Those death traps on a busy carriageway
One car avoids yours, then another. You say your last prayers, clutching onto the steering wheel like your life depends on it--because let's face it, it does.
3rd mainland bridge Lagos
Recommended articles
You slow down only because it's the most sensible thing to do when you are presented with an obstacle while driving at 120km/hr.
Your car skids and bobbles to the left...and then to the right, where onrushing cars behind yours are doing the rounds at 180km/hr.
You try to steady the steering wheel as the tyres wear and tear underneath you.
ADVERTISEMENT
Horns blare, impatient drivers do the sudden swerve to avoid running into you. Others screech and curse.
One car avoids yours, then another.
You say your last prayers, clutching onto the steering wheel like your life depends on it--because let's face it, this time, it does.
You go through this rough patch that stretches some meters, only to come face-to-face with yet another.
You do the rounds of slowing down, swerving to another lane, almost losing control, losing all those treads on your tyres, saying your last prayers and holding onto the steering wheel for dear life--all over again.
ADVERTISEMENT
And then you come face-to-face with another of those godforsaken "dredged" portions and another...and another.
You manage to get to work but a few others aren't so lucky.
They lose a fender or two; or a tyre or two.
Or get their car rammed into by another following closely behind, as they slam the brakes to deal with this rough portion of the road that will guarantee that you replace your tyres before the end of a hectic working week.
On either side of the third mainland bridge, these rough portions have become a thing--a sad reminder of all that's wrong with us as a country.
ADVERTISEMENT
What you see on the bridge is termed milling of the distressed surfaces of the road.
Once milling is done, asphalting should follow immediately to replace milled portions.
You see, the thing about these rough portions of the third mainland bridge is that the government caused it. Another thing about these rough portions of the road is that no one was warned ahead of time that this was going to happen.
Here's another classic case of how the government f** you up daily because the government affixes no value to human life.
ADVERTISEMENT
There are no duct tapes or any of those amber road signs to warn you that danger lies ahead...asking you to slow down because a few meters ahead lay rough portions of a road that may well cost you your life.
What we hear is that this is part of the road repair efforts of the federal ministry of works or transportation, or both.
Meaning that this is all Babatunde Fashola's fault.
The Minister of Works, Power and Housing once governed Lagos. He should know that the last thing a city like Lagos needs is a government induced snafu.
Fashola should know that when you take off the surface off the most used route in all of Lagos this way, you resurface same as quickly as possible in order to avoid traffic jams or accidents.
ADVERTISEMENT
It's been some two months since those portions of the third mainland bridge were dredged and gone.
You'd be hard pressed to find road construction workers, or traffic officials anywhere near as you commute through this stretch of the city daily.
We are screwed.
And we are screwed because even though these rough patches have deflated our tyres, damaged our fenders and led to accidents involving our cars, we have all said nothing for months now.
Meanwhile, I am about hitting that stretch of road again as soon as I am done with this piece.
ADVERTISEMENT
I'm bracing myself once more for prayers, while cussing the government under my breath. It's the least I can do.
In Nigeria, there's always that sure way to die sometimes.
It's called the government way.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
Security, govt officials have turned banditry into business venture, Gov laments
Makinde signs monumental deal with Shell to build gas distribution network in Oyo
Tinubu set to commission 3 critical gas infrastructure projects
You won't believe how many Lagosians were arrested in 1 year for crossing highways
Man caught trying to smuggle snakes on plane — it's not the first time
Kwara public school wonderkid scores 95 in maths, 362 overall in UTME
70 plane passengers suffer diarrhea crisis during chaotic flight
Peter Obi sent a former Vice President’s son to beg me - Reno Omokri
Nigeria is first African country to acquire this device
ADVERTISEMENT
![Navy recruits 1,486 personnel to tackle oil theft, piracy – Minister [NAN]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Navy recruits 1,486 personnel to tackle oil theft, piracy – Minister [NAN]")