma, and inability to attend church programmes, all exacting harsh tolls on the staff.
Furthermore, the probability that someone can get robbed, kidnapped or raped at night is astronomically high. For instance, a company vehicle that is supposed to set down a worker at 6 p.m. eventually does so at say, 7.30 or 8.30 p.m due to hold-ups. Such a worker can run into trouble while walking home or waiting for a taxi or tricycle having alighted from the vehicle.
A typical moment of hours-long gridlock at the close of work in Onne ports speaks much for itself: Work over and drivers of some companies conclude their usual ‘pre-trip’ lessons, after which they do a proper check of the vehicles. Workers begin to trickle into the car park, their faces lit up by the thought of ending the day’s tasks. Then suddenly, the moods change, shattered by the gridlock that lurks ahead and the oppressive heat emitted by the vehicles. ‘There’s a hold-up at the Seven-storey Building; everywhere is blocked’, the announcement will come.
Solutions to the problems vary. One, the Federal Government, apart from prosecuting Customs officials caught causing unnecessary tailback in the ports, should also mete out severe penalties to truck drivers who fail a breath test.
Two, only one federal road connects Port Harcourt to the ports. But Onne needs two more federal motorways for optimal transportation of goods. In addition, the ongoing bridge construction at Aleto, as well as other projects initiated by President Bola Tinubu along the ports road, should be completed on target time, while a flyover should be built at Akpajo Junction in order to reduce traffic congestion.
Three, adequate manpower in terms of traffic personnel should be deployed to strategic locations, and parking and abandoning of vehicles on the roads for no reason should be frowned upon and criminalised. Any truck that breaks down on the road should be immediately evacuated.
Four, the Ports Authority should partner with state government and provide a vast parking space for trucks and their operators. Drivers are to go in turn, and in an orderly manner, for loading and offloading of goods. In the same vein, stationary trucks on the motorway – from Tonimas up to nearly Oil Mill axis – should be evacuated and alternative parking sites located far away from the major roads and busy areas.
Five, government shouldn’t hesitate to tow any trucks that have been abandoned, as well as trucks that are in perfect condition and which obstruct traffic flow. Moreover, anyone who flouts the FRSC rule and undermines business operations in the ports should not only be prosecuted, the company in which such an individual works should be held responsible.
Six and lastly, Shipping Trade Practitioners Association of Nigeria (STPAON), the NPA, relevant government agencies and even ship charterers should collaborate and comply with the joint boarding initiative aimed at reducing late arrival of cargoes in Onne waters.
President Tinubu should lend a hand, state government, critical stakeholders and STPAON, together with other relevant government agencies, should put their shoulders to the wheel.
Sola wrote from Port Harcourt.
