The state of any international airport road says a lot about the country. Why, you may ask, and the answer is not far-fetched. Most of the international airport roads are the gateways that welcome and bid farewell to visitors to a country. As such, it creates the first impression to the visitor on what to expect in the country.
If that is the case, what then can one say about the state of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road in Lagos? This road is situated around the popular and all important Isolo area of Lagos State. For a majority of the people visiting Nigeria for the first time, it is a must that they pass through this road to their various destinations. Important and exquisites hotels are situated on both sides of the airport road. For those who want to locate other parts of Lagos, they must also pass through the airport road. Those who are going to the famous and boisterous Oshodi or going to the historical FESTAC Town, or even the nation’s maritime gateway, Apapa, or sports city, Surulere, must pass through the airport road on disembarking from their international flights. It is also this road that connects to the Third Mainland Bridge that will launch road users to elitist enclaves of Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, Ajah and other important places in the city of Lagos.
To add to this, the international airport road habours virtually all the big banks in the country. And the branches of these banks on this airport road are reputed to rake in high revenue annually. The most baffling aspect of the road is that when juxtaposed with other airport roads in other climes, it reduces first time visitors to bemusement, outrage and astonishment as they are usually thrilled with the state of Heathrow Airport road in London, for instance. The same scenario is replicated on the road that leads in and out of Stuggart Airport in Germany. Back home, the airport road in Abuja, the seat of government, is a thing of beauty and standard when compared with what we have in Lagos. Abuja airport road is well constructed with wider lanes, well-illuminated and beautified with beautiful flowers and greeneries.
The big question is, if we can have such a good road that leads to the airport in Abuja, why can’t such be replicated in Lagos, having in mind that the Murtala Muhammed airport was constructed in the 1970s and that Lagos was the first capital of Nigeria?
Driving through the airport road sometimes may be a nightmare for most road users. The road is riddled with uncountable potholes, gullies and craters. In fact, some portions of the road are particularly flooded with water all through the year. As a result of this, traffic on the road most times is very unbearable for commuters. It is on the account of the persistent gridlocks that some passengers have missed their international flights. Also, most first-time visitors after suffering from many hours of jet lag on air are subjected to many hours of horrendous standstill in their bid to navigate out of the road either to their hotels or homes.
It is in the light of this glaring absurdity that is called airport road that one is beckoning for a total declaration of a state of emergency on this all important road.
A good construction company of international repute should be contracted to redesign the road to accommodate more lanes. This should be done as a matter of urgent national priority. No matter the cost, the country can afford it. Also, a very short and realisable timeline should be allotted for the inauguration and completion of the project with a 24-hour monitoring by the concerned Ministries, Departments and Agencies that have stakes in the airport.
Street lights should be erected from the beginning of the road to the end. This will provide illumination to the road in the night and scare away miscreants from perpetrating evil acts under the cover of darkness that the road is noted for now. This is imperative knowing full well that some years back, the human eater Clifford Orji operated wilfully on that stretch of the road for years without detection.
The road should also be beautified by planting of flowers that will raise its aesthetics. This will improve the state of the road and make it appealing to all the users.
It is a shame that our supposed international airport road still harbours shanties, shops and structures that do not befit the status of such a road. These should be dismantled immediately. If we are to prop up the road to acceptable international standards, all structures within certain parameters of the road should be discarded.
Also of great importance are the activities of motorists plying the road with particular reference to commercial buses. It may not be out of order to suggest that only registered buses with a particular colour should be designated and approved to ply the road. This will bring a semblance of orderliness to the road.
Besides, their pick-up points should be specifically spelt out and well-constructed to avoid the rowdiness people experience on a daily basis on the road. All issues pertaining to touting and unruly behaviour in and around the road of such a magnitude should be stopped. This is of paramount importance since most first-time visitors to the country that ply the road will see this as their first impression of the country.
In a bid a to achieve a befitting airport road for Lagos, it will not be out of place to involve the state government in whatever measures that are put in place to bring the airport road to international standards. The argument that the road belongs to the Federal Government and that state government shouldn’t come in, does not make sense. A sort of partnership should be formed to see that the project is speedily executed. After all, heavy taxation on some of the structures and businesses along that stretch of road still goes to the coffers of the Lagos State Government.
Moreover, it does not make much sense that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria collects high tolls on the same road on a daily basis without ensuring that the road in which the tolls are collected is kept in good shape. It will not be out of place to keep a fraction of collected tolls for the maintenance of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road. Also, it will not be out of place to divert a portion of the recently approved loan from China EXIM Bank of N174bn to upgrade the road. And if this had been the practice all these years, that road would not be in such a shameful state!
Uche-Ejeke wrote in from Lagos via [email protected]