- We’re tired of the job – Drivers
Truck and tanker drivers have lamented the hardship caused them daily by the traffic gridlock around the Apapa Ports in Lagos, just as residents of the area have raised the alarm over fatal accidents, almost on a daily basis, and restriction of movement caused by these articulated vehicles in their community.
While the residents of Apapa, Ajegunle, Amukoko, Orile, Ijora, Mile Two, Surulere, among others, have continued to express concern over the menace constituted by the tankers and trucks within their environment, many drivers of these vehicles say they are getting fed up with their jobs because of the numerous problems they encounter driving around Apapa Wharf.
One of the truck drivers, Yakubu Daura, who hails from Katsina State, disclosed that he and his colleagues spent so much money before their vehicles could move into either Apapa or Tin-Can Island port.
Daura also said, often, he would spend up to three days in traffic gridlock before he could gain entry into the wharf even after he might have paid so much for his passage to and from the port.
He said, “If I have money and I have the intention of driving into the port earlier than my colleagues, who came into Lagos before me, I should be prepared to give at least N25,000 to the security men.
“When I pay such money, the security men would pass me and I would either discharge the goods or load more goods and leave the scene. Some companies are ready to pay while the drivers and vehicles of those who are not ready to pay will remain on the queue till only-God-knows-when. We, drivers are suffering so much. Sometimes, a young man, because he is a soldier, would drag you down from the vehicle and flog you. Somebody you are old enough to be his father. Haba!”
Another truck driver, Sule Gambari, however, said that the soldiers and other security men had restored sanity around the wharf now, unlike in the past that other road users would be lamenting as they could not drive home in their cars.
“Although the security men do collect money from us and make the roads free for other road users, Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government officials have been giving us serious problems. They would collect money from us by force. We pay between N500 and N1000 per toll arena. If you fail to pay, other touts would join them to attack you. They would destroy your side mirror and even windscreen. Most of them are touts and not council officials,” he said.
A clearing and forwarding agent, who resides at Surulere, Kola Fagbemi, disclosed that the bad roads also constituted a portion of the problem because many trucks and tankers usually fell on their sides because of the deplorable state of the roads.
“The trucks and tankers are now a big threat to residents of Surulere, Orile, Ajegunle, Amukoko, Ijora and their environs. These trucks and tankers have killed so many people, especially at the Trinity area, where the vehicles usually fall on their sides. Not quite long ago, a truck driver crushed his own in-law at Coconut bus stop, Along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Olodi- Apapa. The conductor, who was also his in-law, wanted to cross to the other side under the truck. Unfortunately, the vehicles in the front moved and for the driver to secure space, he moved quickly, too, crushing his conductor. The man wept. Even when the Divisional Police Officer of Trinity Police Station, CSP Abayomi Oni, got to the scene, he ordered that the driver be arrested because nobody had the right to kill even his own child, not to talk of an in-law. This Trinity records more than five fatal accidents every week,” Fagbemi said.
Another resident, Mrs. Anna Anyanwu, claimed that she once lost one of her daughters in the gridlock in the area.
“My daughter, Agnes, was returning from work, when a truck hit her and a motorcycle rider at the Wilmer area. The motorcycle rider survived, but my daughter died. The Federal Government should bar trucks and tankers from residential areas. Our children are no longer safe on the streets. Children cannot return from school unaided. They are afraid to play even in front of their parents’ residence. It is so bad,” she said.
A police officer attached to the Trinity Police Station, who pleaded anonymity, said, “Because of the collection of tolls by local government officials, one man was killed, police motorcycle set ablaze and one of our patrol vehicles was damaged almost beyond repairs. The toll collectors, who behave like touts, had a misunderstanding with some truck drivers, who refused to pay, claiming that they had paid and should be allowed to move away their vehicles. An argument, which degenerated into crisis ensued at the Wilmer area. Hoodlums hijacked the matter and attacked people.
“Police tried to calm the situation, but instead, they attacked the policemen also. They set the motorcycle ablaze and destroyed our patrol vehicle. They killed somebody and injured many people. It’s too bad. The drivers are human beings, too. But the manner they drive inside residential areas in this local government has caused so many accidents. At least, we record nothing less than six fatal accidents every week.”
A security expert, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Angels Guards Security Limited, Mr. Israel Asigbe, bared his mind on the security problem facing Apapa and its environs, blaming the government.
Asigbe said he knew that some local governments had been collecting toll from truck and tanker drivers, but noted that officials of Apapa Local Government were not involved in this.
The security expert advised the Nigerian Ports Authority to have its own holding bay where trucks could be parked, adding that government should look into the activities of the concessionaires and the regulatory body.
Asigbe said, “Many of the owners and drivers of trucks had told us in a meeting that there was a deliberate plan to keep the vehicles out of the ports because each day a truck spends outside, there is an amount of money to be paid. So, they delay the trucks so that they will make more money. The government should also repair the roads; that is why many trucks bearing containers are falling. We also know that most of the trucks are not in good condition.
“Even most of the expatriates have left Apapa. Thirty per cent of businesses in Apapa have been closed because of this government policy about foreign exchange. Because of traffic gridlock, some foreigners relocated their businesses from Lagos to Ogun and up to Oyo State. Today, so many of the houses in Apapa are empty. Nobody wants to rent and nobody wants to buy any house in Apapa because of traffic gridlock.”
