Lagos tragedy: Questions persist as officials battle matters arising

Mounting clamour for long-term solutions

By Tajudeen Hamzat

Sundry questions are being asked as to why successive governments have not been able to comprehensively address the periodic tragic accidents that take place on the Otedola-Berger bridge axis of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway even as officials continue to battle the associated traffic snarl that has accompanied Thursday’s incident.

In that instance which occurred at the beginning of rush hour traffic, no less than nine lives have reportedly snuffed out with as many as 50 vehicles affected.

Among others, commentators are querying why incendiary fuels continue to be transported through busy roads, why rickety and barely functional trucks are allowed to ply the nation’s chaotic road network and why more com[prehensive work has not been done through the years to address the fact that the particular spot where the fuel tanker crashed on Thursday has been the scene of many other accidents in the past.

For Lagos lawyer, Ebun Olu Adegoruwa, it is high time that a complete engineering redesign and adjustment is carried out on that portion of road to address its sloppy nature, which he believes is a first factor in some of these crashes and accidents.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo