A retired Army General, Ayo Vaudaan, has expressed satisfaction on the protest that was embarked upon at Apapa, Lagos, recently, against the incessant traffic gridlock in the area.
Vaudaan said residents of Apapa had suffered untold hardship as trucks and tankers blocked the roads.
He said, “Our protest was successful. I thank God for the massive turnout of people who voluntarily staged a protest over the issue. We want the traffic lockjam to stop in Apapa. We cannot continue like this. Businesses are closing down in Apapa as nobody wants to do business here anymore. Enough is enough; we cannot tolerate it any more. We want to ensure that people who live in Apapa can move in their vehicles and return home without hardship, which we had been experiencing earlier.
“We are going to do more protests if such gridlocks continue. The Federal Government should do something about it. We are saying that the government should ensure that there is no more gridlock in Apapa.”
A woman, who identified herself simply as Madam Veronica, said, “We are very happy about the success of the rally. The rain that fell after the rally is a blessing in disguise. I thank God that there was no violence. I also want to thank the police for their cooperation. They were with us throughout the rally. We did not want to block the roads so that some people would not see it as being politically motivated.”
A resident of the area, John Adeyemi, said the rally was necessary because residents of Apapa had suffered enough.
He noted, “Residents of Apapa have suffered enough. We cannot continue like this. We are going to continue this protest until government does something to stop the gridlock. The truck and tanker drivers should know that we are human beings with families.
“Our children find it difficult to go and come back from school. People would stay in their vehicles in the gridlock for as long as five hours and above, despite the fact that their residences are very close to where they are coming from. Many people have relocated from Apapa because of the gridlock. Many closed down their businesses because of traffic jam.”
Another resident, Suleiman Mohammed, said he was already tired of doing business in Apapa because of the traffic jam.
“Apapa used to be a hub for businesses but because of the traffic jam, nobody wants to come to Apapa for business. The truck and tanker drivers are not considering the residents and people doing businesses in the area. Even members of my family cannot visit me because of the traffic congestion. They would rather call on phone. Many people who do business in Apapa now do it on phone, which is not supposed to be,” he lamented.
The protesters, who took off from Apapa Club, walked to the Area ‘B’ Police Command, Apapa, where the Area Commander, Mr Mohammed Ahmadu, addressed them.
Ahmadu, who thanked them for being peaceful and understanding, promised to take their complaints to the appropriate authority.
The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Apapa, CSP Olanrewaju Edegbai, expressed concern over the gridlock, saying that their demand was lawful.
