How Poor Road Networks Force Businesses To Shut Down In Ogun

By Oladosu Oluwagbenga 

The poor state of the Sango-Ota end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Ogun State has only made things worse for locals and business owners.

Thursday’s inspection by our correspondent revealed that the road had given way.

It was difficult for drivers and commuters to navigate the road.

After crossing the Sango-Ota Bridge and heading toward Ifo, a nearly three-kilometer stretch of Joju was abandoned.

There were numerous huge water-filled potholes in the road.

Due to oncoming traffic, both trucks and cars were forced to merge into the other lane; however, at the Igbala end of the road, they were able to merge back into their own lane.

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The high volume of traffic in the axis has caused some drivers to express concern that the available lane may soon become destroyed.

The abandoned lane that connected drivers coming from Alakuko into Ogun State had likewise a similar picture at the road’s Toll Gate terminus.

Only a few cars were observed swerving through the pothole-filled part of the road.

At the end of the axis, there was also a gully filled with water.

The majority of drivers, including a police patrol vehicle, resorted to driving just in one direction.

Several commuters had been struck by automobiles traveling against the flow of traffic, our correspondent observed.

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Street urchins were now using the poor state of the road as a means of extorting cash from truckers.

Our correspondent’s investigations showed that the road had effectively stopped all local commercial activity.

According to investigations by our correspondent, the road had rendered the local economy inert.

Along the axis, at least two gas stations and a few more businesses were closed.

Abdullahi Sanusi, a business entrepreneur, declared: “We are sick of whining. Nearly every establishment on this side of the street has been shut down. We can only exist because of God’s grace. As you can see, I sell tiles, but these days I hardly ever get any business. When they consider the burden of traveling here, they prefer to get something nearby.

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Afolabi Lawal, a merchant who sells plank at a sawmill close to the Joju end of the route, reported having little business lately.

“Since the road got worse in the last few months, our sales have decreased,” he remarked. Prior to their vehicles breaking down, vehicles used to still be in control of the road, but not any longer.

Additionally, angry motorists lamented how the road had damaged their cars.

The Federal Government has not given up on the road, according to Wale Adebote, the supervisor in charge of the Lagos-Toll Gate segment of the road.

He said, “We are coming back to the road. The problem we have in that area is that every space of land has been sold. Everywhere is fully developed and the water accumulated on that axis comes to the lowest point. But a redesign has been undertaken to take care of that problem. The contractor has been moved out of site, but they will soon come back. We aim to deliver the road by the end of the year, and that is what we are working on.”