₦airaland Forum

What were the projects you planned to execute during your tenure but for reasons of time and financial constraints, you could not?

I wasn’t happy with the transportation system in Lagos, and I particularly felt bad about the waterways that we could not fully exploit. I sent a delegation abroad to look for flat bottom boats that could take passengers across the waterways. I wasn’t happy with the transportation system and would have loved to see a better system in place. One of the ideas I had was to construct the 3rd Mainland Bridge. Don’t forget, the 3rd Mainland Bridge was a creation of the government of Lagos State and not the Federal Government. The Federal Government only took it over at a point in time when we didn’t have enough money and, therefore, included the project as part of the state’s contribution to second Five-Year Development Programme of the Federal Government in 1972. I went abroad and was surprised to discover that the headquarters of Julius Berger was located in the same area with the hospital where I went for medical treatment. I met Mr Whitman who later served as vice chairman on the board of Julius Berger. His first job in Nigeria was the construction of the Itoikin Bridge that links Lagos with Epe.

During my meeting with Mr Whitman and his team of engineers, I showed them what we were planning for the ring roads around Lagos. I believe people getting out of Lagos should have free ways that they can use. The concept I had for the inner ring road and outer ring road was to have pillars erected to the middle of Herbert Macaulay and Murtala Muhammed Way with the pillars supporting a network of highways on the top like the ones I saw in Tokyo, Japan. I believed we could achieve same in Lagos. The Julius Berger team looked into my concept and came up with a blueprint ready for my submission to the Federal Government. That was how Julius Berger and an army of officials came all the way to Lagos. Work began in earnest with the engineers in boats and canoes crisscrossing the body of water over which the 3rd Mainland Bridge and its ring roads would be built. At Marina, they proposed sand filling as the best option so as to be able to gain more useful land, in addition to solving the traffic problem on that axis. I was thinking we could use the idea of the 3rd Mainland Bridge to sand fill a sizeable portion of the water front of the University of Lagos and adjoining areas and create a big motor park where a park-and-ride system of transportation would be available to take passengers from the Oworonshoki area into Lagos, where you will equally take a taxi or a bus to wherever you are going on the Lagos Island and when you are through with what you came to do on the Island, you will be taken back by boats across the water to where your car is parked at Oworonshoki. That was one major project I would have loved to accomplish but couldn’t. To date, our waterways, I must say, are still largely underutilised.

Lastly, the third mainland bridge.

Yes, a lot of people do not know that you were instrumental to the construction of the famous Third Mainland Bridge, tell us the full story

By the way, I am very much in support of what Governor Ambode did, by speaking up about his frustration concerning the Airport/Oshodi Expressway. Sometimes, you need to blackmail the Federal Government to get some of these things done. I did the same thing with the Third Mainland Bridge.

I remember General Babangida had come back from a trip and I had gone to receive him, despite the fact that we were using siren, it was tough passing through traffic because we passed through Yaba to Dodan Barracks.

So when we got there, I saluted and turned back. I could see that he was looking very unhappy. Akhigbe had tried with the issue but the next day, I went to Babangida and said, sir this traffic situation is bad, can you please let us sit down and discuss how to finish this bridge.

General (Mamman) Kotangora, who was the Minister of Works, said the end, that is the Oworonshoki side is a built up area and it will be impossible to navigate it. I said sir, can you please give me the map, they said it is with Julius Berger.

When I left there, I went to Julius Berger, I got the map, and in the process of checking that map, I saw the Coastal Road up till Calabar, that was how I began the Coastal Road. That map is there, we can still look at it. So I went to him and said, Sir I know this is a Federal Project but it is my people that are suffering, can we do this 50-50. If we can’t pay, you can take it from source.

That was how we then introduced the Development Levy, it was for the Third Mainland Project mainly. That was when Gani Fawehinmi took me to court. I was not bothered because I knew we were doing something that will benefit majority of Lagosians.

We then started work, we had got half of the way, I think that was around 1989, I believe I had just lost my wife. Babangida now said, there was no money. I said that is not possible. I told him, I have been to Abuja, I saw what is happening there, so I told him: the method you are using in Abuja, let us use it in Lagos, even if we are going to use oil to exchange for the funds because Lagos was too critical to the nation’s economy.

Bode Emmanuel used to be the Chairman of one of the construction companies, that is how we became close. I told him you are a Lagosian, please let you company continue the job, we are working on payments, I also called Julius Berger and gave them assurances. There was one Dafinone that also came to our rescue, we then also told Government to collect some of the money from source too.

That was why I was on that site every day to ensure that work was going on as scheduled.But we had a problem at Oworonshoki, one Baale and one Imam, came, they were complaining about the houses that were in the right of way, I told them, please this road is greater than all of us, nothing must stand in its way.

They were still complaining. I just kept quiet, I went to the Army Engineers, I think Ihejerika was in charge of the Army Engineers, I told them I want that place cleared for the road in 24 hours. I told them that they should clear everything on the path of the bridge on the weekend, so that they cannot go to court and stop us. Fadayomi was my Commissioner of Justice and Baba (Teslim) Elias was with us, I also went to Rotimi Williams, they said start the operation by Friday and before they can go to court on Monday, you have completed your operation. I loved that idea.

I was happy with the kind of advice I got . Just as we were talking, one man came in from Julius Berger, a very nice man that I worked closely with during the project.

He said, I should not use Army Engineers that there was another way we can do it, that if we use the Army, we will be blackmailed.I said I don’t care. We cleared the bridge area, there were no houses for many metres, but today, the plan was to allow space in case there is future expansion.

But today I have seen houses on both sides, when I noticed that Ambode was doing some work there, I thought he will bring down those houses, that is the difference between the civilian and military government. We do not care about re-election, we just get the job done.  When we cleared the place, off course, the people went to court, but the deed had been done and that was how Justice Esho used the word Executive Rascality, and you the media starting singing about it, but we did not let that disturb us. Today, we are all enjoying the Third Mainland Bridge.

naptu2:
I feel compelled to make this explanation because you are the second person that I've seen in the past week that has claimed that Babangida built the entire Third Mainland Bridge.

Once upon a time traffic flowed from the Mainland onto the Island via Carter Bridge. It was distributed across the Island via Nnamdi Azikiwe Road and Broad Street. Broad Street was the financial capital of Nigeria and Nnamdi Azikiwe Street was the home to several large markets, so, as you can guess, they were plagued with massive traffic jams.

The government concieved the idea of building a ring road around Lagos Island and also building several entrances/exits to/from the Ring Road in order to reduce traffic in Central Lagos.

General Yakubu Gowon was thd head of state at that time, Alhaji Femi Okunnu was the commissioner (minister) for works (he was replaced by Obasanjo in 1974) and Colonel Mobolaji Johnson was the Lagos State governor.

What is Ring Road?

Look at the orange road in the first map below. Ring Road begins at the end of Third Mainland Bridge, at a place known as Adeniji Bus Stop, it goes past Ilubirin, Ikoyi Foreshore, Obalende, Onikan, Marina and ends up back at Adeniji Adele.

Marina used to be a beach, like Unilag Water Front. The government poured concrete on it and turned it into a road. The official name of the road is Ring Road, but people refer to it as "Outer Marina".

There was also a little river that separated Lagos Island from Ikoyi. It was called MacGregor Canal. The government reduced the width of the river, gave it concrete sides (instead of the previous sand banks) and it became the giant gutter that you see at Obalende.

I know people who are still angry with Gowon for converting sand into concrete.

Third Mainland Bridge

The government rebuilt Carter Bridge and built Eko Bridge (which was completed in 1975). The government also had an idea of a bridge that people coming from outside Lagos can use to access Lagos Island. This bridge will substantially bypass the mainland and bring traffic directly on to the Ring Road. It would also decongest Ikorodu Road and the Carter and Eko Bridge.

Serious discussions about the "Third Axial Bridge" began in 1974 or 1975 and the first phase was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari on September 30th, 1980 (to mark Nigeria's 20th anniversary).

The Third Mainland Bridge was being used in the 1980s (before Babangida became president), but you had to get off the bridge at the Ebute Metta/Yaba exit (Look at the second map below. You can see the exit at the place where the words "Third Mainland Bridge" is written). There were barriers across the road that prevented you from going further and when you exit the bridge, you could see the place where the bridge came to an abrupt end.

This meant that you had to take Herbert Macaulay Way and Ikorodu Road if you were going to Ikeja and this also meant that there were massive traffic jams on Herbert Macaulay Way.

I remember the great traffic jam of 1989. Eko Bridge was closed for repairs and everybody had to use either Third Mainland Bridge or Carter Bridge.

There was a Queens College girl in my house and she was meant to come home with the neighbours by 3 o'clock. 3 became 4 and then 5 o'clock and she was not home. I phoned the neighbours and they had no idea what was going on. So my driver and I went in search of the two missing girls. The traffic jam was incredible. We were at a standstill on Third Mainland Bridge and when we eventually got to Herbert Macaulay Way I discovered that people were driving against the flow of traffic and cars were facing each other with no where to go.

Policemen from Adekunle and Sabo police stations were overwhelmed and they just hung around and exchanged jokes with motorists.

We eventually got to Queens College and were told that the girls had already gone home and we went back home, got in after dark to discover that she was already asleep.

Julius Berger extended the bridge by a few metres in 1987 and then abandoned it again.

I'll quote Babangida's speech at the commissioning of the second phase of the bridge in 1991. He said that a new governor was appointed in Lagos and the man came to discuss the Third Mainland Bridge with him. He said that the man kept on coming to his office almost everyday to disturb him about the Third Mainland Bridge. He said that he had to tell his secretary not to allow Governor Rasaki into his office again. He said that he knew that he had to complete the bridge if he wanted peace (Governor Rasaki was laughing behind him).

The bridge was completed in 1991 and, when the Federal Government was moving from Lagos to Abuja, the section of the bridge from Ebute Metta to Oworonshoki was renamed IBB Bridge (I still have a video of that ceremony).

So you see, Gowon's government conceived the Third Mainland Bridge, Shagari commissioned the first phase and Babangida commissioned the second phase.

JohnnA1:
We need a 4th Mainland Bridge already, and by the grace of God we will have it.

God continue to bless the South West.

God bless Nigeria.

Amen...

coolcharm:
But Tinubu built Lagos?
Why is he not mentioned anywhere in this post?

Omoawoke2:
There’s a proposal for that already.
They were supposed to start the project after the Lagos rail line

Maxymilliano:
Kudos to IBB and the construction giant, Julius Berger