BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – When a major road is finally rehabilitated after a long wait, it makes a huge difference in the lives of the people in the neighbouring communities, especially if they are surrounded by bad roads and a difficult terrain. That is true about the residents of the Igbesa and Lusada community in Ogun State, following the commissioning of the recently constructed 10.25km Lusada-Igesa Toll Road on March 29.
With the commissioning of the road, a major hindrance against development and growth in the area was addressed by the Governor Dapo Abiodun, in keeping with his promise to improve the ease of doing business and the quality of life of the people.
When the fanfare and excitement that characterised the event had died down, our correspondent embarked on an inspection of the Toll Road last week to see what progress looked like for residents of the neighbouring communities and motorists plying the road.
There was no denying the fact that, as Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, the Board Chairman of the Ogun State Free Trade Zone acknowledged in his welcome address during the commissioning event, an immediately recognisable benefit of the development was its potential to “propel and boost” the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.
The uniformed staff of the company charged with managing the toll collection, Atlantic Biscoe Nigeria Limited, whose pink shirts were emblazoned with the crest of the company and who all wore masks in keeping with COVID-19 protocols, were all manning their posts and keeping tabs on articulated vehicles, commercial vans, dumpsters and private cars plying the new road and appropriating from them the required toll fees and issuing the necessary receipts. They went about their business amicably and professionally.
Traffic was relatively light between 10 and 11 a.m. when THEWILL visited the area. Road users did not experience delay at the toll point for long periods of time. This is because the tolls were paid according to electronic weighing.
Our correspondent observed that tolls were collected only from lanes 2 and 3, heading in one direction, while lanes 4 and 5 in the other direction. Apparently the latter were specifically reserved for articulated vehicles as on-site observations showed that every other form of transportation that passed through the polling points through lanes 1 and 6 were not made to pay any fee.
A weight-charge of N500 applied to articulated vehicles weighing below five tonnes, while vehicles weighing between five and10 tonnes attracted a fee of N1000, which was the same charge for an empty tipper. However, a vehicle weight of between 10 and 40 tonnes came up to a toll charge of N2,000. Anything above 40 tonnes had a flat rate toll of N4,000.
As observed, these charges did not apply to lanes 1 and 6, which were designated ‘E-Tag’ lanes for SUVs, Cars, Tricycles, popularly known as ‘Keke NAPEP’ and Bikes, known locally as ‘Okada’.
Although, there were recognisable toll booths at the tolling point on lanes 1 and 6, there was not a single staff of Atlantic Biscoe Nigeria Limited in either of them as all attention was focused on the movement at the operational toll collecting points on lanes 2 and 5.
In the course of our correspondent’s visit, the smooth-running of the operations was interrupted by raised voices of two men in a potable water delivery van, who were creating a scene around the fee that they were asked to pay. Their argument was that the management of their company did not provide them with money to pay toll.
Having been refused passage based on their non-compliance with the toll charge, the men went back the way they came.
After observing from a distance, our correspondent approached the staff supervisor of Atlantic Biscoe Nigeria Limited, who was overseeing the work of the ticketing staff, to get some answers about their operations and teething problems so far. The supervisor, Animashaun Quadri Olabisi, referred him to their Chief Executive Officer, Bisi Akinola, who happened to be present.
Akinola explained that as Governor Abiodun noted in his speech at the commissioning event the overall support of the residents and people of the Lusada/Igbesa community was an important ingredient in the successful completion of the projects in the area and the expatriates involved could not have been as successful as they were if the people were not cooperative.
He pointed out the fact that the people would be the beneficiaries of the governor’s gesture in the long run as the newly constructed roads open up the community for development, with expected industrial growth, mor job opportunities, improvement in security and the general expansion of opportunities for progress within the community.
Asked if there were security concerns for their operations, the CEO said that there was nothing to worry about, although some hoodlums who used to collect illegal levies from road users in the past and whose source of income had been shut out with the road construction and toll gate, attempted to disturb the peace.
The free pass allowed for all modes of transportation in lanes 1 and 6 was explained as a part of the initial start-up process. Akinola said only the lanes for articulated vehicle would continue to collect tolls until a process of allocating tags to vehicles within the community is completed. He explained that as a goodwill gesture to the community, vehicles that show these tags will not be required to pay any fee when tolling becomes operational on lanes 1 and 6.
However, as part of their commitment to the support of small businesses in the community, he stated that they would endeavour to keep the roads toll-free for commercial tricycles and motorcycles and other small-scale public transport vehicles catering for no more than five passengers at a time.
Akinola saw the incident of the drinking-water bottle delivery van as a perfect opportunity to explain how a few road users complained of being made to pay to use the road. He said he had used the opportunity provided by such cases to make those who harbour such complaints understand the need to have a properly maintained road system.
He used the analogous system of paying for phone calls as an example. When, they have confidence in the system, Akinola posited, Nigerians do no mind paying. He intends to build that sort of confidence in the minds of those who use the toll gate. He said those who understand how the system operates will be more comfortable with paying for the services government renders.
He used that as an opportunity to explain how the Public Private Partnership template being applied by the state government in the construction and maintenance of the road and toll gate project was a work in progress for the state.
The fate of other projects that the PPP can be used to accomplish will be determined by how well PPP projects like the Lusada-Igbesa toll gate performs. A successful outcome in Igbesa will act as a powerful example to encourage more public partnership investment with the Ogun State Government, which will be for the benefit of the people, the state and the investments partners.
This dovetailed perfectly with what the Chairman of the Ogun State Free Trade Zone, Isiaka, said at the commissioning event. Addressing the government and high-profile guests, including members of the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, state executives, traditional rulers and other personalities, the chairman proclaimed, “In compliance with your charge, we are determined to ensure that this zone plays significant role in the administration’s goal of utilising PPP developmental model to further unleash the numerous opportunities that abound in the Gateway State.”
It is for this reason that Akinola stressed the extreme importance of maintenance, a value for longevity, which he noted was one reason why projects fail even after completion and execution. He was adamant that it will not happen with the Lusada-Igbesa project. Throughout the visit, the CEO was dishing out instructions to staff about cleaning, sweeping, dusting, clearing the entire toll gate work area to keep it in pristine order at all times.
But beside what the staff did, Akinola pointed out that maintenance was accorded a place of prominence in the agreement as 5% of the income generated was set aside to maintain the project and keep it functioning at optimal levels at all times while making sure the roads are smooth and the project is sustained by smooth operations without hiccups so that users appreciate the value they pay good money for.
As our correspondent left the CEO to attend to his business of the day, it was clear that the project was in good hands if these were the operational standards that it would run by.
However, the concerns of the CEO were far apart from that of residents of the community who consented to express their opinions. A hairdresser, who identified herself as Toyin, and whose shop was not far off from the toll gate said she was pleased that the construction was finished as it reduced the volume of dust she had to deal with on a regular basis, which became costly for her business. The concern of dust reduction appeared to gain currency among those who reacted as the crowd of five sitting men in front of her shop nodded in agreement.They all agreed that it was a good investment by the government.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
