SINCE 2006
Many roads in Lagos states ought to be shut down as disaster zones. There are accidents, deaths and several untold hardships on these roads daily. Those who are responsible for these roads ought to be arrested and prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
By Adeola Aderounmu
I took all the pictures you see in this essay between June 26 and July 10 2018.
Civilian rule returned to Nigeria in 1999. This means that Nigerian politicians in both the ruling APC and the opposition PDP have spent together 19 years in governance and still cannot put right what the military gangsters destroyed.
So the systemic failure in Nigeria today is due largely to the lack of performances since 1999. We can argue that the stretch is longer but that is another discussion for another day.
The state of the federal roads in Lagos state which is the economic capital of Nigeria is very appalling and disgraceful.
The state of the roads in Lagos state is heart breaking, depressing and sorrowful. (I will treat some parts of Ogun state in another essay).
I do not share the notion that a certain government is trying or that a certain governor is working. That’s all bullshit!
In the last 19 years at least, there are no more tenable excuses why the roads in Lagos should be so terrible.
Sincerely if l could make the decision, l will block all the roads you see in this essay. Human beings should not be allowed to travel on these roads. They are permanent death traps and l wish someone in the the world somewhere has the power to shut down all these dangerous roads in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria.
Whoever is responsible for these roads since 1999 ought to be arrested and prosecuted without delay. Since 2015, Mr. Buhari and Mr. Fasola are solely responsible for the federal roads in Lagos and they should be tried for crimes against humanity for all the deaths that continue to occur on the federal roads.
Without delay, the Badagry Express Way should be shut down!!! That is not an expressway. It is not even a road!
Mr. Ambode is culpable too because he is the number one citizen of Lagos state for the past 3 years! What has he been doing? Don’t tell me he is trying! He is not the governor of Lagos Island, is he?
If there are reasons why Mr. Fasola and Mr. Buhari have not constructed and maintained the federal roads in Lagos, why is Mr. Ambode not talking about it to the media and to the world just like l am doing now.
For one month at least, l’m going to pay for this essay on instagram and facebook. Then l will see what reactions we get. If possible, l will continue to sponsor the advertisement for this essay just as long as the problem remains and l will keep a tab on Lagos to see current situations.
How on earth can this be the situation and there are no outrages? What is wrong with Nigerians? What is wrong with Lagosians?
All the roads for transportation, state, local and federal must be in perfect shape and good maintenance. No road must be left untouched because the people of Nigeria deserve the best that life has to offer. You can’t do 50% of the roads. You can’t of 99% of the roads. The 1% left undone can cause death and other unwanted scenarios. You must be perfect. All roads must be fixed and that is the work/function of government.
The government is not doing the people any favour by doing what it is supposed to do.
Mr. Buhari, Mr. Fasola and Mr. Ambode must put their heads together now and put politics and election aside for once. Lagos roads and all roads in Nigeria must be fixed. It is your job. It is your work. No one is begging you. You are servants to the people and serve you must or get the hell out of the offices you occupy.
What l saw of Lagos roads revealed to me that on the long run, Nigeria must do away with the useless and senseless unitary system of government as soon as possible.
I do not expect Mr. Buhari to know the roads l travel in Lagos. Even a federal minister knows little about the roads in Nigeria. But a governor and a local government chairman will know better. Therefore it is best to review how power can be taken away from that useless office in Abuja and taken back to the grassroots where people can see and solve their problems regionally and locally. It is just pure common sense!
I have been writing about the ills in Nigeria for almost 2 decades and l could go on here again in this essay but let’s save the tautology and hope that my message is clear: FIX ALL THE ROADS IN LAGOS AND END THIS SHAME!!
aderounmu@gmail.com