There have been several arguments for and against the resolve of the Lagos State Government to introduce high and low capacity buses for usage in the state as against the smaller Danfo buses vis-a-vis the size of roads available. Perhaps the strongest of it has been that the buses the government plans to introduce, which can take a minimum of 40 passengers, will be too big for the roads.
This point seems valid until those marshaling it can cast their minds back to what Lagos roads were before the advent of the present democratic dispensation, what they are now, study with broad and open minds the developments as regard road transportation and then compare the plans being put in place by the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration with what obtains in other countries.
For those who believe that Lagos roads are too narrow, let us cast back our minds to what some roads in the state looked like before the return to democracy in 1999. Kudirat Abiola Way in Ikeja; the road that lies in front of the Bar Beach; the one that runs through Eko Hotels and Suites; the road in front of Zenith Bank headquarters on the Island; the Victoria Island-Epe Road; Agidingbi road, Ikeja axis; Abattoir road in Agege; Ikeja-Oshodi-Mushin road and so many others too numerous to mention. And now the big expansion works on roads within Epe and those linking the town to Lagos Island, Ikorodu and other places.
And when this development is considered alongside the thinking out of the box construction works ongoing to ensure a better transportation system in the state, it will be obvious to the average Lagosian that the saying: “Where there is a will, there will be a way,” has a lot of truth in it. Take the plan to develop a major commercial transportation hub in Oshodi was an example. Until that plan was unveiled, whoever thought anything as good as that could come out of Oshodi? The development at Berger Bus Stop is another good example. All along the road from Iyana Ipaja to the Lagos State University end at Ojoo, several huge bus stops and parks thought to be impossible now dot the landscape. Then there is the ongoing development of a major park in Ikeja, just close to the Post Office. No one could have fathomed that the parcel of land that is now in use for that purpose could hold such a huge park where all the buses operating in the Ikeja axis would be accommodated.
And come to think of it. That is what space management is all about. That is what is unique about the transportation system in London. Well managed narrow roads, with several going in one direction, what we call One Way. With trains moving in between vehicle running in opposite direction. Just what the Lagos State Government is doing with the Mile 2-Badagry Expressway. Just what the Federal Government wants to do with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
And for those who have always erroneously argued that the government cannot afford to replace the present form of transportation, they are always arguing from the premise that the government will just wake up one day without any form of plan and just wipe out the system. No. Even the plan being reeled out now has it that the government has started acquiring the buses to be used. Also, the acquisition of the buses will be over a period of time and then become a continuous exercise. So also will the expansion of roads and the ingenuity to be brought into the system be a continuous one.
And that is what also obtains in other countries that we referred to as developed. There is continuous generation of ideas, forward planning, consultation and the rest. Even in the United Kingdom and United States of America, there is hardly any where you visit that you do not see road contraction, reconstruction, expansion or maintenance in progress. Bridges are being built here and there, new roads are being constructed, old ones are being expanded, all in the bid to further develop the transportation system. And one of the shocking facts is that in most, if not all the places, you find Nigerians as part of the system brainstorming and coming up with ideas on how to make things better.
We have such brains in abundance right in this country. What we need to do is to give them the opportunity to bring such to bear on our progress. And not to dismiss such ideas even before they are fully conceived. And this in most cases is because we have not opened up our minds to possibilities. To a country and State with a standard transportation system devoid of rushing into few small buses and without any form of plan.
. Emerole is the Secretary of For a Better Lagos.