THE BAN OF TRUCKS FROM LAGOS ROADS: OGUN STATE WAKE-UP!

The Lagos State Government recently directed owners and operators of articulated vehicles and petroleum tankers to stay away from the city for now.

Worried by the recent traffic bottleneck in Apapa, which spilled to other parts of the state and affected commercial and social activities,

the government said the latest decision was geared towards addressing the situation.

According to the report, the Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi, said that investigations revealed that the traffic lockdown in the Apapa axis in recent days was a direct result of the challenges being faced by operators of the seaport, which made it impossible for articulated vehicles and trailers from outside the state to load goods.

According to the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, “It is the breakdown of operations at the port that is causing this problem which is a reccurring one and has caused spillover effects. “People who have trucks in other states and know that there is a logjam in Lagos should not send trucks in. It is in a bid to clear the mess we did not cause that we are saying that trucks should stay away from Lagos in the interim.”

My take on this issue is that Ogun State needs to wake-up! I wrote an article some time last year about “ PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DELIVERY;HOW TO REDUCE ROAD ACCIDENT AND CONGESTION ON NIGERIAN ROADS” kindly read.

The Ogun State government needs to be pro-active, be a visionary and not just a by-stander, you can save the situation and at the same time increase your Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

We all know Lagos State does not have the luxury of land to dedicate for a “Modern Truck-Park” and if they do its going to be super-expensive due to cost of land in Lagos mega-city. Moreover, over 60% of trucks that loads at Apapa port come from outside Lagos.

Ogun State government needs to dedicate at least 50 acres of land around the Shagamu inter-change for a “Modern Truck Park” as a matter of urgency. At Ogere for instance, the State government recently cleared some land (to be used to accommodate the displaced Mile 2 traders before the Lagos State Government resolved the quagmire amongst the traders) such land can be extended to accommodate the trucks coming into Lagos until they are ready to load at the Apapa port.

The establishment of the Modern Truck Park will not only solve the problem of gridlock faced by Lagosians on a daily basis, it will also serve as an IGR generating mechanism for Ogun State. It will create jobs for both direct and indirect labour, create job for food vendors, cleaners etc and also open up the geographic space for business and development.

Ogun State needs to wake-up and take advantage of the rapid development that Lagos State is undergoing. Ogun State please wake-up!