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Together Insecurity
How insecurity is uniting a failing Nigerian State
In the last few months, Lagos residents have had to endure long hours in traffic while moving from any one point to another within the metropolis. In truth, the menace is not a new one. Lagos and Traffic have always been synonymous. However, in recent times, the unfortunate juxtaposition of poorly managed road closures and the breakdown of some key central elements of the central infrastructure as a result of the rampage that followed the EndSARS protests has created a State-wide monster.
In times past, intractable traffic situations were usually restricted to notorious areas of the State like the Apapa axis — where the government’s failure to provide rail infrastructure to move fuel and goods from the TinCan port to other parts of the country meant that hundreds of trailers came into Lagos daily from all over the country, putting more pressure on the already overwhelmed road infrastructure. In many instances, this inefficiency has led to freak accidents and the avoidable loss of lives. Back-to-back traffic also used to be the exclusive preserve of poorer neighbourhoods of Lagos, where there is much higher human density; and where scores of road-unworthy danfo buses are the primary means of public transportation. These early 80s Volkswagen tinboxes flagrantly abuse road laws and cause bottlenecks as…
