RESIDENTS ARE WORRIED TRAILERS TAKING OVER LAGOS STATE.

In the past few weeks it has rained down hell in many parts of Lagos. It has been a serious issue that residents are now complaining over the taking over of trailers virtually in the whole of Lagos State.  

Residents feel something must be done to address this crisis tilling side by side government putting peoples' life in danger;  without taking any proactive step to tackle this evolving crisis not unconnected to the degenerated economic caused by failed Public Private Partnership (PPP) agenda.

Majority of the pit roads in Lagos both Appian way and Metropolitan have been taken over like sledge hammer breaking kernel a lot of communities are witnessing in recent time. Ajegunle one of the poorest and dense populated community with a population ranging between three to five million and above is one good example to remove the vamp over the invasion of trailers and trucks on Lagos roads. Using Ajegunle as an example. Between the hours of 7pm till 12midnight is traffic suicide for workers, market women and men,  returning from the hard thorn survival of the day under the spell of capitalist regime, including resident residing in the community.

It has been hell for everyone in the State. Sometimes,  the traffic  might last till the next morning most especially when the trailers occupy one lane. A similar situation at Apapa,  Ijora Badia, Orile etc. People have to spend extra hours in traffic before getting home to hustle for water to take the evening bath and start looking for what to eat. As usual there will be no electricity. Like where I stay along one of the old constructed government roads possibly done by the Jakande 1979 to 83 Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). This was when the State was involved directly in funding social welfare adequately that has direct impact in people's  live.

Trailers preoccupying all the major roads including the streets is hell consuming everywhere. Lot of these recent road lock-down is hell on people. The Ambode APC government has demonstrated it is incapable to construct a better train system Nigeria used to have before and after the independence. With the stolen state fund by  former governors of Lagos State is enough to bury this sticking crisis. But because of what today's politicians understand: looting and private run economy. The essence of using public resources to develop the state is out of the agenda of APC regime.

The state apparatus including local government authorities have seen this road lock-down as an opportunity to employ themselves into collecting toll which is not inalienable from the current regime being responsible for the growing contradiction that confront the police.  This is a daily experience in the various junctions situated in the road, most definitely in the community like Ajegunle and others. Like in the night, beginning from 8pm to possibly 1am at the bus-stop closer to where I reside. Soldiers are stationed there in the name of monitoring any suspicious scene. But it is to stop any truck, trailers to collect toll from the drivers. Formerly, it's used to be the police who will take over the two end of the road the trailers queue behind each other. However, after the group of soldiers called OP MESA squad  team discovered that there is honey to lick from that bustop, they have since seized the advantage for themselves.

Throughout the week,  they come there at least three to four times or more in a week. For the police, it is like taking their space by some rascals. In fact, there was a night around 10:15pm on Saturday 4 November,  2017 when the police patrol van intended to stop and possibly park along the bustop but saw soldiers  stopping truck drivers to collect toll. The policemen gradually drove on to avoid clash of licking from the opportunity provided because of the government failure to think of an adequate means of transportation in the country. Throughout when soldiers have been coming around to station there, the Layeni police men have tactically stayed off from this spot.

However, this is for a short while. It depends on the current crisis on ground. If this possibly lingers, it shall result to unprecedented clash which might affect the entire community. Despite this the Ifelodun Local Development council on their own have carved a lane for themselves under the Chairmanship of Alhaji Fat to be cutting their own cheese. For them, it is an opportunity to raise revenue for the local government with excuses that the State needs resources to run its government. The last election was a living testimony proving the bankruptcy of the All Progressive Congress pro-capitalist government agenda in the State, a confirmation of a failed regime of both predecessors and successors in the State.

Perhaps, this is one out of hundred about the taking over of public roads by trailers in Lagos State. Almost all the bridges, main roads, streets have the congestion of trailers and tankers everywhere. The truth starch before us is that, it has shown the nonsense of the ongoing project of the Ambode regime that it is just boju-boju. Lagos with a population running to fifty million or more in addition with the huge internally generated revenue in past and present regime. It is enough to project towards having a workable train system. Not only this, the collapse of major industries is also largely responsible for this emerge disaster where there is massive unemployment, which has given way to rapid importation of items.

Using Ajegunle as an example, which also is largely experiencing trailers encroaching every motorable road in the community. The APC Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government have taken itself into this means. Emergence boys have been hired to do the job of collecting tolls between 6am to 7pm everyday. A toll ticket is N500 for each truck/trailers.  As far there is road dilapidation across the state,  the streets will be an alternative to ply.  On daily basis hundreds of trailers and container trucks loaded with either diesel/fuel or imported goods plying these roads caused more road-block and an opportunity.

Fundamentally,  the calamity that befalls us is that the private run economy hasn't done nothing to resolve the chunk of contradiction before us. The collapse of industrialization is largely responsible for this ongoing crisis, seeing the preoccupation of trailers/trucks taking over every corner of Lagos State. Private run economy is behemoth. It is what has created this huge mess people are suffering today. The Babaginda Structural Adjustment Program (SAP)  brings to mind this crisis emerging that currently is consuming people and rapidly putting us into further economic danger. The Buhari regime is another horse to point at.

With massive industrialization, it will totally drop the indices of importation and largely preoccupy people. For example,  the transportation sector which remain eye of profit for the wolves and dogs. Under a socialist State public fund shall be used adequately to construct a massive train system to lessen the congestion of roads. Possibly build a better technological system that can tackle the challenges of demographic congestion with program. Being the country is rich in other resources, it will amount to ensuring every part of the economic is utilised to improve welfare of the people. Perhaps, the 2018 budget of N8.612trillion compare to the 2017 N7.6trillion nothing practically will change unless a socialist approach of planning.

By

Fidel Davy
LIFEINSLUM PHOTOS