TheBrandRoomByAbi: APAPA TRAFFIC-The silent killer no one is talking about

Truck drivers in Apapa posing for the camera in a gridlock

How hectic can commuting to work get? Over time, I have heard varying degrees of complaints from people I know and some that I don't even know about their job. The most I have heard is people complaining about how they are paid less than they should earn, for all the hard work they put into their job and the time dedicated to doing their jobs. For others, its the work environment, and for some its the lack of sleep and having to work round the clock. People complain about different things that make them sick about their jobs.
Today, I want to open your eyes and your minds to other things people have to go through daily to get to their jobs just so they earn a living. I know Pilots and Cabin Crews go through a lot of risk by being confined to an Aircraft for most part of their days, but they need to thank their stars because, its way better than what I'm about to tell you.
Welcome to Apapa, home to Nigeria's number 1 Premiere Port. For those who don't know Apapa, Apapa is a Local Governemt Area, located to the west of Lagos mainland, It contains a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Majority of businesses in Apapa are Maritime, Logistics ,Manufacturing and Oil and Gas related, not forgetting the presence of the Apapa Port and Tincan Port, which is usually a beehive of activities especially around May-September every year.
One perculiar thing about Apapa is the mad traffic that exist in the area. As someone who have worked in the Apapa area for years, no traffic in the world beats Apapa traffic, Apapa traffic is every worker's nightmare. You go through the traffic in the morning and in the evening, the sanity in Apapa is no where to be found. Home owners are vacating their homes one after the other, tenants are relocating to other areas in search for tranquility, but workers are stuck in the menace called Apapa traffic.
In Apapa people risk their lifes daily on the bad roads, sandwiched between trailers and tankers not forgetting the danfos and okadas who believe that obstructing traffic is their birth right. Apapa is the only are in Nigeria, where one-way driving is Illegally legal!Whether you come into Apapa through Coconut bustop or through Point road, one thing is constant, the sight of a fallen container or a trapped trailer or tanker in a terrible ditch. During the dry season you see them repair the roads, and after two months the roads are back to square one. If you drive your car to Apapa daily, then you must have changed your shocks so many times. Infact your mechanic will call you sometimes just to check up on you, as per you are a good customer.

Broken down truck

In Apapa, workers have had to ditch their cars for other means of transportation, its a regular thing in Apapa to get to work using several means of transportation in one day, such as a bus, napep, okada, train and boat all in the name of going to work. From my experience, I have had to spend 6-7 hours in Apapa on various occasions on my way home, a journey which will take me just 25 mins on a regular day in December when sanity tries to show its face in Apapa.
If you ever have any reason to visit Apapa, make sure you leave your house 4-5 hours before your appointment to allow you get there in good time, I can't promise that you won't be frustrated in the traffic, because that's the norm. Apapa Local Government Area has only two major entry and exit points, the Coconut side, that takes you to Mile 2, then you can connect other areas from there, and the Barrack /Point road area from where you can connect to other areas on the mainland and island, the roads are not wide enough for all the cars, trucks, tankers, trailers, okadas, buses and napep that ply the roads daily for business purposes.

Illegally- Legal One way drivers

If you work in Apapa, then you must consider hiring a driver, or else you will eventually ditch your car for public transportation. At 3-4pm daily, drivers in Apapa start leaving their offices with their bosses car, just to go and park on the bridge to wait for their bosses who will get an okada to take them to the bridge from their various offices just to avoid 60% of the Apapa madness.
Please for how long will people continue to live like this, just to earn a living. The quality of live of most workers in Apapa is zero compared to those working in other sane areas of Lagos State. Most people just want to sleep and stretch their legs during the weekends having spent most of their week driving in traffic. People get to work in the morning and they are already tired because they spent most of their mornings struggling with tanker drivers on the way.
The situation in Apapa is horrible, oh before I forget, if you work in Apapa chances are your car will be bashed by a trailer or a tanker , but most definitely be bashed on a regular by other cars because there is nothing like I sabi drive in Apapa, everybody is James Bond, so if you love that car ,don't bring it to Apapa unless its December.