A Twitter user @8ightayewa yesterday compressed the frustrations of thousands of stranded Lagosians into a single tweet at 7:20 a.m.: “I entered night bus last night going to Abuja, departed around 10:00 p.m. from Maza maza, right now, I am still in Lagos! Lagos-Ibadan expressway is blocked. Sobs!”
That was the pain of many who were stranded yesterday in the massive traffic lockdown on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway corridor, which extended to Berger, Ikeja, and Gbadaga after a petrol tanker explosion that occurred on the night of Tuesday, along the Long bridge at about 7:30 p.m. the accident scene was not cleared until yesterday morning. The tanker explosion coupled with another accident at Magboro road diversion further worsened the congestion.
Since the early hours of yesterday, commuters had to face the logjam, disrupting socio-economic activities along the axis. The gridlock affected the resumption time of workers in both public and private sectors, while those who had early morning air flights to catch from Lagos missed their boarding times. Many pupils who couldn’t stand the congestion returned home as most television and radio morning talkshows missed some of their anchors and guests.
Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State command yesterday confirmed that Tuesday’s tanker explosion claimed three lives. The Sector Commander, Ogun State, Clement Oladele, told newsmen the victims were male adults: the truck driver, his motor boy and another passenger of the ill-fated truck.
He attributed the cause to what he described as a mechanical deficiency of the vehicle, suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault. Oladele said the white-coloured truck was driving outward Lagos when the incident occurred on the Long Bridge. (Text courtesy The Guardian)