Lagos residents returning home after work were today held up in endless traffic congestions following the closure of all key roads, which lead to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from Victoria.
The roads closure was traced to the visit of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) to Lagos metropolis, a situation which sparked anger and pain among Lagos residents who were returning after their stressful day. .
There were fierce-looking officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) at different junctions of the closed roads, especially those leading directly to the popular Third Mainland Bridge, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Funsho Williams Avenue.
we gathered that the closures started more than one hour before the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the routes.
The roads were closed at about 6:15 p.m. by security operatives but were not opened until about 7:33 p.m. after the convoy of President Jonathan and his entourage had driven through the Third Mainland Bridge heading to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
Thousands of road users and motorists, who were held in the traffic, were visibly furious and angry; bitterly lamenting that such blockage or closure was unnecessary during a democratic dispensation.
Precisely around 7:28 p.m. after the convoy had passed, a good number, who had alighted from their respective vehicles, were angrily booing President Jonathan, though security operatives scared them away. .
Before the roadblocks were dismantled, we spoke with a number of road users, who were held in the traffic jam, which covered a distance of more than five kilometers and in some cases more than that.
A banker in one of the new generation banks, who plead anonymity for security reasons over the situation, saying he was fortunate to have closed early, but the hold-up had shattered the plan of being with his family on time.
The banker expressed concerns about the capacity of President Jonathan “to guarantee fundamental human rights in different spheres of life. The idea of blocking roads because of the president is uncalled for.”
Another resident, Mr. Segun Balogun told us that the visit of the President to Lagos metropolis “has always been a source of concern and worry due to the tradition of road closure.”
Balogun condemned the tradition, which he said, had put road users and motorists under unnecessary stress.
In his response, Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) on Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa appealed to Lagos residents to bear with the state government after the hold-up eased few hours later.
Opeifa added that traffic congestion experienced “all around Lagos roads was due to road closure from Victoria Island to Murtala Mohammed International Airport arising from presidential visit and the consequent closure of Lagos roads by the security operatives of the Nigeria Police.”
The special adviser asked Lagos residents to be patient, saying the roads would be opened as soon as the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the Victoria Island en route the airport.
culled and adapted rom thewill
Comment
that is nonsense, in a country where human beings are not respected thats how things work,what if their is pregnant woman or a sick person that is going to hospital ,so they should die because the person they voted to make thing easy for them is passing,what saddens me is that ,this so called leader go abroad frequently and see how their leader move about , if is the president ,police may divert other road users to other nearest road for them to continue where their going and that is when traffic is much not to park more than a million road user at a place because the president want to use the road ,gorvernors are not noticed when useing the road
Lagosians are the bomb, i love dat. we have been fools in abuja for so long.....
When will Nigeria grow out of these madness of road closure, causing innocent citizens more pain, because a president or one lousy VIP is using a route? Its only in Nigeria and similar "Banana republics" that you see road closed to other road users because a president want to pass with his convoy! What is the president afraid of if he cannot mingle freely with his "citizens" who voted him to power, and wants their vote again in 2011? At least he has his chain of security personnel with him.
public offices needed to be demysitified by all means, including making political offices less lucrative than it is at the moment. Politics is just too much rich pickings in Nigeria.
No matter your perspective on the presidential security arrangement, i can bet anyone out there that you may have done the worst! Its quite sad that the road network in lagos is very bad but frankly speaking the security network of a president cannot be jeopardize on such excuses. Nigeria is very porous to threat of all sort so lets not boo the president for doing his thing. After all even OBJ who is now ex is doing the same thing.
Posted by Dejiwon on September 21, 2019 at 11:25pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
© 2019 Created by 9jabook.com.
Powered by
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed, like us on Facebook, or sign-up for the free email newsletter which contains life news, hints and tips,visit our Article Submission Page. Also Please Read This.Thanks for visiting !
9jabook.com ... the book of 9ja , Education Revelation Revolution For to ERR is Human
You may not have a masters degree but all you have mastered came in degrees . You may have only one Bsc but a lot of "those" people still talk BS ...... and you might have never gone to school but now you own your own School . YOU ! 9jabook.com knowledge meets Brand & Social
Copyright 2020 Systemini Technologies The Only Purpose of our Copyright is that you copy it Right !
![]() |
|
You need to be a member of 9jabook & Tweeterest Digital Network ! to add comments!
Join 9jabook & Tweeterest Digital Network !