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Tanker fire badagry rd
Transport

One week after, CCECC yet to fix Badagry highway spot of tanker inferno

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…As Nigeria, 7 others begin African road safety leadership confab in Abidjan

That exactly one week ago, a petrol tanker spilled its content along the Lagos-Badagry Express Road between Barracks and Onireke Bus Stops in Ojo Local Government Area in the early hours of Tuesday causing a fire outbreak that destroyed seven vehicles and killed two people is no more news.
What is apparently worrisome according to checks by Business Hilights is the inability of the construction company, CCECC handling the highway expansion to do the needful in finding palliative on the sorry state of the spot more than seven days after.
It would be recalled that the inferno, which began at 5am, destroyed the contents of a Mack trailer conveying crates of drinks from Intercontinental Breweries and another container carrying new heavy duty generators valued in millions of naira.
The fire also gutted a station wagon Peugeot, one Space bus, a Toyota Hummer jeep, a Mazda bus, a trailer container with food products from Delta and an empty Mack truck.
Whereas efforts to speak to any of the official of the company whose Construction Yard Office block is at Volkswagen Bus Stop failed, Policemen controlling traffic on the same spot told our correspondent that they are tired of accidents caused by the construction hazards on the spot.
Besides, the second Road Safety Leadership Program organized by the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP), an international partnership hosted by the World Bank, in collaboration with the African Development Bank, has kicked off at the Bank’s Headquarters in Abidjan.
The program, which runs till 8th February, is intended to develop leadership capabilities in road safety planning, implementation, management, and operations; and ultimately help reduce the number of road crashes on the roads of Africa. High-level specialists from the SSATP, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and academia, will share their experiences on improving road safety through practical examples and best practices.
The program is being attended by senior representatives of African ministries of transport, health, interior, and national road safety agencies, African sub-regional and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and stakeholders from eight African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
Statistics show that growing vehicle ownership and rapid urbanization across the continent are factors which have increased the incidence of road accidents. The ensuing socio-economic impacts are harming the continent’s development. The economic loss caused by road crashes in Nigeria, for example, is estimated at 3% of the country’s GDP. For Morocco, the GDP loss is estimated at 2.5%. Furthermore, deaths and injuries affect countless families and friends of crash victims.
Nearly 50% of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists, who are exposed to multiple hazards and often chaotic conditions on Africa’s roads. The grief and distress experienced due to the loss of life or quality of life could be prevented by systematic and appropriate solutions from governments and societies.
Both the SSATP and the African Development Bank recognise the need for investment in sustainable road safety facilities. The SSATP promotes road safety management at the national level through the creation of dedicated lead agencies for effective road safety, national road safety strategies with time-bound targets actionable by different stakeholders, and a road crash database system for evidence-based road safety interventions.
Road safety – from design to operation – is one of the priority cross-cutting areas in the Bank’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Department. A recent report commissioned by the Bank assesses road safety measures in Bamako, Mali.
In his opening remarks, Girma Bezabeh, road safety specialist at the African Development Bank observed that “Our contribution to this important SSATP event is an effective way for the Bank to engage with its regional member countries to bring about positive changes and sustainable effects which contribute to Africa’s development and improve the lives of African people.”
Also speaking, senior transport and road safety specialist at the SSATP, Tawia Addo-Ashong, decried that “More than 300,000 people lose their lives every year on the roads of Africa and the situation is getting worse. The SSATP has a mission to reverse the trend. The Road Safety Leadership Program can help to strengthen the region’s capacity for handling road safety challenges while building a network of peers and champions who can advocate for, and support, road safety interventions at the regional, national and municipal levels.”

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