*Military personnel deployed to ease chaos
By Florencemary Nwabueze and Precious Enaike
The Kirikiri-Apapa corridor has become a nightmare for commuters and truck drivers alike, with a new terminal turning an already dire traffic situation into what many describe as an unbearable daily ordeal. Motorists and commercial vehicle operators who spoke to The Warden News on Monday 6th July, painted a grim picture of hours wasted in gridlock, with some losing substantial sums of money as they remain trapped in the seemingly endless queues of trucks.
Police officers stationed along the route expressed frustration at the persistent nature of the crisis. The situation, they said has deteriorated further following the opening of a new terminal at Kirikiri. "This thing has been happening for years here. We are doing our best to control it from this UBA bank side so people can go about their ways. There is a new terminal that just opened at Kirikiri that has made it worst to this extent. The traffic starts once the company resumes operation in the morning. We have been here since morning controlling the traffic”
A driver identified as Mr. Captain Wes, who was caught in the gridlock also pointed to the new terminal as the primary culprit behind the congestion.
"These trucks are stucked here because of the new terminal that just opened at Kirikiri there. If you go there, you will see the Nigerian Navy and Police controlling the traffic. We don't know if something has happened at the terminal. Some trucks are going to offload. This has been going on for a long time, so we have been witnessing it. The people mostly affected that have problems are the cars that could not pass to go about their ways.
Mr. Chigozie, another frustrated motorist, recounted his torturous journey from Mile 2.
"I entered this traffic from Mile 2 and I have been here for over 50 minutes now. The traffic has been like this since this period that they just opened something at Kirikiri. They said they are doing something there. You can see that I am very tired. If I had known, I would have followed another route to bypass it, and there is nothing I can do now. I don't know what they are doing there.”
Mr. Sunday, a sand truck delivery driver also said:
"The traffic is seriously terrible. I want to go and deliver sand and I found myself in this traffic. Today I have lost about N120,000 because of this traffic," he revealed. I want the government to do something about this traffic as quickly as possible," he pleaded.
Military personnel deployed to manage the situation in front of the new Exodus terminal at Kirikiri said: " We work for the government. We were deployed here on the 1st of July from our military base to control this traffic. As you can see, the drivers are not listening to anyone; that is why we are here. As you can see, we are sweating. We haven't rested since morning, as you can see our voices are almost gone.”
The military officer further identified multiple contributing factors to the congestion, including poor road infrastructure and operational inefficiencies at terminal companies.
"Here they have bad roads already, but the companies are not helping. If the roads are good, maybe it can help. There are about three companies here causing these traffics. The Exodus company has two exits, but the AGL has only one way. The same place trucks pass in is where they go out from, contributing more to the traffic. If the government can make a regulation for the inflow of the trucks that enter each company per day, maybe it will help. All these trucks here, the companies will deny asking them to come, but you will see them her.”
When The Warden News visited the Africa Global Logistics (AGL) Company, security personnel at the gate refused to allow reporters to see the management. They insisted that the journalists obtain reflective vests before gaining entry. Despite the reporters' complaint that the company should have spare reflective vests for visitors, they were forced to purchase their own. Upon returning with the vests, the security personnel locked the gate and directed them to another location, claiming that was where the administrative office was situated, painting a situation that proved suspicious of the goods in the containers.
However, Mr. Chidi, the manager of the new Exodus Terminal said: "It's not only us that blocks the road. There are other terminals here like Phase 2 and AGL that carries MSC, while here we are carrying PIL and APAMEL. The major problem here is that we are the only one collecting this PIL; other terminals are no longer functioning, and the thing now makes here to be congested," Mr. Chidi explained
On the question of Exodus's role in the traffic problem, he maintained that his terminal was not solely responsible
"Concerning the road, there are other terminals like AGL and Phase 2. We can't be the major cause of traffic because we have two entrances—one at the front here for coming in and the one at the back for going out. We want the military and the police to keep controlling the traffic. They should be parking the containers on one lane so that there will be movement on the road. LASMA, Navy, and Police are on the road; why are there still traffic?" he questioned.