THE AJAH ROAD CHALLENGE TO SANWO-OLU

On Sunday, December 11, 2022, I flew back into Lagos from Abuja. As I was returning to my house in Badore in what is called Greater Ajah in the Lekki Peninsula District, I ran into heavy traffic at the Ajah Bus station. It was caused by a tipper which fell on the other side of the Ajah-Addo-Badore Road, close to the Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. The truck driver was apparently attempting to cross to the other side by driving on the well-built median and so fell. Some motorists must have spent up to two hours on one spot.

Worse for me, as we were driving towards the Kekere Bus Stop at Addo, we ran into another gridlock. A heavy duty truck was attempting to lift a tipper and so blocked the road for hours; it presumably had a mechanical issue.

People using the famous Ajah-Addo-Badore Road, who were stuck in traffic for hours, would have stayed for a far longer period if the two traffic incidents had occurred on a weekday or on a Saturday. In other words, we were lucky we spent only two hours under the scorching sun, on December 11th, 2022.

The Lagos State government can end the suffering of thousands of people who use this extremely busy road the day it decides to construct an alternative road in the area. It can build a road from Addo to Abraham Adesanya Estate, which ex Governor Akinwunmi Ambode promised in August 2016 to do the next month but failed to fulfill his pledge without an apology. It can also build a road from the Cooperative Villas Estate in Badore to the Lagos Business School. Constructing any of these roads will go a long way to ease traffic on the Ajah-Addo-Badore Road. The Lagos State government should actually do the two roads. They are not only short but also critical. There are over 60 estates between Ajah and Badore. Consequently, the people suffer enormously. They have suffered enough.

 Babajide Okunnu, Badore, Ajah, Lekki