There was a melo
drama last week Thursday at the base of the Mile I flyover near the UTC junction. A young taxi driver was involved in a head on collision with a police hilux van.
Instead of ordinarily coming out of his taxi to sort out the issue with the occupants of the police van, he rather abandoned his cab in the middle of the road and took to his heels. One of the officers corked his rifle ready to run after the taxi driver, but was called back by one of his colleagues.
In less than three minutes, the road was totally sealed up because the abandoned rackety cab and the police van had blocked the remaining narrow pathway left for every other vehicles descending from the flyover and those coming from UTC Junction. Fuel tankers have taken over 95 per cent of both sides of the road.
Atop the flyover had been taken over by parked tankers. Not only this axis of the road, Njemanze, under the flyover, Ikwerre Road, stretching from Education bus stop to Abonnema Wharf, Azikiwe Road and indeed every available space had been besieged by chains of tankers as their drivers despraretly moved to load products from the tank farms at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt.
For over one year running, this had become the state of traffic in this axis of Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State.
The issue is not merely about distributing the highly needed petroleum product by both major and independent marketers, but rather the frustration being created for other road users and the environment.
The gridlock that was the public outcry at Apapa in far away Lagos State had been resolved but it appears to have become the nightmare to residents and motorists of Port Harcourt city.
Several calls on the authorities of the Rivers State Government to find lasting solution to the problem have remained unheeded.
Recently, the former Commissioner for Energy in Rivers, State, Hon Okey Amadi, was contacted by our correspondent to comment on the issue, but he rather passed the buck to his transport and urban development counterparts. Attempts to also hear from the two commissioners could not provide the needed help.
Similarly, attempt to get the chairman, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG Tanker Drivers Chapter of Rivers State, Comrade John Amajionu, also could not help as he refered the correspondent to the National President of NUPENG, Comrade Achese Igwe. Several calls and text messages placed on Igwe’s phone could not be replied leaving the helpless masses of Port Harcourt who use the roads affected to stew in their own juice.
Apart from the blockage, the activities of the tanker drivers constitute health hazards.
The tanker drivers have formed the habit of operating a black market in these areas where they are found. They sell products on the road. The effect of the products on the road in itself pose challenges as corrotions wear off parts of the roads because of the chemical nature of the products discharged on the surface of the public road.
The negative effects of the parked tankers on the aged flyover also posses extra challenge on the bridge.
Experts said parking several tankers for several hours on the flyover is dangerous as such weight was not factored when the engineers were constructing the flyover.
An engineer, Chiekezie  Orlunde, who spoke on the issue said, “the flyover has been constructed for many decades and it gets weaker with passing years. So many activities take place around all corners of the flyover so parking such number of tankers on it is dangerous.
Orlunde advised authorities of the federal ministries in charge to initiate some maintenance on the bridge to avoid some unexpected occurrances occasioned by reckless usage.
“As the parts of the structure continue to wear away without fortifications or maintenance, it could collapse with time and you can imagine the danger this could pose to lives and property. The best step is to avoid such catastrophy,” he advised.
Some security experts have also viewed a situation where the convergence of many trucks for days on public roads is capable of promoting criminal activities as robbery and rape amongst others. There is also the likelihood of fire outbreak in view of the highly inflammable products the trucks carry.
Other road users whose movements are being obstructed by the activities of the tanker drivers also count their losses.
Josef Ndu, a bus driver who plies Mile III – Lagos route said, you spend hours to get to Lagos Bus stop from Mille III, a distance that should ordinarily not take you more than 30 minutes.
Ndu said, the blockage results in accidents and bad business to commercial drivers who are out to render financial account on daily basis and also make profit to take care of their families.
The coordinator of Green Safe Earth, a non-governmental organization, Kingsley Nwafor, while reacting to the development appealed to the Rivers State Government to find lasting solution to the problem.
“Let the government collaborate with owners of the tank farms in Eagle Island to provide alternative parking space for the trucks,” he said.
Nwafor said, it is true the tanker drivers play vital roles in the distribution chain of petroleum products in the country, but they should operate according to laws governing the society as well as avoid activities capable of endangering other persons in the society.
Government can do well by providing spaces even outside the vicinity from where the tanker drivers can be coming to load products instead of besieging the centre of the city.
He further urged the NUPENG authorities to compel  the tanker drivers to be of responsible manner, “because the way and manner they use the road is bad. Atimes, they drive across opposite lanes not minding the destruction done to the demarcation at the middle of the road.
Another resident who spoke on the issue, Peter Udoh, wondered why government remained insensitive to the cries of the people.
“May be, the tank farms are owned by the government people such that they don’t mind what risk the tanker drivers pose to the lives of other persons”. Udoh particularly called on the new governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to come to the rescue of the innocent masses who suffer from the recklessness of the tanker drivers.
He urged non-governmental organizations to lend their voices to the call for order since the authorities concerned appear to be indifferent to the plight of the masses who suffer as a result of the excesses of the tanker drivers.
“You remember the case in Lagos. Inspite of several calls, the big men who were benefitting from the Apapa tank farm refused to do the right thing until, the media, NGOs and even international organizations mounted strong campaign against it. Today, the gridlocks on Apapa road have eased off and ordinary people there are free from the hazard,” he stated.

Chris Oluoh

Queue at a filling station occasioned by fuel scarcity