₦airaland Forum

Pic 1: 6.56 a.m finds me at third round about. It has taken me 26 minutes to reach here from Chevron. This stretch is usually the slowest part of my journey and sometimes takes up to an hour ( I hope that is in the past now).

Between here and Falomo used to take about 45 minutes. Let's see how long it takes today.

Pic 2-3: At 3rd round about

pic 4: traffic eases off a little after the round about.

AjanleKoko:
Well, I'm back.
Unfortunately I am not dexterous enough, to take pictures as I drive. Will try to learn.
I was pleased to find no traffic at all yesterday evening, as I drove to Spar at about 7.30pm.
This morning, I had to take a concall from home, and left later than usual, at about 8.15am. Was also pleased to not find any traffic leading to 2nd roundabout (Ikate).
Though, after the toll plaza, traffic on Ozumba was rather heavy. I noticed they've placed one of the overhead slabs for the foot bridge. My Mrs tells me they blocked that lane at 7am yesterday, while they were putting the slabs up. Should that not have been done at night?

You are welcome back.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that there was no traffic going home last night until I got to Jakande!

The traffic experienced at Ikate yesterday morning was not there this morning (as I would show shortly).

I agree with you that work on the pedestrian bridge could have been done at night but then I am not a civil engineer so maybe they had their reasons.

Published 10/8/2010 3:07:00 AM

Fear grips communities near flooded areas

Francis Falola, Simon Utebor, Success Nwogu and Etim Ekpimah

Communities near the areas affected by the floods that left some parts of Lagos and Ogun states almost submerged are gripped by fear.

Our correspondents, who went round Arepo, Ogun State and Ojodu Berger, Kaara, Mile 12 and Agiliti in Lagos State, reported that there was panic as people made to escape the floods. People living in the communities that are yet to be affected by the floods also expressed fears that the floods could reach their areas soon.

Some of them told our correspondents said they preferred to move out as there was no guarantee that the floods would not spread.

A resident of the Journalists Estate, Arepo, Ifo Local Government Area, Mr. Ben Alaiya, described the flood as a threat, even as he appealed to the government to come to the aid of the people displaced by the floods.

“The flood is a threat to the inhabitants. Whenever it rains, our area is always flooded. There is the need for government to quickly intervene. This place is part of the megacity being planned by the Lagos and Ogun state governments,” Alaiya, a journalist, said.

The Baale of Agiliti, Isheri-Ikosi Local Government, Lagos State, Mr. Omotosho Akinola, said, ”Our area is yet to be affected yet. However, if (government) can help us to stop the water from flooding our area, we will welcome that.” Agiliti, which is by a river, is not far from Owode-Onirin, one of the affected areas.

The flood, which began on Monday, is believed to have been caused by the release of the waters in the Oyan Dam in Ogun State. However, the management of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority has denied this, saying that its investigations showed that the flood was caused by climate change. The authority claimed that an aerial survey of the basin and the affected areas, carried out in conjunction with the Ogun State Government, showed that climate change was responsible.

The Head, Public Relations, Ogun, Oyo River Basin Development Authority, Mr. Femi Dokumu, told PUNCH METRO in Abeokuta on Thursday, that climate change, which had resulted in exceptionally high rainfall globally this year, induced a rise in the Atlantic Ocean water levels.

“A vast area of land (about 120 square kilometres) lying between Ikorodu/Kosofe/Ilate is a floodplain. This area is directly under the influence of the backflow from the Lagos lagoon and it is shared by both Lagos and Ogun states. Therefore, waters from Oyan Dam could only be a small fraction of the aggregate rainwater flowing into the Ogun River from these tributaries,” he said.

He also blamed builders, who usually ignored the danger inherent in putting up buildings in “Green Belt Areas”, for the flooding. Dokumu, who explained that water was usually released from the dam gradually, added that the existence of the dam had even gone a long way in controlling flooding in the two states.

He said the authority had taken proactive measures to ensure that the water from the dam was released minimally, even in the dry season.

When asked for the solutions to the problem, he suggested that both the Lagos and Ogun state governments, the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority, the National Emergency Management Authority, evironment agencies and owners of estates and buildings in the flood-prone areas would need to adopt radical and wholistic measures.

However, the Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Sina Kawonise, said that the Federal Government would have to help the two states to solve the problem.

He said, “The release of water from Oyan dam, which is a Federal Government establishment, also contributed to the flood with a lot of businesses affected.

“The state government in assessing the situation has hired a helicopter to look into the areas. We have discovered that the Federal Government‘s assistance is needed just as it was done in Sokoto State. The cost involved in addressing the problems is enormous, so Federal Government’s urgent intervention is needed.”

At Mokore, Arepo, our correspondents saw agitated residents, including schoolchildren, scrambling to board the few canoes that were conveying people from the flooded areas to the landed areas.

An employee of Kebat Structural Engineering Company Limited, Arepo, Mr. Kolade Tolutade, said the company had lost more than N12m worth of customers’ materials to the flood.

At Isheri-Olofin near Kaara, residents affected by the flood were seen crying as they made efforts to secure their property.

A medical doctor with the Holy Trinity Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Dr. Lawrence Onyebuchi, urged government to step in and control the situation, in order to forestall an epidemic.

He warned that the probability that people in these areas would contract diseases like cholera, bloody urinary disease, malaria and other diseases was high. He urged the government to evacuate the people affected or construct drainage channels, which would drain the floods.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/Article2Print.aspx?theartic=Art201010083135542

Kidnapping: NYSC to redeploy five female corps members

By Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
Friday, 8 Oct 2010

INDICATIONS emerged on Thursday that the four female corps members who regained their freedom on Wednesday after 20 days in the hands of kidnappers, would be redeployed to their states of origin.



The corps members were abducted on September 16, 2010.



Rivers State Co-ordinator of the National Youth Service Corps, Mrs. Esther Chimele-Nwogbo told THE PUNCH in a telephone interview, on Thursday, that the decision to redeploy the four corps members was to enable them overcome the trauma they went through in the hands of their abductors.



Chimele-Nwogbo explained that the affected corps members had been in the bush for about three weeks and deserved to go back to their various states and put the ugly incident behind them.



“They (corps members) will be reposted to their states and this is to enable them to overcome the trauma of being kidnapped and kept away from everybody for a long time,” the NYSC state coordinator stressed.



She expressed happiness over the release of the NYSC members even as she thanked security operatives for their efforts so far in the matter.



Chimele-Nwogbo, however, refused to comment on whether the corps members would receive any form of compensation as a result of the trauma they went true in captivity.



A source told our correspondent that the corps members had been taken to Abuja on the orders of NYSC Director-General, Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga for medical attention.



The four, according to the source, will later travel from Abuja to their various states to continue their one year mandatory national youth service programme.



Our correspondent , on Thursday, observed the presence of many corps members at the NYSC state secretariat, located along Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt, discussing the release of their colleagues.



One of them, who preferred anonymity, said he was happy that the four female corps members finally regained their freedom.


“We were seriously disturbed when we heard about the kidnapping of the corps members. We prayed for them and we thank God that they have been released,” he said.




Source: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010082561240

pic 1 - 2: Between Alpha Beach junction and Igbo Efon junction

pic 3: Agungi v/i bound side of the road now being done. I think they started work here yesterday.

pic 4: 3rd roundabout. Observe the brown Honda CRV turning right. It drove against traffic along the way to get to this point and would obstruct those driving normally. You can see that he is blocking the car attemting to turn left which in turn is blocking the other cars behind it.

Our problems are caused by such indiscipline!

While I appreciate the gesture of the governor, I would like to know what the annual basic salary of a science teacher is.

It is then that we can actually determine the impact of the gesture of the teachers!

C'est fini (The End) of Part One

Updates are welcome!

Will our people ever learn?

This picture was taken at Alpha Beach junction.

This tanker tipped over either late last night or very early this morning as it was not there when I passed there at 8 p.m.

There was a crowd (particularly okada riders) at the spot scooping what I believe must have been kerosene.  My co-passenger claimed to have seen money changing hands there.

Thank God it was not laden with petrol!

It also underscores the need for the construction work on the road to be quick and the road properly lit at night as the truck must have tipped when the driver could not see very well.

This also must have contributed to the traffic for those heading to V/I as you can trust that drivers would pause to watch before driving off.

Heavy equipment at Alpha beach road junction. This was not there when I passed there around 8 p.m. last night. I guess they worked overnight.

Pic 1: Going round the round about. The gate on the right is that of JB's contruction site which leads back to the Twin Lakes Estate adjoining the coastal road.

Going further instead of turning would lead you to the second toll plaza. I expect that the alternative route would be the Alpha Beach New Road through the coastal road to burst out opposite Oluwanishola (Eleganza) Estate via Orchids Events Centre.

Pic 2: Chevron office

pic 3: My dashboard clock. I was here at Chevron round about at 6.28 a.m.

Pic 4: Hi-Tech workers on the between the Alpha Beach New Road and Chevron roundabout (probably planning for the day's job)

Festac Bridge expansion

Heading towards Chevron round about

Vehicles with headlights on were heading towards V/I

Mile 2

pic 1: International School fence Fence

pic 2: joining the expressway

pic 3-4: Hi-Tech Heavy equipment that worked there last night.


*** I can now confirm that constrcution work goes on at night. I saw truck tipping these heaps of sand at thi location last night around 8 p.m. and also saw some constrcion work going on betwen Amazon and Second round about last night. ***

Mile 2

Pic 1: At Alpha beach. While I turn off from the coastal road into Alpha Beach New Road enoute the expressway, the SUV on my left is continuing along the waterfront. He should reach V/I within 15 minutes.

pic 2-3: Construction work at the American Intenational School site.

Pic 4: Work on the fence of the International School near the expresway

Coastal road.

The red lights are those of vehicles going ahead of me.

pic 3: The bright white light is that of a JB truck heading towards me

pic 4: The red light is that of the truck heading to my right while the bright white light is that of a car which I was overtaking.
At the background (not clear) are the Chevron Twin Lakes Estate site (being sandfilled by JB) and the back of the Lekki Conservation Centre (where the trees are).

Sorry about the picture quality (these pictures were taken at dawn)

Pic 3:  I don't really understand what is happening under this bridge at Mile 2.

Is this the result of erosion or is the construction company working under the bridge?

Observe the ubiquitous LASTMA officials perched atop the bridge

pic 4: emerging from under the bridge

pic 2-3: Approaching Mile 2

Let's see the remainder of the trip from Eleganza to Festac:

Site of the rail project

Thanks for the compliments.

Took the same trip this morning but decided to take the existing "coastal road" which serves as an alternative to the second toll plaza.

The road is just beside the waterfront and had been tarred some decades back but has fallen into disrepair and neglect. The use of the road by heavy trucks of construction companies particularly (JB) has made matters even worse.

To pass this road now, you must have a strong heart and very good car. I would advice you to go only go as far as Alpha Beach unless you have a 4x4 (preferably with an auxiliary gear!) If you have such a vehicle and go further down you could get to v/I within 15 minutes!

I joined the expressway through the Alpha Beach/New Road and got to the Chevron round about at 6.30 a.m and got to the Falomo bridge at 7.20 a.m.

The Alpha Beach Road which runs beside the construction site of the American International School being constructed by JB was recently graded by JB. They have done a good job keeping the road in passable form thougn it gets quite dusty when there has been no rain for days.

See https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.224.html#msg6336102

pic 1-3: At Eleganza

Pic 4: Site of light rail project

pic 2: Approaching Eleganza

Pic 3: JB truck (usually used to convey workers )

pic 4: Observe partly demolished school in the background. Roof removed.

Pic 2-3: Partly demolished shopping complexes being rebuilt to fit available land space.

Pic 4: Julius Berger (JB) is working on the expansion of the road to ten lanes.

Pic 1-2: Observe the partly demolished building

.

Pic 2-4: The Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC ) work site.

CCECC is working on the light rail.

Thread continues here:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-527166.0.html#msg6895840

Pic 1: Observe that the brown building on the right is partly demolished.

Pic 2-3: The police station (where you have the two flags) used to extend to the main road.

I took a trip from Eric Moore, Iganmu down to Festac last month.

Here are some pictures from the trip showing work being carried out on the Lagos-Badagry expressway expansion:

This thread started here:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-427403.32.html#msg6458283