Nyanya hold up so serious

ABUJA residents, who were returning to the
Federal Capital City after the Easter break, were
among those trapped for hours on Monday in a
traffic gridlock on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway.
The traffic situation was said to have been caused
by armed soldiers deployed in the Kugbo end of
the ever-busy expressway after the bomb blast
that killed about 86 persons at the Nyanya bus
station along the road.
The traffic spread from Kugbo to Masaka, a
distance of several kilometres with the inner roads
in Karu and Nyaya completely blocked.
Traffic policemen attached to Karu Police Division
had a hectic time controlling the traffic build-up in
the inner roads. Motorists were at a point left to
their fate while the policemen returned to their
station.

At of the time of this report at 5.30pm, the roads
were still completely blocked.
The situation was the same at the Nyanya end,
forcing some commuters to resort to trekking
even as some commercial motorcyclists made
brisk business by carrying passengers close to
the military check point, where the passengers
would disembark to trek pass the solders before
joining few vehicles that had made it beyond the
check point.
There were fears that the traffic jam, which had
started since Thursday would become
complicated when workers resumed on Tuesday
(today) after the Easter break.
Most of those who were caught in the gridlock on
Sunday were those heading to the Abuja city
centre for Easter church services from Karu,
Nyanya, Jikwoyi, Kurudu, Mararaba, New Nyanya
and Masaka, among other satellite towns.
Our correspondent who left Karu at 8am did not
get to the military checkpoint in Kugbo until 9am.
The journey was supposed to take less than five
minutes drive.
The stern-looking soldiers blocked the traffic
inward Abuja, leaving only one lane open.
One motorist, Mrs. Rachel Ogwu, said it was
unfortunate that such hardship could be
unleashed on innocent Nigerians.
“On the day they started (on Thursday), I left my
house in New Nyanya at 8am for work and I did
not get to the city centre until 3pm,” another
motorist, Mr. Akin Oladokun, told our
correspondent.
Another motorist, Mr. Bayo Obisesan, had a more
pathetic tale to tell.
Obisesan said he left his residence in Masaka at
9.20am and did not get to Asokoro until 6pm.
A senator representing the FCT in the Senate,
Philip Aduda, had told journalists on Sunday that
he had taken up the issue with President
Goodluck Jonathan during a visit of a delegation
of Abuja residents to the President on Easter
celebration.
Aduda expressed the belief that Jonathan would
address the situation soon.
Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Muhammed, also
confirmed that he had received numerous
complaints on the issue and promised that
something would be done about it.