Managing Tin Can And Apapa Roads

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week- George S. Patton

George Saton’s apt saying makes a mockery of the access roads to Nigerian seaports considering the nation’s plans to become the port hub in West and Central Africa.

To say that the Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIP) is a national embarrassment would still be fair use of euphemism. The facilities around the port have continued to disintegrate but the relevant authorities seem to be unperturbed.

The access roads from the Coconut bus stop down to the first and second gates of Nigeria’s second largest seaport are characterized by potholes, dirts and traffic gridlocks as a result of trucks parked on the road.

Rainfall in recent times has heightened the problems on the road with the traffic worsening, the smell from the debris increasing and the potholes invincible to irregular users of the road. Consequently, traffic rules have been suspended as vehicles and motorcycles take any free route to avoid traffic congestion and potholes big enough to swallow small cars.

At a time when the nation is concerned about enhancing the ease of doing business in the nation’s ports, one begins to wonder how bad the situation would have to be before the requisite actions would be taken.

Nevertheless, Tin Can Island is the home of a seaport that generates more than N1billion naira daily as Customs revenue and another N1.5billion daily through payments to the Nigerian Ports Authority and other taxes, not to mention the thousands of agents, SMEs, financial institutions and other companies in and around the vicinity.

Following the closure of the Apapa-bound carriageway of the Apapa Marine Beach Bridge for the 29 days for ongoing rehabilitation, the traffic gridlock around that area has also worsened.

While the government can be commended for finally remembering to fix the Marine Bridge which was damaged by fire about 10 years ago, the bad state of the other routes leading to Apapa Port still leaves a lot to be desired.

Apapa port roads remain as unpredictable and dilapidated as ever. The roads are hardly ever refurbished before they begin to wear out. The stretch from Flour Mills down to the Eleganza Plaza is the worse at the area, although it may receive some reprieve as the area has been mapped out for repairs.

Interestingly, what may be required to fix the road and restore order and decency at Tin Can and Apapa could be less than a month’s earning from the ports.

Each day, the gridlock on the Oshodi-Apapa Road stretches for many kilometres, spilling into other roads and creating monumental traffic challenges for residents and other motorists and commuters. However, those who have their jobs, businesses and houses around this location should thread cautiously to make the journey through Apapa less awful and avoid accidents.

While we await the realization of a new port order that should be characterized by good port access roads and effective intermodalism to lessen the traffic, we should stay alive and go about our businesses calmly.