Onitsha: When a bridge turns ‘extortion point’

Traders lose millions, commuters lament gridlock
Alphonsus Nweze, Awka

With the reconstruction of the Onitsha end of the Niger Bridge to Upper Iweka, most motorists and users of Onitsha Bridge heaved a sigh of relief that the persistent gridlock on the bridge, which has become a nightmare to the users of the bridge, will ease off.

And it did ease until in the last one year or thereabout when the Federal Government drafted soldiers to both ends of the bridge, apparently to checkmate the seemly excesses of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

But apart from the soldiers, the Onitsha Bridge especially the Asaba end has become very attractive for security operatives, which apparently think that was the best place to track down suspected outlaws. Even State and local Government revenue operators have found the place as the best portion to track down motorists.

And so within a short distance between old toll gate to the bridge, one will see hoodlums blocking the road as revenue agents for the state, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mobile and Regular Police, Road Safety personnel and then, the Army.

Each of these groups would stop motorists, heading to and from Onitsha, which halts vehicular movements and given the volume of traffic along the road, within seconds, traffic would build up.

It is better imagined what happens when all these bodies stop vehicles. The presence of all these bodies, which unfortunately turned the Asaba end of the bridge as an “extortion point” has brought in its wake traffic gridlock, causing not only loss of man hours and huge revenue but also untold suffering to the users of the bridge.

Some users of the bridge who talked to The Daily Times said that the place has become “oil well” for these agencies who make the collection of money from every vehicle that passes through the bridge, especially commercial vehicles which pay between N200 and N1000 per a vehicle depending on the size of the vehicle and loads carried.

The bad portion of the road from Old Toll gate to bridge is also the cause of the traffic hold up. The frequent stoppage of the vehicle by these agencies as well as the road block mounted by the military which almost took three quarter of the road were said to be the major cause of the persistent gridlock.

Consequently, motorists and traders plying the ever busy Onitsha Niger Bridge might be losing hundreds of millions daily.

However, some believe there are more that meet the eyes in what is happening at the bridge, saying that economic sabotage of the economy of Onitsha, Anambra State and the South East in general cannot be ruled out.

This traffic gridlock on the bridge keeps motorists and road users at Asaba end of Niger Bridge several hours before they access Onitsha, the Anambra State commercial nerve centre.

Traders coming from the states like Lagos, Ondo, Edo and Delta and those who reside in Asaba but work in Onitsha undergo hellish experience before they get to Onitsha, apart from several man-hour wasted on the gridlock with the attendant economic loss.

Sometimes, some persons who work in Onitsha prefer sleeping in hotels in Onitsha after the day’s hard work instead of going to stay several hours again on the bridge in the evening after a very horrible experience in the morning hours.

Traders who commute between Onitsha and Asaba also have not been finding it easy too because the traffic has shot up the cost of transport fare to between 100 and 500 percent.

Most users of the expressway who spoke to The Daily Times blamed the Nigeria Army, Police, and personnel of Federal Road Safety Commission, revenue agents of Delta State as well as failed portion of the Expressway for the gridlock.

A bus driver, Emmanuel Iyare, who ply Benin-Asaba Road regularly, said although some failed sections of the road contributed to traffic hold-up on the bridge, the major blame must go to soldiers and policemen as well as FRSC personnel for constantly stopping vehicles to “extort money” from drivers.

Iyare said that the spots have become ‘oil well’ for security operatives and stopping them from that extortion will be difficult, except they entirely move out of the place. He said from morning till night, the gridlock from Asaba end of the bridge builds up to Abraka Market, while that of Onitsha is a bit better apparently due to constant monitoring from 302 Artillery Regiment in Onitsha but as from 6pm, the Onitsha end traffic build up starts, when Police especially the red beret police join in for extortion, causing long traffic build-up on the bridge.

But Ignatius Okeke, a legal practitioner, who resides in Asaba but practices in Onitsha, expressed worry that security operatives would permanently mount road blocks on an expressway leading to a major commercial towns, saying that the whole thing smacks of deliberate sabotage of the economy of Onitsha and Ndigbo in general.

He wondered why Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, his Anambra State counterpart, Chief Willie Obiano and other well-meaning stakeholders will keep mute over this dangerous development. The legal practitioner called on President Muhammed Buhari to direct the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the Inspector-General of Police as well as the Corps Marshal of FRSC to call to order their officers and men by allowing free flow of traffic in the area.

He said it was unfortunate that whenever there was traffic hold up, the Road Safety personnel whose duty is to clear the traffic will disappear.

“It is only the Police from Fegge Division in Onitsha that sometimes help to clear the Bridge apparently due to the dedication of Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Rabiu Garba,” he said. He also said that the constant traffic hold up was a reminder to political leaders especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled Federal Government to urgently commence the construction of Second Niger Bridge since it will reduce traffic on the existing bridge.

The immediate past president of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), Uche Apakama, said the Chamber had consistently advocated the compelling need for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge since that is the only viable option for the current traffic situation on the bridge.

He said the immediate past Government had awarded contract for the bridge on Public Private Partnership (PPP), but the present government seemed not to be comfortable continuing with the contract. Apakama said it was heartening that the APC has started talking about the bridge again but appealed that the Federal Government should once and for all construct the bridge to address the chaotic traffic situation on the existing bridge.

He said pending when the second bridge will come on stream, the security outfits operating on the bridge should carry out their duties with human face and without obstructing traffic.

The Public Relation Officer of the umbrella market body in Anambra State, Mr. Vin Ifeme, toed similar line, asserting that the absence of second bridge was the major cause of traffic holdup on the existing bridge, arguing second Niger bridge would have eased the congestion of the bridge.

He said: “The second Niger Bridge is very important but they have been politicising it. And it is not as if they don’t know its importance. They know it, I mean our leaders. Jonathan started it but it was stopped. The way they are going about it makes us believe that they have left undone because we are Igbos. If it is elsewhere, they would have completed the bridge long time ago. It is one of those marginalisation we are talking about”.

Therefore to end the persistent traffic congestion traffic congestion, the Federal Government should desist from further politicking with the second Niger Bridge and immediately commence its construction. But in the interim, there is no need for any security operative on the bridge, hence all the road blocks should be dismantled with immediate effect.