LAGOS: Greenfield Estate residents protest presence of heavy trucks, containers, poor electricity

•Estate chairman queries approval of container terminals in residential area

By Jacob Ajom

 

Residents of Greenfield Estate, located off Ago-Palace Way, Okota in Isolo LCDA are gearing up for a public protest over what they term as “the invasion” of articulated vehicles(trailers and tankers) in their once serene estate. Residents now find it difficult to drive in or out of the estate. Recalling the psychological and mental torture they experience on a daily basis, some of the residents who work in Apapa, where traffic logjam has become a norm, said should the Apapa experience be replicated on their stretch of Ago Road, then their lives could be shortened. “The tankers have covered the entire road and are making life unbearable for most of us. When you talk to the drivers, they would feign not to understand what you are saying,” a worried resident told this writer, adding that the earlier the state government intervened in the matter the better for them.

In a chat with our correspondent, Chairman of the Greenfield Estate Landlord Association, High Chief Nnana Achiugo (KZW) lamented the situation thus: “People are dying on that road on a daily basis. That road was not built for heavy duty trucks. It was meant to provide an access road for residents of Ago-Palace Way, Isolo, Ejigbo and Ikotun residents. Indeed, it provides an alternative route for Oshodi and airport bound motorists, whenever there is a problem on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. But for sometime now, that is no longer the case because of the large presence of articulated vehicles. They park along the road. After the first protest, we witnessed a respite, but they are back in full force.”

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The chairman of the Landlord association wondered why a container terminal was licensed to operate in a residential estate. He asked, “who is issuing operating licenses to these terminal operators?”

He appreciated the efforts of the Isolo LCDA Chairman. He said, “the chairman of Isolo LCDA has done so much in this respect. He has been here physically to talk to them and I remember how one of the terminal operators insulted him on one of his visits to the place. He has done more than enough, but the menace remains.” Chief Achiugo threatened, “should the problem persist, we(the residents) would have no alternative than to march on the streets of Lagos to protest.”

Apart from the menace posed by the indiscriminate parking of trucks and tankers in the estate, the residents are also complaining about poor power supply. Said the Landlord Association chairman, “in terms of electricity, we have not been having it rosy at all despite the fact that we have provided everything including cables, transformers, etc. I expect Ikeja Distribution Company(IKDC) to step up their game and provide the needful, based on their agreement with government. They should step up so that people will not continue paying for what they did not consume. Although some of the residents have got pre-paid meters, majority of us are yet to get the meters. I expect the IKDC to collaborate with us and we will tell them who and who have not been metered. I don’t think they expect us to provide everything they need to operate. They have a major role to play and we are ready to collaborate with them.”

High Chief Achiugo noted with sympathy that IKDC was understaffed. “It is a big problem as it takes them over one week to fix a simple problem. I expect they do something about their staff strength.” However, the chief said, “in as much as we blame the IKDC, the monster that has been consuming much of the electricity in the estate is the container terminal located there. The same reason we have the rampant and indiscriminate parking of trucks in the estate.”

Another problem, which poses imminent danger to the residents is that of flooding. Due to the absence of an effective drainage system, parts of the estate witness serious flooding each time there is a heavy rain. “Flood is a very serious problem. Talking about drainage and flood, that is far above what we can handle. We want to use this medium to beg the government of Lagos state to please, come to our aid. We are asking government to step in, so that in collaboration we can channel the water into the canal behind the estate. It is a massive estate and there is no way we can do it on our own. It is a massive project which we are ready to work with government to see it through,” Chief Achiugo said.

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