Lagos residents yesterday, were unhappy under heavy traffic gridlock at different locations in the city, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the state.
Buhari was in Lagos to commission the newly constructed Navy Sports Complex, to host the 12th Navy games at Navy Town, Ojo.
As a result, many roads were closed to traffic from 10:00 a.m. and were opened to motorists at about 3:00 p.m. yesterday.
Mile2, Fatgbems, parts of Festac, Alakija and Navy Town were mostly affected by the halt in vehicular movement.
Road users, who spoke with this medium yesterday expressed disappointment over the way security operatives handled the situation, by blocking most of the routes to citizens’ workplaces for over four hours.
Consequently, commercial drivers increased transportation fares to Mile-2 significantly. A trip to Mile-2 from Oshodi increased from N300 to between N500 and N700. Okada riders also charged between N300 and N500 from Second Rainbow Bus Stop to Mile-2
An angry commuter, identified simply, as Opeyemi said: “ If I tell you where I was coming from, you will pity me. I was coming to Mile 2, no vehicle. Everywhere is blocked, no motorcycle, no movement. I don’t see the reason a President will be coming and Task force officials and military men will be everywhere stopping vehicles and motorcycles.”
“So, what will happen, if the U.S President were to visit Lagos, everywhere would be locked down. I am not blaming Buhari. His tenure will soon end. I hope Nigerians are also seeing this. Even Keke Marwa is not moving.”
Another commuter, Adeoye Samuel, said: “This place was blocked as early as 7:00 a.m. No movement, people trekked down to Fatgbems, before getting bikes because they were not allowed in the whole of Mile 2. It was when Buhari left this evening that trucks and vehicles started moving a little.
“This is not how to run the country. They said it was for security reasons. Can’t his men clear the road for him to pass for us to continue our daily lives?”
