The evolution of Apapa port By Dr Dorcas Daniel Bature

The seaport of Apapa was founded in the early 15th century. It served the old Oyo empire. An estimate of 500,000 slaves was shipped from Apapa port to the Americans.  Slaves came from the West African region. Apapa is a local government area in Lagos State of Nigeria, located to the west of Lagos Island.

The development of the port comprised of three broad phases: the first phase is the period of the establishment of the British colony up to 1892; Phase 2 was the declaration of the extension to the hinterland, and then phase 3 witnessed specific landmarks, such as the construction of the railway, dredging of harbour and creation of Apapa Wharf. It contains many ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Apapa port is Nigeria’s biggest port, handling a range of commodities. It has facilities for handling wheat, Oil, cement, fish, dry cargoes and containers.

However, there are limited narrow roads to outflow the goods, with no rail or waterways alternatives for moving items to in hinterlands.

THE APAPA GRIDLOCK
Apapa gridlock is no longer news and there’s no amount of blame Game or half measures that will change the horrible traffic situation in Apapa. Motorists and residents who ply or live on the Apapa axis have continued to groan over the worsening traffic situation in the area.
Despite efforts by the government to eliminate the causes, Apapa traffic has remained a monster that defies all remedies.
Consequently, businesses have continued to suffer while commuting has remained a herculean task. Apart from losses in Manpower on traffic, property income has continued to suffer. This is so because businesses are shutting down or relocating while tenants are also relocating out of Apapa thereby, taking away social activities etc from the area which in turn, affects the economy of the local government, then the State government and the country at large.
As such, the Apapa gridlock has had negative impacts on the Nigerian economy; the tax-loss estimate from DIL in 2018 was #44bn, and in 5 years accumulated loss will be #2.1 trillion. When all the taxes are combined from private sectors operating in the Apapa axis, such as BUA, Honeywell, and other businesses, the estimated total loss to the government is about #11 trillion. Despite the fact that Apapa is home to the two busiest ports in Nigeria.
However, what could have been a blessing turned into a nightmare for both motorists and residents as the inefficiency of operators of the ports has worsened the situation.
For example; sometimes, the trucks may have everything needed to go through but are held up by security and port agencies like the Police and Customs, which, in attempts to perform their work aggravate problems leading to gridlock.
While sometimes, the problem of truckers who are in a haste to offload cargo also contributes to the chaos of Apapa and increases the traffic build-up.

The Challenges of Apapa Gridlock
The defiant disposition of motorists, commuters and truck drivers in the Apapa environs needs government urgent intervention to improve traffic flow down to Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. For instance, according to Guarding, a motorist, Mr Olalikan Olariwaju who works in Apapa, recounted his experience, saying: “driving through Oshodi-Apapa Expressway has become a night mere. That the “the journey, which should take me less than 10 minutes, I ended up spending four hours from Second Rainbow to Berger yard.
“I could not see a single traffic officer managing the traffic. The only man on the road are hoodlums and transport union members. The government has finally abandoned us to our fate in Apapa”.

Also, a resident, Mrs Monica Godwin, lamented “I spend up to eight hours daily trying to pass through Mile-2 to Oshodi, where my business is located. We suffer on a daily basis while going for our businesses and we need government intervention to put an end to this gridlock”.
Mr Gabriel Oni, a business owner also in Apapa, noted that security agents and hoodlums had also taken over the control of traffic between Mile-2 and Tin-Can Island Port,