After years of untold hardships and deaths occasioned by horrendous bedlam, AFRIUPDATE reports that the renewed commitment of the Lagos State Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is restoring sanity in the once bubbling Apapa, the country’s busiest port city.
For many years, the menace of articulated vehicles in and around the Apapa Port corridors defied solution. Policymakers were unable to end the chaos and residents, especially property owners, watched as Apapa became a shadow of itself. Lagosians shunned engagements in the axis and commercial cab drivers/hailing services turned down drop-off and pick-up requests.
A ‘miracle’ happened in Apapa on Monday. There was free traffic in and out of Apapa, thanks to the newly introduced electronic call-up system in the Lagos seaports put in place by the Lagos State government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Many praised Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, NPA Managing Director Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman and Commissioner of Police (CP) Hakeem Odumosu for restoring sanity.
The major roads leading to and fro Apapa have been substantially decongested with motorists having stress-free rides to their destinations.
A resident, Kabir Mukhtar, exclaimed on Monday: “My best day in Lagos. Going to the office, peacefully. Apapa became less busy road today compared to other parts of the state.”
Amazed Marine Beach could be free of congestion, a trucker, Usman Musa, said the electronic solution had brought an end to years of agony and given them new lease of life.
“If anyone had told me there would be a time when traffic at Marine Beach would flow freely as seen today (Monday), I would contest it. The last four years were agonising for most of us working in this area. I used to spend three hours on a 15 minutes journey.
“We support the action of the government in solving this problem and we have started to comply with the order that prohibits parking our trailers on the highways,” he assured.
Similarly, a transporter, Collins Dike, described his experience over the years as horrible, disclosing how he usually spent three to four days on the road in Apapa.
“We thank the governor and Ministry of Transportation for bringing up this e-callup platform. I pray it is sustained,” he said.
A property owner, Aloysius Oriakwu, who said he had not put up his premises for rent in four years, expressed hope that a new dawn had come.
“I can now put my property up for rent again after four years. I support the initiative introduced by the Government and this must be sustained to prevent recurrence of the congestion,” said Oriakwu.
The E-callup system
The system, though at its pilot stage, has seen the evacuation of trucks to approved truck parks where they are mandated to stay until called up to enter the ports.
Known as Eto App, the automated process is designed to permanently phase off the long queues of stationary trucks on expressways and bridges, and by so doing, improve the ease of doing business.
The state’s TaskForce on Apapa traffic said the app would schedule all entry and exits to the ports and they must scan a barcode to access the ports.
Inspecting the level of compliance on Monday, the Taskforce headed by the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, Toyin Fayinka, said any truck found on the road without evidence of going to the port would be turned back or impounded.
It is expected that empty containers would be moved to Lilypond and other holding terminals and these operators are required to request the exact capacity their premises can handle from NPA.
Fayinka told reporters the Apapa traffic was largely man-induced, thanking the governor for his determination to solve it.
“We started quite well on Saturday; by Sunday, everything has been so peaceful and calm. So, we do not want to go back to sleep because enforcement must be a continuous thing. On our way coming we realised that some people have continued what we stopped them from doing. The truck park that is being managed by TTP is gradually getting ready but some impediments are mitigating against its actualisation.
“So, the team and the police led by CP Hakeem Odumosu, supported by Area Commander, went there and read the riot act to do blocking the access road for the trucks to enter Lilypond.
“You can see that the railway crossing where these trucks can access to enter Lilypond has been taken over by market men and women. Also, see how our people erected a mosque on the road. All these have prevented the trucks from diverting into the terminal and that is why they go up to Ijora under the bridge to turn. Ordinarily, they have no business going there.
“Also, tankers going to the Forte Oil farm will just move straight. Articulated vehicles have no business parking on top of the bridges or any road at all. This Lilypond alone has the facility to take more than 700 trucks but they cannot move in because the in routes have been taken over by shanties, sharks and other impediments.
“We have since given the people notices to vacate. We came here today to check the level of compliance. While some have complied, we noticed there are others still adamant. So, we are going to clear all these hurdles.
“As a responsible government, we are giving additional days. So, if we come on Sunday and find you there, we will remove you in the language you understand. We heard that money was collected from the tankers, then we came and saw it ourselves.
“The CP has been duly informed and he has told the world what he will do. On our part, we are going to enforce that truckers comply and every truck on the road will be removed. I and my team members are ready for the job and that is why we are, on behalf of the Governor, urging the CP to do the needful.
“The drivers cried to Alausa this morning accusing us of sending security operatives to collect money. I want to emphasise that there is no tollgate whether legal or illegal and nobody must pay anything,” said Fayinka.
Police dismantle checkpoints
Following complaints by truckers that they were still being extorted by security agencies, Odumosu announced the dismantling of all checkpoints along the Surulere-Apapa axis, noting that they were also contributing to the problem.
He threatened to de-rank any redeployed policemen caught in illegal duty while assuring that the command would write the Commander Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT on the activities of OP MESA team deployed under the Ijora who in connivance with some policemen and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were seen collecting N500 from truck drivers and allowing them to drive towards Marine Beach instead of turning them back.
Odumosu warned that anyone who gave or collected bribes on that route would be dealt with, telling the enforcers that the government had put in place different levels of monitoring including the use of drones.
“We lost over 10 policemen when I was heading the Presidential Taskforce here mostly out of carelessness. That should not repeat itself. You do not have to use your body as a wedge to stop a truck. You do not have to stand where you can be injured or crushed by the truck. You have phones, so, use them to take pictures or videos of the contravention instead of standing in front of the vehicle or hitting it or even beating the driver,” he said.
The Police boss also arrested an Islamic cleric and others who built a mosque on the expressway, thus preventing trucks from moving in and out of Lilypond. An enraged Odumosu ordered their arrest for rebuilding the mosque which was dismantled at the weekend.
Traders protest demolition
However, traders at the Irepodun Railway Line Market, Apapa Iganmu protested the demolition of the sharks and shanties obstructing thoroughfares in and out of Lilypond.
The Iyaoloja, Habibat Arepo, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved traders, claimed they were allotted the space by the Railway Corporation and had been in the market for over 35 years.
“There are about 12 kiosks here. There are over 50 on the other side. The government was in support of us staying here. We have a permit from the government and the council usually comes here to collect money from us.
“We moved from where they said we were blocking the road for trucks to this side because we also want the trucks to leave the road. See the space we provided. Three trucks can pass here without hindrance but they still demolished our shops where our members are managing their lives.
“Where do they want my people to go or do they want them to die? Some people do not have husbands; some people have children and do not have anything to eat. What should they do now?”
Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso said the planning permit for the railway has no accommodation for markets, homes and worship centres.
He reiterated the need for all illegal structures planted on the rail line to be removed for things to work properly.
“The best thing for all of us to forget about this headache is for people to comply with the original planning law of this place. The planning law does not make room for shanties, sharks, shops, or parking of vehicles.
“So, all these people who have occupied the rail line believing that it is the only railway that can remove them should not think that way. They should know that Lagos State and Federal Government have agreed that this place must be free so that the port can have a new lease of life.
“Our people should learn to do the right thing. We have instances where our people trade on rail tracks. It is only when the train is coming that they hurriedly moved their wares. It is not fair and not safe for them. There is nowhere in the world that you will see a major port like this, the livewire of the nation’s economy not accessible.
“It turns around to affect even the poor people in our midst because the cost incurred by manufacturers and importers will be built into the goods we purchase. These are the things we are doing to ourselves.
“This is what has given the government headache for months and they are saying this is the solution. Let us even test it for one month and see. Let the road be free, let trucks be able to access the terminals where they can park,” Omotoso pleaded.
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