Motorists entering Lagos yesterday encountered severe hardship in a traffic snarl caused by sellers and buyers of rams at Kara livestock market.
Continuing their annual tradition of bringing their rams close to the expressway to attract buyers on approach of the, the ram sellers created massive traffic gridlock that had already stretched backwards to Ibafo as early as 2 pm on Sunday.
The traffic affected communities on the Lagos-bound side of the expressway, such as Magboro and Makogi, as motorists trying to enter the expressway formed long queues that blocked access to inner streets, causing standstill situations.
It was also learnt that the traffic affected traffic outward Lagos, causing severe hardship in the Ikeja, Alausa Secretariat end of the expressway.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on the Environment, Ola Oresanya, told Punch that the government would liaise with security agencies to control the traders.
He said, “We have warned those selling on the expressway before now. We are controlling the cattle markets in Abeokuta, Sango-Otta and Odeda, but those in Kara will be raided tomorrow (Monday). We did not anticipate that of Kara and we aren’t prepared today (Sunday). We will work with the police to tackle the problem.”
