FASHOLA AND THE LAGOS/IBADAN EXPRESSWAY MESS -BY ENITAN OLUKOTUN

Babatunde Raji Fashola.

Traffic snarl is nobody's friend. I understand the frustration of many Nigerians on the roads occasioned by failed portions or reconstruction activities.

However, some of the rage and outburst like the one expressed by one Niran Adedokun in the Punch Newspaper, Thursday edition drifted off tangent just to denigrate the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

The caption of his article was disingenuously crafted to bring Fashola into an unrelated fray.

What has Fashola got to do with gridlock and attendant hiccups that are resultants of construction activities?

Whilst I sympathize with fellow Nigerians that commute on the critical Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, the fact must be stated that an omelet cannot be made without breaking an egg.

Fashola has over time intervened to ameliorate the temporary discomfort by instructing the contractors to either suspend work during the Yuletide or open blocked sections when citizens complained.

Contrary to Mr. Adedokun's labelling, Fashola never has held the Nigerian people with contempt or suppressed their demand for a better life.

READ ALSO: LAGOS TRAFFIC: ARE BICYCLES AS AN ALTERNATIVE? -BY ABAYOMI BAMIDELE ADISA

Again, Fashola from his days in Lagos as governor has often demonstrated that public thrust should be taken seriously by public servants.

Ironically, for the name calling Mr. Adedokun, the gridlock being referenced was actually caused by a truck which spilled its contents occupying almost the entire stretch of the road. Yet, traffic managers including the Federal Road Safety Corps officials were not standing akimbo while the chaotic situation lasted.

Mr. Adedokun sounded academic when he suggested that 'all' alternative roads should have been fixed before embarking on Lagos/Ibadan Expressway rehabilitation. Yet he was already an adult in 1999 when the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration mulled the reconstruction but never started.

I still remember the Wale Babalakin's Bi-Courteny's war with the Umaru Musa Yah-Adua government over same road.

Nigeria cannot wait for a state of utopia before embarking on that critical project. Government deserves kudos on this score.

Perhaps maybe Mr. Adedokun is one of the opinion writers who don't move around but depend and garner materials from biased sources...

Mr. Adedokun should have known that Arab Contractors, the construction firm handling Ikorodu, Ita-Oluwo, Ogijo, Gbaga enroute Sagamu is on site.

  v Enitan Olukotun is a Nigerian Online Publisher

Thank you for reading. Got comments? Kindly post them with your name on the Comment box below.