Buhari Arrives In Lagos For Projects — But The One He Commissioned In March 2018 Is Sill Not Functional

It is exactly one year and 26 days since the Ikeja Bus Terminal was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari during his first state visit to Lagos State.

The President, who practically shut down Lagos during his March 26, 2018 visit, is here again to commission a number of projects even though the Ikeja Bus Terminal that he commissioned last year is yet to begin operation.

Buhari is already in Lagos to commission four projects, as confirmed on Tuesday by Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant to the President Buhari on New Media.

“President @MBuhari will be in Lagos today, to commission a number of projects; incl. the reconstructed Oshodi Inter’l Airport Road, Oshodi Transport Interchange, 820 mass transit buses, an ultra modern 170-bed Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialist hospital located within LASUTH,” he had tweeted.

In June 2018, three months after the project was commissioned, SaharaReporters had detailed the dissatisfaction of Lagosians with the state government, questioning why the terminal was commissioned when it was not ready for use.

Speaking with SaharaReporters, Paul Gbolahan, a Lagosian, who was not happy with the situation of things, had said: “When it was commissioned, I expected work to start immediately, probably the second day of the commissioning but two months after, nothing has happened.”

A bus driver who plies the Ikeja axis had maintained that the commissioning was improperly planned, saying: “They should have put some things in place before they commissioned the terminal. I am surprised that nothing was done since the commissioning of the terminal.”

Another resident, Morgan Olusegun, had said Ambode should not have commissioned the terminal when he knew it was not ready for use, adding that it was done for political reasons.

“Since the Governor knows the terminal is not ready, why was it commissioned?” he asked. “They should know they are ready before commissioning the terminal.”

Lagosians Fume As Buhari Visits To ‘Commission Uncompleted Projects’

Buhari’s Lagos visit has caused uproar, as some of the projects to be commissioned are yet to be completed.

On social media, Nigerians compared the visit to last year’s, when he commissioned a bus park that is yet to open till date.

Residents have taken to social media to condemn the visit of the President to Lagos.

A Twitter user, AAS @adequnle, tweeted: “I am just extremely disappointed in Buhari, he is coming to #Lagos to commission some hapzardly completed projects again.

The Bus Stop he commissioned during his last visit is yet to be opened to the public, what a man of integrity indeed!’

Another twitter user, @KrizangelUneh, tweeted; Where on earth is this road. is it in this same Lagos that I drive everyday. Can please anybody tell me in case I have not gone pass there.

The Question

Ironically, the same terminal is being touted as one of the best things to have happened to Lagos in terms of public transportation, reason it was dubbed ‘world-class bus terminal’ and not ‘bus-stop.

Many had looked forward to experiencing the ‘world-class’ terminal, especially with the new mass transit buses parked in the terminal. But as the days went by, their hopes ebbed away.

Now that the ‘Commissioning-President’ is here again, how long will it take for the project tapes commissioned by his scissors to kick off operations?