Gwagwalada Gridlock: Road crisis quadruples commuter fares

For the past two weeks, The Gwagwalada-Giri road, once the reliable pulse of economic and social life in this satellite town, has essentially suffered a crippling stroke. What used to be a swift, twenty-minute ride has devolved into an agonizing, hour-plus crawl.

“It’s outrageous, absolutely outrageous,” Mr. Samson lamented. “Just two weeks ago, I used to pay a maximum of N400 to take a bike from the junction to my house. That was the standard, stable rate.” He shook his head, the frustration etched onto his face. “Now? Now, the bike men demand N1,500. That’s nearly four times the original price! How is a working man supposed to manage that every single day when his salary hasn’t changed?”

​The reason is simple economics, distorted by infrastructure failure. The intense road gridlock means a 15-minute ride now takes over an hour. The Okada riders, citing lost fuel and precious time spent idling in the congestion, have made the difficult journey unprofitable at the old rate.

“They tell you straight: ‘Oga, I will waste two hours in this traffic. The N400 will not pay me for my time and fuel,'” Mr. Samson explained. “They have us over a barrel. You either pay the N1,500 or you try to navigate the distance on foot, which is dangerous with the heavy trucks all around.”

Mrs. Elizabeth, a local vendor who sells produce, voiced her concern about the compounding difficulties.

​”This is the Christmas season,” Mrs. Elizabeth said, “This bridge construction and the single lane is going to seriously affect the movement of people traveling for the holidays.

For the past two weeks, my produce has been getting to market late. My customers are complaining, and my profit is shrinking.”

​She pointed toward the visible signs of the project, confirming the community rumour. “They said the construction is necessary because of the new electrical plant they are building nearby. They need a strong route for heavy machinery and equipment, but they didn’t think about the citizens. Reducing it to one lane right now is a terrible oversight.

For two weeks now, our lives have been put on hold for a project that won’t benefit us for months, maybe years.”

​The collective sentiment is that while development is welcome, the lack of a proper diversion or alternative route has been a cruel and costly management failure, forcing the most vulnerable the daily commuters to finance the sudden inefficiency through exorbitant fares.

Oladosu Adebola Oluwaseun