The journey from Igando to Idimu, two sleepy communities located in Alimosho LGA of Lagos State should not take more than 10 minutes. However, due to the illegal activities of mobile dumpsters, the journey sometimes could last between one to two hours.
Reason-there is a massive dumpsite located at Lanre Bus Stop, Igando, Idimu Expressway and a lot of times, these trucks break down or either park along the road causing endless traffic.
And lately this has become a recurring decimal.
superbassnaija blog paid a visit to the dumpsite and it was one of pain, tears and disappointment as commuters, private vehicle owners and residents decried the activities of truck drivers.
“This is as a consequence of irresponsibility on the part of truck drivers. I am a bus driver. I have been driving for 25 years and I have never seen anything like this,” lamented Bumper. “This is a journey that should not take more than 45 minutes but I end up spending over two hours on the road and this journey which is supposed to be very short becomes very long,” Bumper added in a fit of anger!
Sharing his sentiment, Andrew Adagha, a private car owner also lamented: “How can this be allowed to happen on a road as strategic as this? Do you know how many human hours are lost due to this? Do you know how much is lost? I can assure you it runs into millions of naira. The only way out is to live home as early as 4 am or I could lose my job. I am currently trying to relocate from this neighbourhood.”
From a distance, the dumpsite hovers like a towering hill overshadowing the highway and the buildings around it. No thanks to years of waste dumping. And when it rains, the smell of rotting waste envelopes the neighbourhood raising health concerns. What makes it even worse is that it is located next to a public hospital.
“I have been living here for over 20 years. When we came here it was rosy but today we are in a mess. These days we live with the choking smell of refuse.
“The alternative is to move our but at this point in time, things are very rough. I have invested all my life savings here so there is no place to go. I am stuck here,” says Victor Odiase, a pensioner.
According to Moses Adisa, an estate agent, long ago before the area became urbanized, it was chosen by the Lagos State government as a dump site. However, as development encroached, no plans it would seem were made to relocate the dump site. And now residents have to cope with hazards.
‘One man’s meat is another man’s poison.’ So goes the popular saying. While commuters and residents are groaning, hawkers are smiling to the bank as business is booming because they have opportunity to sell their wares by the road side whenever there is traffic.
According to Uche Ugbaja who spoke in broken English and who relocated to Lagos a couple of years ago from eastern Nigeria in search of greener pasture: “I always look forward to when there is serious traffic like this and the reason is simple, it gives me an opportunity to make sales. When it rains it is even better because of long traffic snarls. This is how I pay my bills and house rent.”
For Ahmed who sells recharge cards, the need for government to rise up to its responsibilities and do the proper thing cannot be over emphasized.
“Lanre Bus Stop used to be a very bad spot on the road but government fixed it and ever since the traffic situation has improved but now, these trucks are posing a bigger problem. Now somebody needs to enforce laws that will protect our common interests and get these trucks and their owners out of the way.”
Bumper, the bus driver and father of seven takes the final shot when he says: “We pray they just don’t pay lip service to our requests. The Lagos State government came to our rescue when they fixed the road but the trucks are making life miserable for us. Making one of these irresponsible truck drivers a scapegoat wouldn’t be a bad idea after all.”
Attempts to speak to officials of Lagos State Waste Management (LAWMA) were not successful at the point of filing this report and emails sent were also ignored.
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