There are 3 major entrances into the seat of power in Nigeria. All these entry points, daily witness grueling hold up in the morning and the evening. These points are; Mararaba-AYA, Lugbe to City gate and Kubwa to Mabuchi/Banex.
Hold up starts from the inner streets in Kubwa and vomits into the express every morning between the hours of 7:13am to 10:25 am.
The inner Kubwa road hold up, are caused by narrow streets, non functional traffic lights and impatient driving skills by those doing school runs, rushing to join the express and join the growing hold up.
Kubwa Express is the boundary between Bwari and AMAC Area Councils, dividing them into two unequal social neighbors. Kubwa Express Road, has 10 lanes; 5 to and 5 fro the city centre. It is the major road that leads people from Niger State, especially people from Suleja, Madala and Kaduna road, into AMAC.
One of the reasons why there is morning hold up on the express, is because of population growth in the tributary villages off Kubwa Express. These villages span from Zuba, Dei-Dei, Kagini Kubwa, Dusten to Dawaki. After Dawaki by Charley Boy bus top, the road opens up till the FHA-Gwarinpa gate diversion. Tipper garage diversion off Kubwa Express, is also another bottle neck that gives motorists nightmare.
Another cause of hold up on Kubwa Express road, is age. Cars on Kubwa Express Road break down due to age and lack of maintenance by their owners. Once a car breaks down or an accident occurs on the road, gridlock occurs due to refusal by most motorists to obey traffic rules in such a situation.
Reckless driving, shunting and total disregard for traffic rules especially by those Golf GTi drivers from Zuba to Area 1, is also a contributory factor to the daily hold up on the road.
Since Abuja is growing on unpredictable astronomical rate, the FCT administrators, should put on their thinking caps and find solutions to this hold up before Abuja becomes like Lagos.
They should re-jig the express. The wide gaping gutter dividing the lanes, should be covered, converted to underground drainage, so that cars can drive on them.
It is not late to build a monorail from Zuba to Eagle square or Area 1. The space in between the to and fro lanes, can be used for this or a light train rail constructed.
The authorities, should decentralize government services. COVID-19, has shown that government can operate remotely and the era of clustering at a government office is gone. Workers living in Kubwa, should be made to work from Kubwa rather than this morning rat race to get to Federal Secretariat and other government offices in Business District Area. Government offices should make sure that their online platforms are working optimally, so that residents can transact electronically without having to money kabukabu to Secretariat, just to submit CV.
FCT administrators, should reintroduce park and pay in business district of Abuja. Unlike the previous private park and pay, FCTA, should own this, make the rate payable per 30 minutes bearable. This will discourage people from coming to town with their cars, if they don’t have genuine commercial or social reason to.
Furthermore, any office with more than two floors, must have underground parking space that will accommodate minimum of 100 cars. This should also be applicable to all these mass housing estates in Abuja.
