We are all contributors to a lawless, dangerous Nigeria; Here’s why

Nigeria’s roads aren’t safe and we are all to blame.

As is customary on most mornings in Lagos – office workers, business owners, artisans, school children, and hawkers – all jostling for the fairest spaces on our incredibly bad roads, so it was this rough Monday morning.

All had one target – to reach their destinations at the appointed time.

However, as is widely believed, the maddest you are on the roads, particularly in Lagos, the better the chance you stand at reaching your destination a little close to your target time.

So, this particular morning, there was a usual traffic gridlock on the Ipaja/Iyana-Ipaja axis.

A commercial bus driver who was conscious of what waiting in the traffic would do to his end-of-the-day income, was having none of it. He decided to drive against traffic – facing oncoming vehicles rather than maintain his lane.

This is a violation of the traffic law popularly known as ‘One Way.’

Not that this is an unusual sight on Lagos roads, but this Newsroom Nigeria correspondent observed a disturbing reaction to the driver’s dangerous meander by all the passengers – dead silence.

The silent, but loud message? They wanted it. They supported it. They loved it even.

Did this observer complain in the midst of the silence? Of course not!

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Now, there lies the problem. We all kept mute as the desperate driver avoided head-on collision with oncoming vehicles and swerved wildly to avoid hitting school children attempting to cross the road.

We also all appeared to never mind the danger such ‘mad’ driving posed to all of us. So long we reached our destinations on time; It was all that mattered.

The unpopular traffic agency in Lagos, LASTMA would, surely, have rubbed their palms in excitement if the driver had been caught, and only then, would some have deemed it fit to chastise the driver for being impatient.

While orderliness has not been known to be one of our strongest characteristics as Nigerians, it can, and should, start with everyone of us.

We all need to be the third eye of the law and add sanity to an already insane road situation.