By Juliet Umeh

lagos—Motorists, residents, business operators and commuters on Lekki-Epe expressway, yesterday, said they are going through harrowing experiences and excruciating pain due to the on-going reconstruction of the 49.5-kilometre expressway.

Unconfirmed reports claimed that some road users, especially around Majek, Abijo, Ogidan and Sangotedo, have died, due to the tormenting gridlock and the excruciating trauma associated with it.

Vanguard also learnt that a woman in labour put to bed on the same road, while many school children have stopped going to school because they spend a minimum of five to six hours on journeys that ordinarily take between 20 and 30 minutes.

Residents who spoke lamented that the only way to beat the horrendous traffic is to leave the area by 4am.

Consequent upon the traffic, transport fares in the area have also hit the rooftop.
Sharing her experience, a middle aged woman, Mrs. Rose Michael, who works with one of the blue chip companies in Lekki, said: “We are dying in this axis of Lagos, and we need the government to come to our rescue. As you can see, I’m trekking and I started trekking from Shoprite.

“When I discovered that if I board a CMS bus from Bogije, the driver will collect N2,000 and the fare will still not take me to CMS when traffic starts, and the driver will not refund part of my money. While waiting in the traffic, the time will be going and I will be receiving calls from the office. The strategy I have adopted is to board a bus to Shoprite and pay N500, and I will start trekking until I get to where there is no more traffic. Then I will board another bus that will take me to my place of work at Jakande.

“Yesterday (Tuesday) was horrible. Today (Wednesday), I did not wake up early because my back was aching seriously. There are some days I get to my office by 10 or 11 am, yet I leave my house by 4 am every day.

“Even this past Monday, a trailer and bus had a head on collision and all the people in the bus died. The incident happened around Ogunbayo area. We met them there and I was told by the driver that carried me that everybody in the vehicle died.

“At present, my children are at home. They are no longer going to school. I can’t allow them to be facing this traffic every day. Some of them are coming to Sangotedo from Bogije and some school children are coming from Lakawe. We can’t wait for this reconstruction to be over.”

Another road user whose place of worship is on Victoria Island, Mrs. Ruth Nnanna, said: “I and my family come from Gbogije to VI, but henceforth, we won’t be going to church because we saw hell last Sunday and turned back because church would have been over by the time we would have arrived.

“Aside from the fuel, the psychological trauma is telling on the children who will be in school the following day.”

A driver who simply gave his name as Segun, said: “As you can see, my bus is packed here because of overheating. I’m not even making any profit because the fuel we buy at a very high price drains in this traffic and you discover that cars and buses are breaking down at every point.

“Where we buy fuel of N1, 500 and still make gain, now with the fuel of N5000, we struggle to make gain. It is that bad.

“We are so disappointed with the company handling this reconstruction because they are so insensitive to our plight. First of all, they are slow, resume work around 10 am and close by 4 pm.

“At least, they are supposed to be considerate and be working at night with floodlights. But they will never do that, they work like civil servants, it is laughable.

“The worst part is that they won’t even create an access way for road users to manage but will block everywhere thereby allowing everyone to go through the unbearable pain every day of the week.

“Even in the areas they have completed like Ibeju Lekki and Awoyaya, there are no speed limit signs,” Segun recounted.

However, Vanguard observed that the portion of the expressway from Eleko junction up to Life Spring School had been paved and the walkways on both sides, inbound and outbound are ready.
However, every attempt to speak with the company at the site was abortive as they claimed that they were not permitted to speak with the press.