December 5, 2008
Executive Governor of Lagos State
Your Excellency,
On Thursday December 4, 2008, a trailer carrying 2 twenty feet containers loaded with chemicals fell on top of a Honda Legend saloon car on the overhead bridge at the Iganmu-Orile axis.
The car was completely crushed under the weight of the containers but fortunately, its occupants managed to escape from the car before the containers fell down while still attached to the truck.
Close examination of the underside of the trailer bed to which the containers were attached revealed that same was rusted including the latches which were supposed to hold down the containers.
Apparently, parts of the latches which were heavly rusted had given way causing the contents of the containers to tilt the truck over and to fall on the car whic was by the side of the truck.
I have lost track of the number of occasions in which I have read of such occurrences in the newspapers and watched some on television. I have also seen some with my own eyes.
The resulting loss of lives and injuries to Lagosians including the destruction of properties i.e. cars, is a sad and avoidable development if only steps can be taken to address the situation.
A while back, it was reported that you had a meeting with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority over these horrible developments, but it is apparent that Lagosians are still on the receiving end.
Unless some drastic action is taken to make the NPA, freight forwarders and terminal operators who allow dilapidated trucks with rusted trailer beds to load containers, Lagosians will continue to be at their mercy.
We implore the Lagos State Government to intervene on the side of Lagosians and bring to an end this avoidable insanity which is propelled by greed and disregard for safety standards.
