EDITORIAL:
APAPA PORT ACCESS ROAD: THE SANWO-OLU TSUNAMI AND SUSTAINABILITY QUESTION
How l wish the excitement and euphoria of seamlessly driving on the lane that was rendered impassable for close to a decade by truck and tanker drivers to get to Apapa in real time today will not die down too soon.
Honestly, if at all this feat is the only legacy left for port users, the Lagos State Governor, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will keep receiving a deluge of goodwill messages, accolades and prayers from Nigerians in a very long while.
I said from Nigerians because of, importers and exporters, freight forwarders, staff of Government agencies, the Nigeria Customs, transporters, shipping companies and terminal operators, bankers and factory workers, traders, and Security personnel not excluding the international community, all will be grateful to Sanwo-Olu for opening up the Apapa port corridor for free human and vehicular movements.
We can call it the Sanwo-Olu Tsunami because no one saw it coming and none thought that the Governor has the political will to dismantle the monstrous Apapa gridlock.
For many years, truck drivers completely took over the particular lane leading to Apapa, leaving commuters with no choice than consistently plying one way. This did not only rob port users of man-hours but caused series of accidents that claimed many lives as a good number of people were taking Okada as an alternative means of transport to work. Some lost their limbs to careless Okada riders, some had serious body injuries that permanently disabled them.
Yes, the road is now free, but will this feat be sustained or will the trucks reclaim the lane in no time remains a big question begging for answer, how does Lagos State intend to sustain this achievement, is the governor going to assign a taskforce to man the corridor to forestall future occurrence.
In a press briefing on Friday at Tincan Command, the Customs Area Controller, Tincan Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, told journalists that the feat was achieved by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigeria Customs, Tincan Command.
And when asked whether there was plans for its sustainability, the CAC said that only port users can ensure its sustainability and that the only way they could do that is to take responsibility.
Comptroller Nnadi who commended the Lagos State Governor for having the will power to open up the corridor for free human and vehicular traffic said that life would return to Apapa in no time as those who shut down their businesses because of the gridlock would reopen.
Even as the trucks have been dislodged, evacuation of refuse and action against
open defecation must commence immediately.
The obnoxious odour that keeps anyone walking on that lane uncomfortable is a result of long occupation of the lane by truck drivers who spend weeks on the road trying to access the port to unload their trucks. They defecate, bath and eat on the road while waiting for their turns to access the terminals .
Nevertheless, the collective wish of port users is never to see the gridlock resurface, ‘the Sanwo-Olu Tsunami’ will remain the best thing that has happened to Apapa in many years, and sustaining the feat will not only revive Apapa but will save many lives as dying businesses will pick up once again.
As a matter of fact, the cartel and every other extortionist that has been feeding fat from the underhand dealings that have sustained the Apapa gridlock all these years will not relent or rest on their oars to see this laudable feat sustained, and if at all the collaboration want it sustained, they must have to deploy intelligence and violent physical action to keep them in check.
Mcanthony Onuoha is a maritime journalist and publisher of The Prestige Blended Magazine Online and print.
