Residents and Drivers Cry Out Over Bad Road in Lagos

The damaged road. Photo: Dayo Oyewo

Residents and drivers are unhappy about the bad state of Alfa Nla Road in Agege, Lagos State. They are calling for quick repairs.

PUNCH Metro found out that the road condition is causing constant traffic jams and problems for users.

People are worried about the road, especially a part that gets flooded when it rains.

When PUNCH Metro went to the area on Tuesday, we saw that the damaged part had big potholes and was filled with stagnant rainwater.

This made it hard for drivers using the route that connects Pen Cinema and Oke-Koto areas.

Residents told our reporter that this road has been in bad shape for about three years without help from the authorities.

They said the situation gets worse during the rainy season because blocked drains stop rainwater from flowing.

A resident named Akeem said people have asked many times for the road to be fixed, but nothing has been done.

He mentioned that the damaged part causes a lot of traffic, especially in the evenings.

“The road has been like this for about three years. Once it starts raining, the water remains here because the drainage is completely blocked. Every day, motorists struggle to pass through this place,” he said.

Another resident, Bose Adeyemi, said the bad road often forces drivers to leave their lane and go on the opposite side.

She explained, “The traffic is usually terrible from around 6 p.m. Vehicles, especially commercial buses, are forced to use the other lane while facing oncoming vehicles. The other lane is now gradually getting damaged due to the pressure from the traffic.”

While Adeyemi was talking, our reporter saw some buses driving against traffic to dodge the damaged part of the road.

A commercial bus driver named Sulaimon Yusuf said the bad road has made car repairs more expensive.

He added that drivers must slow down to prevent damaging their vehicles.

“You have to be very careful when driving through this road, especially when it rains. Some of the potholes are hidden under the water and can damage your vehicle if you are not familiar with the lane,” he said.

Residents blamed the worsening road condition on blocked drainage channels along that stretch.

They said the inability of rainwater to flow through the drains has made the road worse and increased the chance of flooding.

“If you look at the side of the road, you will hardly believe there used to be a drainage there. It has been completely covered and now looks like an ordinary floor. This happened over time as the road continued to deteriorate,” another resident, who wished to stay anonymous, said.

They called on the Agege Local Government and the Lagos State Government to act quickly before the road becomes totally useless.

The spokesperson for the state Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Adesina Odunuga, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Calls to his phone went unanswered, and he had not replied to a text message by the time this report was written.