Ile Epo as a metaphor

For those who might not know, Ile Epo is a bus stop on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway – if it still can be called that – which in its present state says a lot about our country. A large portion of the road has become impassable due to water overflowing the drainage into the expressway or whatever is left of it. While the Ikeja-bound lane should normally take three lanes of vehicles, only one lane is passable presently. With a market located in the area, nightmare seems mild in describing the experience of those who have no choice driving on the road.

As a resident of Lagos, one is used to erratic traffic that will task even the patience of the biblical Job. You’re also prepared for the worst on certain days like aftermath of rain and specific routes at different times of the day. Stuff like these make one a traffic expert in identifying areas you must avoid so as not to lose your sanity. The traffic radio set up by the Lagos state government has also helped tremendously in this regard. But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared me for what I experienced on Saturday, November 15.

I use the Lagos-Abeokuta road sparingly particularly that axis, as it is an ordeal visiting friends and relatives who stay in areas bordering Lagos and Ogun states. After an engagement in Abeokuta, it was not difficult deciding to drive back to Lagos through the road as the construction work and the ubiquitous craters on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway do not make it an attractive option on a Saturday afternoon. We left Abeokuta some minutes after 4pm and while it took a while navigating the labyrinth roads of the city, we got to Ile Epo around 6:45pm.

Painfully, I dismissed the thought of veering off the express at U-Turn thereby taking the Oko-Oba road down to Agege before hitting the express at Ikeja, and because of this, we ended up spending three hours, yes you read that correctly, three hours covering a distance not more than a kilometre or two. The closer we got to Ile Epo, the farther it seemed as it appeared we would never come out of the ordeal. With trucks and articulated vehicles leaving and entering the market, it was total bedlam. Of course, the danfo drivers started driving against the traffic right from the U-Turn junction having seen the pandemonium that engulfed Ile Epo.

Many of us trapped that day were returning from social functions as seen in our fanciful apparels, which became burdensome the longer we stayed in the traffic. My wife and son slept off, a privilege I could not afford as I got to stay alert at the wheels. The first hour passed quickly and the second hour too until a detachment of policemen became our succor. Apparently part of the so-called escorts of a ‘big man’ they were the ones who restored order, forcing vehicles to give the right of way so that the only functional lane would not be jammed. What I saw at the exact point where the problem originated showed a large portion of the road totally cut off because of overflowing muddy water with large craters forcing vehicles to meander before getting safe spots to drive.

“Be careful, that place is bad,” rendered the air, which inevitably did not prevent some drivers from hitting the bad spots thereby compounding the problem. Consequently, many vehicles broke down shooting up our blood pressure beyond normal. We escaped the misery some minutes to 10pm having spent more time than it took us getting to Ile Epo. Unsurprisingly, some were trapped there till 12 midnight.

Yet, we all pretend as though such experience is normal. As citizens, we have not started civil action calling attention to a great anomaly. Instead we resort to prayers for God to touch the hearts of our leaders; nobody is complaining loudly. What do we do? We rather find alternative routes and boycott the spot thereby allowing our leaders to ride roughshod over us. The House of Representative member representing the area too has not deemed it fit to raise the issue as a matter of urgent national importance in parliament. Perhaps, he was one of those who scaled the fence last week or he is busy trying to get an ‘automatic ticket’ to return to the House.

Senator Ganiyu Solomon who represents Lagos West in the Senate appears not to be bothered too as he is more interested in becoming the next Lagos State governor. What do we say about FERMA, the agency saddled with maintaining Federal Government roads across the federation? Or FERMA is more concerned struggling with LASTMA for the right to control traffic in Lagos. It’s the way we are, forgetting the little things that matter and concentrating on the big ones. Maybe Governor Fashola too is not aware of the bad spot; yes it is not under the purview of the Lagos State government. By the way, do journalists pass that place at all?