Suffering and smiling

OLALEKAN OLABULO reports that Lagosians are not likely to have a reprieve any time soon from the current agony they are passing through in commuting from one place to the other aftermath the destruction of BRT buses during the #EndSARS protest.

The Bus Rapid Transport popularly known as BRT is perhaps the most audacious attempt at addressing the problems that Lagosians go through on a daily basis in commuting around the city, which is perhaps the fastest growing in the world.

Initiated by the Bola Tinubu administration, it was initially slated for inauguration in November 2007 but finally opened on March 17, 2008. It has since attracted the attention of other governments, not only in Nigeria, but other countries in Africa intending to replicate it.

Towards the tail end of the Akinwumi Ambode administration, the state government procured about 300 more buses which were handed over to different operators in different parts of the state for operation.

However, an unforeseen fate was to befall the mass transit project dealing a cruel blow on not only the transport system in Lagos, but on Lagosians as well, leaving many reeling in agony with tales of woe on a daily basis.

The deadly blow that befell the BRT came in the form of #EndSARS protest, when transferred aggression was directed at it. Expectedly, millions of residents of Lagos State are in pains as more than eighty buses in the fleet, valued at N3.9 billion were either vandalised or set ablaze by hoodlums who hijacked the protest.

The hoodlums had invaded the Oyingbo area of the state and set ablaze the newly constructed terminal housing more than 50 buses. More buses were also burnt in Ojodu, Berger and Ikotun terminals.

However, if the position of the state government is anything to go by, commuters in the state who rely on BRT buses for their daily movement may have to wait for a long period of time as the government is not sure how soon the buses would be replaced.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, while speaking on the issued had said, “nobody knows yet because the buses are just part of the numerous things that were destroyed in the carnage. It is too early now to be talking about replacement.”

“That is why we set up Lagos Rebuild Trust Fund Board which will now gather experts, actuaries, estate valuers, engineers, builders, insurance giants, and people who can reduce all these to naira and kobo before you can talk about replacement.

“Those buses were not manufactured in Nigeria. To replace them, they have to use foreign exchange to buy them, they have to ship them; they have to clear them before one can talk about how one can use them.”

The commissioner also added that “It is going to take a long while to replace them but we are confident that everything Lagos lost, it is going to get it back because Lagos is always known for its experience and its ‘can-do’ spirit.”

Even before the destruction visited on the BRT buses, they were not enough for the huge population of the state. Many residents in different parts of the state, as of that time were still agitating for the buses to be deployed to their areas.

Sunday Tribune investigations revealed that mostly affected by the BRT buses are workers and traders on Lagos Island where majority of the burnt buses ply. Residents of Ikorodu and towns along that route area as well as workers in the state who live along Mowe, Ofada, Ibafo and other towns on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway also bear the pains of the burnt buses.

A visit by Sunday Tribune to the burnt BRT terminus in Ojodu-Berger shows that the place is far from returning to its well-known bustling status as the carcasses of the burnt buses still litter the place. The few BRT buses that were still in operation were by far too few and insufficient to cater for the transportation needs of hundreds of passengers often stranded at bus stops around the state.

A worker in the Ikeja area of Lagos State who simply identified himself as Taiwo said “now, many people will know the impact of the BRT buses. The availability of the BRT buses is one of the ways to solve the problem of traffic gridlock in Lagos. Many people leave their vehicles at home because of BRT buses and since there are no buses, everybody is putting their vehicles back on the road.”

“For me it has been very frustrating and painful as I daily lose hours in Lagos traffic. It is even worse now as the traffic has become a daily thing and you find it everywhere in the state. Ordinarily, from Berger to CMS, I spend less than two hours in BRT buses, but now one may be in traffic for four hours between Berger and CMS. It is worrisome.”

Speaking further, Taiwo said “the cost is even higher now. Before the buses were burnt, it was just N300 from here to CMS but now one spends more than N500 and one is still not comfortable with the buses. The chairs are arranged in such a way that one is not comfortable during the duration of the journey.

“For more than two weeks now, I have not used the BRT buses. There is usually a large crowd of commuters and one is not certain that the buses will come. One finds commuters queuing up with faint hopes that the buses will come.”

A resident of Ojodu Berger, who simply gave his name as Adebayo, however, called on the Lagos State government to, as a matter of urgency replace the burnt vehicles in the interest of the people of the state. He also advised the state governor to buy more than the number of buses that were burnt and vandalised.

“People are talking on replacing the burnt BRT buses. If the governor really wants to improve the state of transportation system in the state, he should buy more buses than those that were burnt. Even before now, we didn’t have enough and some unscrupulous elements still went ahead to burn them.

“The two major things are time and money but there is also the place of comfort. With BRT one spends less money and less time. One could sit comfortably without anybody leaning on the other passenger or putting their burden on the other person unlike in most commercial buses,” he said.

Engineer Seyi Adeleke, a resident of Oyingbo told Sunday Tribune: “Although I don’t usually wait for BRT buses, but one thing I have noticed since the buses were burnt is the high traffic gridlock.  Even with the fact that these commercial buses use the BRT lane, one still finds traffic jams everywhere around Oyingbo at every point in time.

“I don’t know what is responsible for that but what I see is more vehicles and indiscriminate offloading and loading of passengers by commercial bus drivers. The whole thing has become disorganised and it will take the police and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) a little time to restore normalcy here.

“Since this park was inaugurated, Oyingbo has become the transit point for people from Bariga, Yaba, Oshodi, Somolu and other places who are going to the Island. The buses were new and there is a dedicated lane that made movement shorter. Ironically, many commuters still come here despite fact that there are no BRT buses available.”

A legal practitioner, Aderinsola Adeniyi, describing his experience after the #EndSARS protest and the unavailability of BRT buses, says it has been uncomfortable, saying that he now pays more for transportation around Lagos.

“I am not comfortable with it at all. It’s on the higher side compared to the amount it was before the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of public property.

“I was paying N200 before the buses were destroyed, but now we pay an additional N100 and the buses are even scarce,” he said.

Another resident, Atanda Jimoh told Sunday Tribune that “It is more than excruciating. I pay double the amount I used to pay before everything went awry in the state. I appeal to the appropriate authorities in the state to review the fare downward in order to help the common man.”

 

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