Activities at Tin Can Island Port, Apapa Port Complex and industrial estates in the same area of Lagos were disrupted on Monday, December 5, after operators of fuel delivery trucks blocked the 10-lane Oshodi-Apapa Expressway for nearly six hours. Three officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority who tried to intervene sustained grievous injuries at the hands of the truck drivers, who also vandalised a towing vehicle belonging to the agency.The truck operators, who belong to the Petrol Tanker Drivers Unit of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, chose to disrupt traffic and businesses as their preferred means of resistance against traffic officials who sought to tow away trucks obstructing vehicular movement. And, strangely, they had their way, inflicting pain and losses not only on LASTMA officials, but the entire business community, motorists and commuters. The police were nowhere to be found throughout the duration of the gridlock.The unfortunate events were strongly reminiscent of the bloody clashes between tanker drivers and LASTMA officials in April 2009 and smack of lawlessness. Urgent measures are therefore required to bring the recalcitrant group to book and possibly reorientate its members. As in 2009, when NUPENG declared a total strike and stopped the distribution of petroleum products in Lagos after its members had inflicted machete cuts on traffic officials for impounding some delivery vehicles, the recent incident was calculated to demonstrate that tanker drivers are at liberty to flout traffic regulations.Sadly enough, the lawlessness of this class of citizensand their infliction of suffering on other road usersis an everyday experience in urban areas around the country, as highways, streets and bridges have been converted to parking lots in total disregard of existing laws. In Warri, Delta State, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Kaduna, which are home to crude oil refineries, several highways have become death traps as a result of indiscriminate parking of petrol tankers, in much the same way as all access roads to fuel depots in the state capitals. In Ibadan, Oyo State, the Ojoo end of the expressway has long been turned into a huge unofficial park for petrol tankers, which constitute a menace to other road users. In Ogere, Ogun State, long stretches of the highway on both sides have also been taken over by haulage trucks.State governments have a duty to protect citizens from the nuisance of tanker drivers and their trucks by ensuring that purpose-built parks are provided in appropriate locationsas is the case in Lagos, Ogun and Rivers statesand that relevant by-laws and traffic regulations are rigidly enforced at all times. All streets, bridges and highways must be free of objects, especially stationary trucks, that were not part of their original designs.For the Lagos State Government that has created appropriate parking spaces (at Orile Iganmu) and has continuously liaised with NUPENG and its members to encourage compliance with city by-laws through the use of the parks, the only logical step after the sad events of December 5, is to diligently prosecute the errant tanker drivers for causing such a nuisance and enormous economic losses to residents and the business community. Impunity should not be tolerated as it could undermine the foundations of law and order.Besides, it is necessary to introduce legislation that would compel employers of tanker drivers to set some minimum educational qualificationspossibly, a First School Leaving Certificateas a requirement for the recruitment of persons as operators of fuel delivery trucks. The contents of the trucks are highly inflammable and could cause disasters if the operators act in a reckless manner as they so often do, clashing with LASTMA and Kick Against Indiscipline officials or with armed policemen on the highways. Illiteracy and ignorance among most members of NUPENGs Tanker Drivers Unit are a major cause of the lawlessness and irascibility they often exhibit.It is a matter of regret that road haulage has displaced the railways and pipelines system as the major means of transportation of petroleum products, both for short and long distances. The inadequacies and dangers of the present situation are glaring enough to warrant appropriate response from the Federal Government. Whatever has subverted the integrated transport system conceived for this country should be identified and remedied immediately. The Federal Government should immediately open the railways sector to massive private investment.
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