Gridlock, high prices usher in Sallah

Buyers and their rams ... on Monday.

  Traffic headache and high fares unsettle Lagosians, SAMUEL AWOYINFA  reports

On Monday, many parts of Lagos State witnessed an unprecedented gridlock.

As the Edel-Kabir knocked on the door, transport fares also hit the roof as transport operators had a field day, milking hapless commuters.

From mainland to the island, the situation was the same. As early as 6.30am, the gridlock had begun to build up on many routes.

This was particularly noticeable on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Iju-Agege-Pen Cinema, Egbeda–Ikeja, and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Oworonshoki-Third Mainland Bridge.

Other routes affected are Abule Egba-Iyana-Ipaja-Oshodi, Ogba-Ojodu/Berger, Agege-Ikeja, Ogba-Oba Akran-Ikeja, and Apapa Oshodi Expressway, among others.

Many civil servants and others leaving for their private businesses spent hours in the gridlock, making them to report late to their duty posts.

A resident, Fatai Omobolanle, said from his home in Ikeja, he spent almost two hours before getting to  his office in Mushin, a journey which should not be more than 30 minutes.

He said, “The vehicle I boarded actually joined the traffic  from Ikeja. So, there was no alternative route to get to Oshodi. The same thing for Mushin, my final destination. I ended up spending two hours on the road for a journey that should normally not be more than 30 minutes.”

Another resident,  Laz Nwanne,  also had similar one.

He spent more than two hours moving from Iyana Ipaja to Oju Elegba. “The traffic was something else. From Iyana Ipaja to Maryland, vehicles were virtually crawling. It was when we got to Ikorodu Road that the traffic was a bit light. I left home around 9.00am and I got to my destination around 11.30am,” he said.

Besides this harrowing experience, the commuters had to pay more.    Commercial bus drivers and their conductors seized the rush that normally greets any festive season by marking up transport fares. On some routes, the fares went up to between 100 and 150 per cent or more.

A trip from Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway to Iyana Ipaja, which normally costs N150, was increased to N300. Likewise,  a trip from Ikeja to Oshodi jumped from N100 to N200 – while that from Iyana Ipaja to Oshodi increased from N150 to N300.

Fare for a  journey from Abule Egba to Pen Cinema moved from N50 to N100. Same applied to Fagba to Pen Cinema.

On inter-states routes, the fares were also increased. For commuters travelling from Lagos to Ibadan, the transport operators increased the fares from between N500 and N600, depending on the motor park where one wanted to board a bus, to N1,200.

Passengers going to Mowe-Ibafo, Ogun State,  from Ketu bus stop in Lagos on Monday paid N300 each instead of N150, for a journey that is not more than 20 minutes, if there is no gridlock.

Those passengers heading for Osogbo, Osun State, from the same motor park, paid N2,500 each.

The passengers did not find this funny, although many of them said they had no choice.  One of the passengers had complained in Yoruba, “Every festive season, the transport operators normally hike the transport fares. But I must stress that the margin is too much. At times we pay N100 from here to Mowe, but now we are made to pay N300. It is too much.”

Apart from transport fares that hit the roof, some residents complained that the prices of rams were high.

At Ijora ram market on Monday, the prices of rams ranged from N70,000 to N150,000, depending on their sizes. Not many buyers were seen at the ram stand.

The ram sellers, who were mainly Hausa,  spoke through interpreters.  One of the buyers, who gave his name as Akeem, said he had just N50,000 on him, and the ram he wanted cost N70,000.

“I am hoping that the Hausa man will bring down the price to N50,000. If not, I might have to look elsewhere and get something within my budget. Last year, I got  a ram of the same size for just N40,000,” he stated.