The last container that fell on a commercial bus in Lagos State claimed the lives of nine occupants of the bus, leading to an outrage and comments over who should monitor the activities of container-carrying trucks. However, recent events indicate that lessons are yet to be learnt, writes TOLA ADENUBI.
In January 2023, nine occupants of a commercial bus were sent to the great beyond when a fully-loaded container that had been taken from the port in Apapa fell on the commercial bus, killing seven adults and two children.
The incident drew outrage from residents in the state with many calling for stricter regulation of container-carrying trucks along the state highways.
The Lagos State government immediately outlined measures which included the planned erection of barriers on the Ojuelegba and Dorman Long Bridges to prevent container-carrying vehicles from using the bridges. However, despite this, the trailers are still moving on the bridges as of the time of this report.
The January incident was just one of many where containers had fallen on moving vehicles in Lagos, leading to deaths in many cases.
According to the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), accidents involving trucks claimed 92 lives, in addition to 398 casualties in 2022 alone. According to data sourced from the enforcement agency, between January and December of 2022, a total of 92 people died with 398 casualties recorded in accidents involving 261 trucks.
Of the 92 deaths, 74 were male adults while eight were female adults and 10 were children and infants.
MSS REGIME
The Federal Government regulation meant to checkmate incessant accidents involving container-carrying trucks on major roads is the Nigerian Ports Authority Minimum Safety Standard (MSS) regime for trucks and articulated vehicles.
The government agencies mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that the procedure for the MSS is complied with include the Nigerian Port Authority as the lead agency, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
These government agencies are expected to subject every truck to physical inspection under the MSS regime and every successful truck that passes this inspection test is given a sticker called the MSS Sticker which is renewable every year at a cost of N10,000.
The roles of the FRSC in the MSS regime include monitoring, certifying, registering and enforcing compliance with regulations governing the safety operations of articulated vehicles in Nigeria.
“Statutorily, before any driver could be permitted to operate articulated vehicles on the nation’s highways, especially on inter-city roads, he has to be certified in skills,” an FRSC official who wouldn’t want to be quoted told the Sunday Tribune.
The NPA, through Messrs. Trucks Transit Park (TTP), operators of the electronic call-up system, ensures that trucks that enter the ports to pick cargoes have the MSS sticker while the terminal operators are expected to instruct their personnel not to load any container on substandard trucks.
TRUCKERS FAULT MSS REGIME
Speaking with the Sunday Tribune, many truckers have accused the NPA of issuing the MSS Sticker without subjecting trucks to any inspection process, thus leading to many rickety trucks leaving the ports with fully-loaded containers and thereby endangering the lives of motorists and other road users.
Speaking with the Sunday Tribune on the manner MSS stickers are issued, National President of the Council of Maritime Truck Unions and Associations (COMTUA), Mr Adeyinka Aroyewun, explained that many truckers who can afford to pay more than N10,000 easily get the MSS stickers via unofficial route and end up picking cargoes at the ports irrespective of their safety status.
According to Aroyewun: “The MSS sticker regime is fraught with irregularities. Most truckers get it without having their trucks inspected. I can authoritatively tell you that many trucks moving around the ports with MSS stickers were not inspected or verified before they were issued the sticker.
“We initially raised objections against the MSS regime at the conception stage because it amounted to double taxation since we already pay the FRSC and the VIS money for them to certify our trucks’ roadworthiness.
“However, when the NPA made the MSS inspection regime mandatory for any truck willing to enter the port and pick up cargoes, we had no other choice but to comply. The policy was contemptuously made a prerequisite to the electronic call-up process for trucks to access the port and we were forced into it eventually.
“Over time, we have observed that trucks are never inspected before the sticker is issued. The continued patronage of the ports and terminals by vehicles that are not roadworthy but have the MSS sticker has long been established.
“We have reported through a letter and have proven to officers of the safety department in a meeting that vehicles without requisite documents possess the stickers and conduct business in and around the ports.
“The several accidents happening on the roads, which often involve container-carrying trucks, has further confirmed our claims against the policy.
“The MSS regime has suddenly become a revenue-generating policy for the agencies involved rather than safety enforcement, and that is why we keep having containers falling off the back of trucks despite them having the MSS Sticker on them.
“As we speak, most of the trucks at the ports which want to carry containers have the MSS sticker but were never inspected before they were issued the sticker. As the president of a trucker association, I am pained because if any accident happens again, God forbid, truckers are always at the receiving end of the whole issue. Truckers are always blamed when accidents occur.
“Nobody talks about the safety audit/inspection that ought to have been carried out on the truck but was never done and the truck was issued an MSS sticker by the NPA. We have written to the NPA many times, informing them that trucks are not being inspected even though MSS stickers are being issued, but we have not received any response. The situation is quite unfortunate.”
LAPSES OF LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT
In the aftermath of the January 23 container accident, the Lagos State Government directed the erection of barriers on the Ojuelegba and Dorman Long Bridges and banned the movement of trucks there to ensure articulated vehicles do not climb the bridges but rather go through the side of the bridges to link Ikorodu road.
However, checks by Sunday Tribune revealed that articulated vehicles, including container-carrying trucks, have continued to move on the bridges without any form of sanctions.
When the Sunday Tribune passed through Ojuelegba during the week, there was no barrier at the entrance of the bridge. Also, trucks carrying containers were seen moving to and from the bridges despite the order of the state government.
When Sunday Tribune called the spokesperson of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola, about the failure to erect barriers or stop container-carrying trucks from plying the bridges, she stated that “the road is a federal road, so the state government cannot just go and mount barriers on the road. The state government has contacted the Federal Ministry of Works about erecting barriers and I think that will soon be sorted out.”
DUBIOUS TRUCKERS
When the Sunday Tribune sought the NPA’s reaction to the allegation of commercializing MSS stickers and not inspecting trucks before issuing the stickers, the NPA unit in charge of MSS sticker issuance told Sunday Tribune that truckers have been found to conduct inspection with a different truck and use issued sticker on another truck.
According to a staff member of the NPA in the MSS unit: “There is no truck that is issued the MSS sticker that is not inspected.
“Every request that we get, we send people out to go and inspect such trucks. If the truck does not meet the requirement, it will not be issued the MSS sticker.
“The problem we are having is from the truckers themselves. When we inspect a truck and issue the MSS sticker, we have found out that the truckers are always in the habit of selling the MSS sticker or swapping it once they leave our presence.
“We will issue a sticker for a truck and find it on another truck around the ports. That is how dubious these truckers can be.
“We have been going out for monitoring and enforcement and have seen trucks that are using MSS stickers that do not belong to them. Even today, my colleagues went out and arrested a truck that had an MSS sticker that was not issued to it. The issue of selling or swapping MSS stickers by truckers is frustrating our efforts to rid the ports of rickety trucks.
“So, to stop these dubious activities by truckers, from the end of 2022, the NPA started demanding the documents of a truck before it will be inspected. If papers like a Certificate of Roadworthiness or Vehicle Licence are not valid, we won’t step out to inspect such trucks.
“Again, the applicant for the MSS sticker must write out the number plate of the truck and submit it to us. Ordinarily, we are not supposed to do all this, but due to the rate of infractions by truckers who sell or swap MSS stickers, we have had no choice other than to demand for these things before inspecting any truck.
“It was when the NPA saw that a lot of the trucks that call at the ports are not roadworthy, that is what gave birth to the MSS regime introduced by the NPA.
“We don’t do this inspection alone. We have an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoO) with the FRSC. Anytime we are going out for inspection, FRSC officials are always coming with us.
“To further show you the extent of how truckers can be dubious, we have found out again that some truckers, after being issued an MSS Sticker for one truck, will go and cut number plates that tally with the issued sticker for other trucks and start coming to the port to pick cargo.
“We will continue doing the best that we can do within limited resources to ensure that rickety trucks don’t come to our ports to pick containers. The NPA Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, is clear about rickety trucks coming to pick cargoes at the ports. In clear terms, he doesn’t want to see such trucks around the ports and we will continue to do our best to enforce this directive.
“Another action of the truckers that we find alarming is the unlocking of latches or locks that were used to fasten the container to the truck inside the port. When trucks pick containers inside the port, port officials ensure that the containers are fastened to the truck.
“However, our investigation has revealed that as soon as the container exits the ports, the truckers unlatch or unlock the container from the body of the truck. When we asked them (truckers) why they are doing this, they told us that they always unlatch or unlock the container from the truck because when the container wants to fall down, it won’t damage their trucks. So, you can see that the truckers are happier to see containers falling off their trucks than anything happening to their trucks.”
DRUNK DRIVING
“Another issue we have with these truckers is their excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks. When they are coming to the ports, they won’t take these drinks, but once they are out on the road, they will buy alcoholic drinks and start drinking while driving. We have made presentations at several fora about drunk driving by truckers. It’s a major cause of containers falling on Lagos roads.”
UNREGULATED BONDED TERMINALS
Checks by the Sunday Tribune also revealed that a sizeable amount of containers falling from trucks is due to the fact that the MSS sticker regime does not cover or apply to trucks picking containers from bonded terminals.
When Sunday Tribune made enquiries to know why the MSS sticker regime does not apply to bonded terminals scattered across Lagos, the NPA official explained that the bonded terminals are regulated by the Lagos State government and not the NPA.
“The bonded terminals are outside our jurisdiction because we only deal with the ports. But the Lagos State government can help check or regulate the manner of trucks that call at these bonded terminals to reduce truck accidents or container falling incidents.”
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