Pan-Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere, has once again drawn the attention of the Federal Government to the deplorable state of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, a major route to all parts of the country.
The National Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Odumakin, said in a statement yesterday that the road had remained in a virtual state of disrepair and a major embarrassment to governance since it collapsed about 15 years ago.
Odumakin said the deplorable state of the road had led to several accidents, claiming uncountable number of lives on a daily basis.
He added that the scion of the Awolowo family, the late Chief Oluwole Awolowo, had an accident on the road, which ultimately led to his death, recently.
Odumakin disclosed that motorists, who used the road in the last 48 hours, experienced the worst nightmares of their lives as they were held for several hours in total lockdown and punishing gridlocks.
The Afenifere spokesman said some of the travellers had to spend an average of six hours on a journey that should not take more than 55 minutes, if the road were in good condition.
He said: "The physical strain of this anomaly is unquantifiable. A prominent Lagos lawyer found himself locked on that road for about 10 hours a few years back and did not wake up the following morning, when he managed to reach his house.
"There is a great hazard road users face being in lockdown on a road they share with fuel-laden tankers. God forbid anything happening to any of such tankers in such standstill, the human tragedy would be horrendous. And it has happened before.
"We have had promises of work commencing on that road several times in recent times but we are yet to see action. The state of that road is totally unacceptable and we want to see commencement of real reconstruction – not patchwork – without further delay."
Odumakin added that a timely action to stop the rituals of carnage taking place on the road would signpost responsiveness and responsibility in governance.
National Mirror
It's about time Nigeria realised how bad her roads are. They are not motorable anymore cos everywhere is messed up.