Lagos-badagry Expressway: Nigeria’s highway to hell

When in 2009 contract was awarded for the reconstruction and expansion of Lagos-badagry Expressway from its four-lane structure to 10 lanes with a light rail track in-between, nothing could equal the joy of Lagos residents, particularly motorists, property owners and those who have business along the expressway.

The project raised much hope. Expectation was that it would not only open up the West African market to Nigerian businesses and traders, but also affect positively property values, and impact on economic, commercial and social activities of people in that axis.

But today, the story is different. The euphoria and high expectations that greeted the project have died. For four whole years, nothing was done on the expressway. That was during the reign of Akinwunmi Ambode as governor.

Babajide Sanwo- olu, the current governor of the state, came wielding a THEMES agenda which, once again, raised hope and expectation that work would not only resume, but move fast on the expressway, more so with the governor’s promise that he would complete the road by December 2019.

Today, work is really ongoing, but it leaves much to be desired, making the expressway a metaphor for pain, stress and even frustration as it has become a highway to hell with its distortions, craters and ditches. The uncoordinated work schedule makes the expressway a deeper hell on earth.

The daily harrowing experience of both motorists and commuters reflected in quality man hours spent in gridlock, wear and tear on vehicles and loss of personal effects to hoodlums and bandits who are ever present on the expressway are better left to the imagination.

Like other projects in its class, Lagos-badagry Expressway project tells the Nigeria story—story of a country where well- intentioned ideas and projects could and are actually abandoned for no justifiable reasons or for reasons that have primordial undertone.

For 11 whole years, a project that was scheduled to be completed in four years has scarcely attained 50 percent completion and has, therefore, instead of being a blessing to the residents of the state has become a curse to both life and living.

Like other Lagos residents, our hearts are gladdened that Sanwo-olu has returned to the project with a view to completing it, but it appears to us that the original intent, benefits and urgency of this project is lost on the governor, hence the slow pace of work.

The project has lasted for too long, more so when placed side- by- side with a similar project in Ethiopia that was awarded the same time and has been completed and put to use since the last five years.

This expressway belongs to the Federal Government, but Lagos State has elected to reconstruct it. The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency ( FERMA), over a year ago, flagged off the maintenance of the expressway, beginning from Igbo- Eleri Junction to Badagry.

It is sad to note that a sizeable portion of this stretch has collapsed completely and has become a den of robbers who frequently attack motorists going to Badagry or the numerous outlying communities on the expressway.

It remains to be seen or explained why the Federal Government cannot join hands with the Lagos State government to complete the reconstruction and expansion of the expressway for the sake of its strategic economic importance.

It is hoped that the redevelopment of that expressway will open up trade across the West Coast. Annual trade volume on this route is said to run into billions of naira. Apart from trade facilitation, the human element should also be given serious consideration and this we earnestly canvass.

It is our belief that the completion of this project will impact positively on the economy of the state government because, apart from the regional trade that will be boosted, many companies have already positioned themselves to take advantage of the expressway and many more will relocate to this axis.

Besides these, many Lagos citizens have invested in property in this corridor only waiting for the expressway to be completed so they can move in. From these prospective, residents and businesses, the state government will be generating enormous revenue that will enable it to provide more road infrastructure and other social amenities for the citizens.

For these reasons and the fact that the project is in the Lagos blue-print, Sanwo-olu cannot but muster the will power to complete this project. Its continued delay amounts to mercy-killing for residents, businesses, motorists and commuters who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the project.