Motorists lament as Lagos gridlock bites harder

Sanwoolu

Commuters across the Lagos metropolis were once again trapped in a frustrating gridlock on Thursday, with vehicular movement grinding to a halt for hours, an ordeal that appears to have no end in sight.

For those heading out of Lagos via the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the traffic bottleneck, which began at the popular Otedola Bridge, stretched through the Ogun State corridor and terminated at the Fatgbem Filling Station, leaving thousands stranded or trekking.

Stranded passengers, unable to wait for commercial buses caught in the gridlock, were seen trekking towards the Fatgbem filling station.

Others, particularly the elderly and families with children, stood helplessly by the roadside under the sun.Slammed for

The usually bustling Berger Bus Stop, which serves passengers heading to Mowe, Magboro, Wawa, and Arepo, was nearly deserted.

The Berger bus shed and its space were fully consumed by vehicles stuck in traffic and stranded passengers.

Vendors, taking advantage of the standstill, moved freely between vehicles, selling sachet water, soft drinks, and snacks.

Commercial drivers who managed to navigate through the chaos exploited the situation by increasing transport fares from the usual N500–N700 to as high as N2,000.

Occasionally, a few sympathetic private car owners were seen picking up exhausted passengers.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a commuter, Kazeem Olarewaju, described the situation as unbearable.

Olarewaju said, “I don’t understand why a few people are allowed to inconvenience everyone else.

“Why can’t the government relocate these ram sellers? Why should people suffer like this just because they want to use a public road?