For 51-year-old Customs officer Abraham Olanrewaju Olaoye, before his death penultimate week was transferred couple of months ago from Kaduna station of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to Abuja
with his Lagos-based family of five children and wife, Mrs.Temitope Olaoye. The Olaoye family in Lagos heaved a sigh of relief that the bread winner has returned to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where he had earlier spent few years working as a Custom officer during which he was shuttling between Lagos and Abuja.
with his Lagos-based family of five children and wife, Mrs.Temitope Olaoye. The Olaoye family in Lagos heaved a sigh of relief that the bread winner has returned to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where he had earlier spent few years working as a Custom officer during which he was shuttling between Lagos and Abuja.
However, meticulous family planning took Olaoye to Lagos two weeks ago to jointly plan with the family how visitations could be exchanged. Consequently, Olaoye took his wife along on the trip back to FCT; little did they know it was to be their last journey together as couples.
Precisely on May 30, 2011, the couple alongside other five people embarked on the long journey as early as 5: am in a grey commercial Toyota Previa bus with registration number: LAGOSXZ 280 MUS which took off at Oshodi motor park at about 7: am.
The bus was on a tall speed before Ogere Township in Ogun State when one of its front tyres burst on the pot-hole ridden “expressway,” and the driver lost control. The driver was not able to control the bus successfully because of rain, which made the road slippery. The bus rammed into a parked trailer and five people died instantly, two injured while the driver who escaped unhurt ran away from the scene.
The trailer, a brown Fiat with registration number OGUN XB 182 SGM is one of the scores of long vehicles parked along the expressway at Ogere Township which have been sources of fatal road accidents on the highway.
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State, Mr. Alfred Adeboye attributed the cause of the accident to a burst tyre. He blamed commercial bus operators for showing interest in buying ‘Tokunbo’ tyres rather than brand new tyres that could last longer and guarantee safety on the wheel.
For instance, investigation by Weekly Trust at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) office at Ogere revealed that 72 hours before Olaoye, his wife and three other passengers lost their lives, a similar accident had occurred at the same area and it was also caused by burst tyre, parked trailer and dilapidated road. According to the source at the FRSC office, 24 people were involved in this accident that occurred about 12 midnight and it claimed 10 lives, while eight sustained serious injuries.
Our Correspondent, who visited the scene of the accident a day after observed that apart from most of the commercial bus operators plying the expressway are guilty of using ‘Tokunbo’ tyres, the present condition of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is shameful to the nation. The road has become a death-trap to every day users and it needs fixing now so as to tackle carnage on the ever busy highway.
The attendant road accidents on Lagos-Ibadan expressway have, no doubt, come with enormous economic cost and destabilization of many families.
Meanwhile, one thing that is bothering minds of the expressway users is the inactivity of Bi-Courtney Limited, (the Concessionaire) on the modernization project. It was learnt that it is over two years that the Federal Government under President Olusegun Obasanjo, signed a concession agreement towards modernisation of the highway. But nothing significant has been done by the construction company to this moment.
The hope that greeted signing of the agreement in May 2009 between the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney has given way to despair as the expectations of the people concerning the road seem to have been dashed. The age long traffic problem being experienced on the highway, particularly at Ibafo and Ogere area, has continued to pose great challenges to the socio-economic development and security of Ogun State and the nation at large, considering the nature and importance of this expressway.
An eye witness of the accident that claimed the lives of the Olaoyes, Mr. Abdul- Lateef Sunmonu blamed the Federal Government for shying away from its responsibility on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. “If indeed human lives mean anything to our government, the time is ripe for the Federal Government to tackle headlong all issues creating problems and accidents on this highway,” he said.
“People do not even know who is really in charge of the road rehabilitation. It appears Bi-Courtney is overwhelmed by the huge financial outlay of the project which obviously, Ogun State Government lacks. The issue is travelling on this expressway, day or night, has become a nightmare,” he said.
Indiscriminate parking beside the highway by tanker drivers at Ogere Township is another major problem on Lagos- Ibadan expressway. An angry driver, Kelani Jamiu explained that the tanker drivers have become a law unto themselves. “The tanker drivers on this road have become nuisance to motorists along this highway. Not only that they drive carelessly, but they also park indiscriminately. Their attitude has become a major cause of the regular traffic hold-up on the road,” Kelani noted.-Daily trust
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