Toll Gate of Death: Ogun residents seek urgent intervention to wanton loss of lives, properties
That the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, particularly the toll gate axis (close to Sango-Otta), Ogun Gate is synonymous with accidents is no longer news.
A quick search of the word ‘Sango-Otta Toll Gate’ on social media and popular search engine, Google will show you that users even anticipate that such tragedy will happen, hence they depend on the search engines, social media, newspapers and news websites to catch the latest glimpse of avoidable accidents at that spot.
The Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway is an 81-kilometre-long (50 mi) expressway connecting Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, and Ikeja, the capital of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city.
According to Wikipedia, it is Nigeria’s busiest highway, linking people living in metropolitan and greater Lagos, as well as people from outside the state. This expressway is the busiest inter-state and intra-city route in Nigeriaand handles more than 250,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) daily and constitutes one of the largest road networks in Africa.
However, despite its strategic location and being a source of revenue harvest to Lagos, Ogun and Federal Governments, most portions of the road have been in a sorry state for years. Residents and motorists have for long shared tales of tragic moments on the road with no cogent response from the government.
‘‘I dread that road like hell. Ever since I witnessed an unfortunate accident that killed over 10 people on the spot, I made a personal pledge not to ply that route again either in my car or by public transport. In fact, that was part of the reason I relocated to Lagos despite having my own house in Sango,’ a former resident shares his tragic experience with Newsclickng.com.
Meanwhile, a recent on-the-spot visit by the Newsclickng.com’s team to the dreaded axis in Ogun State revealed that what ended up claiming several lives was the obvious neglect of the unmotorable roads which, according to residents, have been in that deplorable state for over twenty years. Motorists sometimes swerve in between sections of the road to manoeuvre their way around. Some find alternative routes in-between the streets for fear of having their vehicles vandalised by the bad roads.
Newsclickng.com reports that despite flagging off the reconstruction of the expressway since May 14, 2018, by the then Minister of Power, Works and Housing (now Ministry of Works and Housing), Mr . Babatunde Fashola (SAN), not much of an improvement has been made more than two years after.
The contract was awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria and Reynolds Construction Company Limited at a sum of ₦22,000,000,000.00, equivalent to $61,380,000.00. Two sections of the expressway will be reconstructed and this includes Section I (Lagos to Ota) and Section II (Ota to Abeokuta).
MOST OGUN ROADS ARE DEATH TRAPS – RESIDENTS
Meanwhile, residents of the state who spoke with this medium said the Lagos-Abeokuta road is not the only road in the state that needs urgent government attention.
According to them, eighty per cent of all the federal, state and local government roads in the state are in bad shape and causing needless accidents on a daily basis.
‘It is quite funny that the media only focuses on the Sango Ota Toll Gate as if that is the only bad road in Ogun State. In case you don’t know, Ogun State roads are death traps. We have witnessed and are still witnessing several loss of lives and properties because of these bad roads. And it is as if the government is happy with these losses because how else do we have to cry out that we want our roads fixed? The situation is usually compounded during rainy seasons.
Governments have come and gone but these roads remained in the sorry state that they have always been,’ a visibly angry road user said.
Newsclickng.com reports that while the youth-led nationwide agitation to scrap the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (#EndSARS) lasted, Ogun youths used the opportunity to also push to the fore the demand for the immediate reconstruction of all dilapidated roads (#FixOgunRoads) in the state.
‘’Yes we want the Federal Government to scrap that notorious police unit (SARS). That is our national outcry but specifically here in Ogun State, we want the government to fix our roads. We can’t take it anymore. We say enough is enough to accidents and unnecessary blood baths on our roads. We ‘ll keep agitating even after the #EndSARS campaign is over because motorable roads are part of good governance. We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Dapo Abiodun to do the needful before we are pushed to the wall,” the protesting youths told Newsclickng.com correspondent.
MONARCHS EXPRESS CONCERN, PROFFER SOLUTIONS
Newsclickng.com gathered during the course of this report that traditional rulers all over the state have over time spoken against the recurring accidents and sought government’s intervention. Particularly, the Olota of Ota, HRM, Oba (Dr.) Adeyemi Obalanlege, under whose jurisdiction the toll gate falls, has personally made appeals verbally and also written officially to local, state and federal governments for urgent assistance to put the road in order.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Newsclickng.com on behalf of the Olota, Oba Samuel Olufemi Ojugbele, the Onilogbo of Ilogbo, said the frequent accidents on the road is becoming a source of worry to the traditional rulers especially those close to Ota.
“The accidents have been happening for years back. It is now almost perennial. It is getting to our nerves and we’re getting worried,” the monarch said.
According to him, the accidents on the axis are always fatal because people formed a market close to the Toll Gate without the government’s approval. “There should be no market at Toll Gate. Neither the government nor traditional rulers gave approval for such. People just woke up one day and started congregating there to sell things one after the other till it became that populated. The park is also not approved. This is part of the challenge and we have pleaded with the government to evacuate them to somewhere safe to continue their trade instead of that dangerous spot.”
Highlighting possible solutions to curb the menace, the monarch said: “We have been proffering solutions to the government for quite sometimes now. We suggested constructing a flyover. The last administration promised to build us the flyover. They even came up with the design but it could not be actualised before the Sen. Ibikunle Amosun-led administration left office in 2019 and I sincerely believe we have put the same demand before the incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration. It is our belief that they will do something about it.”
Oba Ojugbele further stated that the monarchs had been offering prayers and also appealing to stakeholders like officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Traffic Compliance and Enforcement (TRACE) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to play the game by the rule by performing their respective roles efficiently.
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We are committed to ensuring accident-free roads in Ogun – FERMA, FRSC, NURTW speak
Officials of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Traffic Compliance and Enforcement (TRACE) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have all pledged their commitment to accident free roads especially in Ogun State.
The agencies also appealed to motorists, pedestrians and other road users to obey traffic signs and avoid over-speeding.
Newsclickng.com reports that the Sango Otta Unit of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in May advised the Ogun State Government to relocate the illegal motor park and market at the Toll-Gate axis to reduce incessant road accidents in the area.
The Unit Commander of FRSC, Mr Akeem Ganiyu, said most casualties of auto crashes at the toll gate axis were motorcycle riders, hawkers and passersby. He said most of the vehicles that caused the accidents were articulated, overloaded and, worse, the drivers overspeed and in most cases drive recklessly leading to brakes failure and disaster.
ABIODUN APPROVES CONSTRUCTION OF 12 ROADS IN 11 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Executive Council, SEC, led by Governor Dapo Abioodun, on Friday 23rd of October approved the reconstruction of 12 roads across 11 local government areas of the state.
The roads, according to the government, will be completed between six and nine months.
The roads include:
1. Ijebu Ode-Epe/Sagamu-Ore Interchange Flyover in Ijebu-Ode/Odogbolu LGAs.
2. 1.2km Ilishan Market Road in Ikenne LGA.
3. 2.0km Itori Junction-Total Road in Ewekoro LGA.
4. 1.3km Joju Road in Ado-Odo Ota LGA.
5. 3.41km Olomore Junction-Sanni Road, Abeokuta North LGA.
6. 5.9km Sagamu Junction-Iperu Roundabout Road in Sagamu/Ikenne LGA.
7. 3.0km Iperu Roundabout-Ode Road in Ikenne LGA.
8. .0km Ago Iwoye-Oru-Ijebu Igbo Road in Ijebu North LGA.
9. 5.7km Somorin-Kemta, Idi-Aba Road in Odeda LGA
10. 3.8km Ilashe-Koko-Alari Road in Ipokia LGA
11. 8.0km Orile Oko Road in Remo North LGA
12. 2.3km Obafemi Awolowo Way-Mada-Takete in Remo North.
In the same vein, the following roads were previously approved for reconstruction by the Council:
1. 4.65km Akute-Denro-Ishasi in Ifo LGA
2. 2.35km Olusegun Osoba Toyin Street in Ifo LGA
3. 3.2km Molipa Expressway in Ijebu LGA
