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Entrepreneurs groan as traffic gridlock worsens

Traffic gridlock in major cities in the country, especially Lagos has become worrisome, and this has been affecting free flow of business. The entrepreneurs ENCOMIUM Weekly spoke to on this also lamented the ugly scenario, therefore enjoining the government to find lasting solution to the problem before getting out of control…

 

EVANS AKERE, Vanskere

The traffic situation in Lagos right now is hectic, but I have noticed it is usually like this at this time of the year. We all know Lagos is the commercial capital of Nigeria, there are usually lots of commercial activities at this time of the year. We usually experience large influx of traders from other parts of the country, so it’s bound to affect the traffic, it might even be worse in a few weeks.

It’s directly affecting productivity because we spend a lot of time in traffic. The government has to look for ways to ease the situation, I don’t know how they are going to do that, but that’s their job.

 

LAWRENCE ONUZULIKE

In my opinion, Lagos state traffic hasn’t changed much. The other day, it took me about five hours to drive from Asaba to Lagos and now, it is almost nine hours from Berger to Lekki with the Third Mainland Bridge blocked for hours. I think, apart from electricity issues, traffic is one of the biggest problems affecting businesses in Lagos. A lot of precious time and man power are being lost daily by sitting for hours on the road. I believe the government is doing a lot already, introducing BRT buses, clearing the waterways, building more flyovers. It’s just that the population of Lagos is much.

 

SOLOMON  JAMES, First Rhasonel Limited

The traffic in Lagos is a result of some factors which include, petrol tankers, indiscipline of motorists, bad roads and poor handling by traffic officers. To be sincere, this cannot be entirely blamed on the government of the day, but of course, they can do a lot to remedy the situation.

It affects business when it hinders movement, it can also be a bottleneck when it eats most of the productive hours of the day in the traffic, then for a week, productivity would have dwindled significantly.

The government should repair roads, ensure discipline of road users and of course, the traffic officials. If these are done, I am sure we would have resolved majority of what is making our roads look like car parks.

 

BOLAJI JOSEPH, The Bael Services and Automobiles

Traffic has become more terrible. It has affected my business badly. When my staffers are making supplies of sand and stone with our trucks, they run late sometimes due to the unpredictable traffic.

The government should, please fix the roads as this is the major cause of traffic jam in most areas in Lagos state.

 

AWOYEMI ATINUKE, Saint Andrews Pharmacy

Traffic is worse. I can’t even try to risk going out if it’s not very important. It affects my business in the sense that, when I go out to buy things for my shop and a customer wants to see me, I tell them I am down the road, then it will take like 30mins instead of 5 minutes to drive to my shop. The customer will get angry and may not come back to patronize me. The government should know what to do because we are tired. There is fuel scarcity, the roads are not motorable, all these are part of it.

 

SAIDI BALOGUN

Lagos traffic gridlock is terrible at the moment due to bad roads in most cases. If you leave your house for office, and you have a plan of getting to the office by 8 o’clock, you may end up arriving the office at 10am. And this has been affecting schedules and appointments. Those coming to you may atimes get there before you, and when they’re tired and fed up, they have to leave because they also have other appointments to fulfill that day.

It’s really affecting business, not only time that’s being eaten up but energy and resources. Even, it worsens one’s health. I think it’s high time Lagos state government handled the situation with sincerity of purpose by fixing all the damaged roads latest by first quarter of next year. I think government should also be strict on traffic law and strengthen LASTMA so that the body can be more efficient and effective because a lot of people enjoy reckless driving and in the process, block all the available lanes for other motorists.

 

ZANAIB  ASIFAT, De Formula Beauty Care Salon

The traffic gridlock is getting worse now. And it’s affecting every business, not only mine. Punctuality, they say is the soul of business. That’s very difficult to achieve now as an entrepreneur unless you reduce your hours of sleep by waking up much earlier. And that’s not even good for one’s health. Also, all the routes in Lagos are not safe.

So, jumping on the road earlier than 6 or 7am is very dangerous because of the traffic robbery and all that. So, the returns are usually affected, including our type of business. We’re only praying that the state government looks into the poor state of roads across the state, both the major and minor ones. Also, the government can improve other forms of transportation including rail and water transport, may be the heavy traffic being experienced in Lagos will reduce to the barest minimum.

 

IJEOMA ONWUASOANYA, Bluejay Gifts and Home Accessories

Traffic is terrible, especially in Satellite Town where I run my business. It’s because of the ongoing road construction and also petrol tankers parked on the sides of the road.

It is affecting my business because road users tend to take alternative routes to avoid being stuck in traffic which makes business dull.

The Federal Government should, please make alternative arrangement for movement of petroleum products to reduce the big trucks on the roads and carry out regular maintenance to avoid the roads going completely bad.

 

BISI ADEEKO, Bisaino

Traffic has become a normal thing in Lagos. Traffic has affected my business because, I don’t leave my house until around 10am to go to my shop. I can’t close early because I already got to work late or else I won’t meet ends. It’s stressful and stress kills.

Encomium

Written by Encomium

A media, tech and events company.

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