How Lagos-Badagry-Seme road inflicts pain, agony on residents

Residents of Agbara, Badagry and its environ have lamented the horrible state of the Agbara-Ajibade section of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, as the deplorable state of the road daily inflict pains and anguish on residents, commuters and motorists.

The section of the road with varied sizes of potholes and craters make commuting along that corridor awful as it is responsible for the long and chaotic traffic usually experienced within the area almost all day round.

Aside from the long hours in traffic, many motorists have, as a result of the bad road, make repeated calls at the mechanic workshop to fix their damaged vehicles while articulated vehicles have severally broken down or spilled their content and cargo on the road after turning sideways.

A section of the road has even been abandoned with motorists driving against traffic to beat the more deplorable section of the road.
Commenting on the terrible state of the road, a resident of Badagry, Sewanu Michael, said the situation of the road is an eyesore.

“Honestly, I do not think the attention of government is in that direction.”

He, however, noted that aside from the Agbara area, there are other sections of the Lagos-Badagry-Seme Road that are in appalling state.

He added: “It is very absurd to be travelling from Cote d’Ivoire only to get to Nigeria and some meters into Nigeria, away from the Seme Border post, you start experiencing and navigating through bad road, because from the Sultan Beach to Badagry Roundabout is very bad. And it is very disappointing.

“Also, from Ajibade to Ijanikin, both left and right of the road, is in a terrible mess. The drainage is filled with refuse, and vehicles spend hours to navigate through that section of the road. And one wonders if there is federal, state and local governments serving the interest of people living in that area.

“It is killing the commercial activities within the area. The fear of hours to be spent in traffic along that area is something that is a daily issue that residents grapple with. It is high time the enforcement team check the quality of the road being constructed considering that that section of the road was recently constructed.

“Vehicles plying one-way put pedestrians at risk of being knocked down. When returning from work or go to work, motorists and commuters are locked for hours in traffic and it gets worse during raining seasons or whenever it rains. Man hours are lost and transport cost hiked because of the bad state and chaotic traffic.

“The traffic officers from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) cannot properly manage the traffic within the area while Federal Road safety Corps (FRSC) and Police are using the bad portion of the road as points to mount checkpoints that are principally meant to extort commuters and motorists.

“People in Badagry and environ are neglected by governments at all levels, and we are only remembered during election. We need urgent attention on that road,” he stated.

Also speaking, another resident, Richard Ajayi, noted that right from Morogbo junction to Ajibade bus stop, the section of the road is in very terrible state.

“All motorists are now using one way. It makes it very difficult for schools’ children and most pedestrians to cross the road to either side.

“Trailers or trucks especially those conveying heavy cargoes usually break down at both Morogbo and Ajibade junctions, leading to long and chaotic traffic that can last for the most active hours of the day. It is very annoying.

“Currently, I cannot drive to the office because my car cannot descend or navigate the big gully at Morogbo junction,” Ajayi stated.

For the President of Area 8 Residents Association (ARA) OPIC Estate, Agbara, Mr. Ayodele Arogundade, the pains that residents around Agbara and its environ go through daily as a result of the deplorable road is better imagined, especially during raining season or when trailers or heavy duty vehicles break down due to the bad road.

“Once this happens, the attendant traffic jam often results in loss of man hour by residents going to work, market or transact business.

“It is a major road that leads to several towns and villages in Badagry and Sango through Lusada, Igbesa and Atan.”

Arogundade called for quick repairs of the bad portion of the road as it would alleviate the suffering of citizens around the area, motorists and commuters.