Gridlock: Commuters knock Ogun over failed Kara market relocation

Passengers travelling along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were again subjected to hours of gridlock on Monday, with many blaming the Ogun State Government for failing to relocate the Kara Cattle Market despite recurring traffic congestion caused by Eid-el-Kabir trading activities.

PUNCH Metro correspondent who monitored activities along the expressway on Monday observed that travellers from the Mowe-Ibafo-Magboro area were trapped in gridlock stretching from the Long Bridge towards the Kara market area.

Motorists travelling from the Lagos end of the expressway were also stranded in traffic that extended towards the Otedola Bridge axis.

The situation equally triggered an increase in transport fares as passengers travelling from Mowe to Berger paid between N1,500 and N2,000 for trips that usually cost between N700 and N800.

It was observed that ram sellers displayed livestock along the edge of the expressway while intending buyers parked their vehicles indiscriminately on the road, thereby occupying one lane of the highway.

Our correspondent also observed that the movement of livestock and traders across the road forced motorists to slow down while approaching the market area, worsening the traffic situation.

Traffic management officials, including personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, were seen controlling traffic and managing the situation.

Expressing frustration in separate interviews with our correspondent, some commuters faulted the Ogun State Government for what they described as repeated failure to relocate the market despite previous assurances aimed at addressing the perennial gridlock and unsafe environmental practices around the axis.

A commuter, Kunle Alabi, expressed displeasure over the prolonged gridlock, lamenting that the situation often had a psychological effect on his productivity.

He faulted the OGSG for failing to relocate the market despite repeated complaints about the activities of the traders and occupiers of the market.

He said, “Will the government say they’re not aware of what is going on here? Look at the environment and how it is. It is very obvious that the open defecation that has continued to persist along this axis is a result of this market.

“I was stuck in this traffic yesterday, and the same thing today. Spending several hours inside gridlock often has psychological effects on my productivity because the stress will make me less productive. I have been in this traffic for more than an hour.

“It is sad that the Ogun State Government has shown that it is less concerned about the plight of the residents.”

Another commuter, identified simply as Shola, blamed the trading activities along the expressway for worsening the experience of road users.

Shola also faulted the state government for failing to relocate the market despite the environmental eyesore that the market activities were causing.

“Our government is not proactive. Every time there are festive activities, commuters always experience this gridlock. Maybe our government just takes pleasure in seeing the citizens’ suffering, because I cannot explain why it has become difficult for them to relocate this market.

“Every time you pass this axis, you’re greeted by the odour of the open defecation, and the government has not done anything to curb this. Today, we are experiencing this gridlock because the traders are selling rams along the expressway. It is not good enough,” Shola said.

While lamenting the impact of the gridlock, a driver, Taoreed Alimi, disclosed that he resorted to inflating the transport fare to make up for fuel consumption.

“We have to increase the fares because spending long hours in the gridlock will cost me more fuel, and the only way I won’t be at a loss is to increase the fare.

“A journey that is supposed to last less than thirty minutes now takes about two hours, and I will be burning fuel. You can’t blame drivers for that. You should rather blame the government that cannot solve the issue of the gridlock caused by trading activities,” Alimi said.

When contacted for reaction via telephone on Monday, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, insisted that the state government had not abandoned plans to relocate the Kara Market, adding that the relocation would be carried out after the completion of the proposed permanent site.

Speaking on the gridlock, Oresanya stated that the government had directed traffic management agencies to impound vehicles parked indiscriminately along the expressway.

“For this season, it is not about an environmental issue, it is more of a traffic control issue, and the problem we are having has more to do with traffic management involving FRSC and TRACE.

“However, we are not backing down on the relocation of that market. We are making sure that wherever we are taking them to is properly constructed and convenient for the traders,” he said.

The commissioner argued that buyers patronising the market along the expressway contributed significantly to the congestion, stressing that stricter enforcement against indiscriminate parking would discourage roadside trading activities.

“If there are no buyers, there will be no traders. What TRACE, FRSC, and LASTMA should do is tow away any vehicle parked on the road.

“When they begin towing vehicles from that place, the sellers will naturally move away. This has already been discussed with them and I expect them to take action,” Oresanya added.

PUNCH Metro reported on Monday that commuters were held for several hours of gridlock on Sunday, a situation caused by the trading activities at the Kara Cattle Market.

The gridlock was said to have begun gathering momentum on Saturday but was worsened on Sunday by the massive influx of buyers and traders, resulting in severe congestion along the ever-busy expressway.

Recall that PUNCH Metro reported in January that 17 months after the OGSG announced plans to relocate the Kara Cattle Market over environmental and sanitation concerns, findings showed that the market remains in full operation, as open defecation persists along the expressway median.

Our correspondents had, during a visit at the time, observed that sections of the road median still emitted a foul stench, with signs of fresh human waste—an indication that open defecation persists in parts of the area.

While the individuals responsible for the open defecation could not be ascertained, the government had previously blamed the practice on traders within the area.

Also, it will be recalled that at the peak of public outcry over the health hazards posed by open defecation, the state government announced plans to relocate the market to address the issue.