Their hopes stemmed from the promises of the campaigners during the pre-election period, and the trend of things in the state, where since 1999, each new governor has outshined his predecessor.
Alas, their hopes and expectations were shortlived!
The new governor, who took over from now minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, was readily touted as a slow governor by the impatient and ever-demanding Lagosians, who believe that the former governor had set a tone for his successor.
Many anomalies in the state seem to have returned since Ambode took over, and Lagosians have had to groan on a daily basis. Not even the huge amount of money painstakingly saved by the governor in three months would convince the residents of the state about their leader’s readiness to deliver the goods of democracy.
Naij.con has identified five sad situations Ambode has thrown Lagosians into since he took over as the head of the state:
Traffic robbery
Although this had never been totally eradicated on the highways, it had been drastically reduced under the administration of Fashola, but with the ‘ascension’ of Ambode, it has not only gathered momentum, but has also become a regular activity by the assailants.
Not even a routine police surveillance on the highways could stop the highway robbers from attacking innocent citizens and residents of the state, a situation which, the governor has promised to deal with in the coming weeks.
Return of gridlock
If there was one challenge the immediate past governor of Lagos state, Fashola, really tried his best to submerge, it was that of traffic gridlock in the state. All hands were put to ensure the free-flow of traffic in the ever busy metropolis.
From Apapa to Third Mainland Bridge to Lagos/Abeokuta expressway to Lagos/Ibadan expressway to Ikorodu road, Lagosians have had nightmares with terrible traffic congestion stretching for as long as eight to ten hours, and their expectation with the arrival of Ambode, was CHANGE.
Residents of Ikorodu area of the state, have particularly bemoaned the recent expansion of the Mile12-Ikorodu road as sheer waste of time and resources as it has not improved the traffic situation in the area.
Water scarcity
Reports surfaced early this week that the water corporation’s supplies have been dwarfed by the increasing number of residents in the state, this has also been blamed on the new governor.
Lagosians, who had hitherto enjoyed non-stop flow of water in their areas, have now been thrown into a state of hardship by the governor’s emergence.
LASTMA officers’ incapacitation
One of the first things the newly-elected governor did was to reduce the power of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials, and asking them to return impounded vehicles to their owners.
This act was initially commended by Lagosians, who believe that the traffic officials have wielded too much power under the last administration, but these commendations soon became a backlash on the governor.
They (residents), sooner rather than later, realised how much the presence of the LASTMA officials means to the traffic situation, especially with lawless drivers and road users flying here and there, and have called on the governor to return the officials to their duty posts.
Increased disregard for the segregated BRT lane by security personnel
During his tenure as the governor of Lagos, Fashola was renown for rebuking law security personnel for using the BRT lane which was designed to accommodate the BRT buses for free flow of traffic, but this is steadily on the rise in the state under the new administration.
And despite the fact that the new governor, who is perceived as a weakling by Lagosians, also recently stopped a road offender in Ejigbo area of the state, Lagosians seem unsatisfied with the way security officials disregard laws governing the use of these lanes.
No comments:
Post a Comment