JESUSEGUN ALAGBE writes about the contrasting feelings of highway hawkers and commuters in the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis as Julius Berger Nigeria Plc partially closes the road on September 2 for four months from Berger Bus Stop to Kara Cattle Market sections for reconstruction

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, latching on to transparent white nylon bags containing cooked guinea fowl eggs, his face etched with tiredness.

Tall and swift, the dark-complexioned Solomon Miracle from Ebonyi State sped past moving vehicles to catch up with a fair-complexioned lady at the back of a yellow 18-seater bus heading from Lagos towards Mowe, Ogun State.

Miracle was lucky; the bus had not moved beyond a few metres when the traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway held it down, so he was able to quickly meet up with the lady who wanted to patronise him. Within seconds, he sold two nylon wraps comprising four guinea fowl eggs each. He tucked the money inside his chinos shorts. It was Thursday, just two days before the initial planned partial closure of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway announced by the Federal Government.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mr Adedamola Kuti, said the planned partial closure initially slated to start on Saturday (today) was for the road reconstruction. He said on Friday in a statement that the closure date had been shifted to September 2.

Another trader who sells bottled water, Sunday Ohimini, couldn’t contain his joy that the road would be partially closed. He reasoned that it would take no time before the arrival of September 2 even though he had planned for today.

The 22-year-old from Benue State said he had called his 18-year-old younger brother to join him in the sale of bottled water.

He said, “I sell many bottled water when there is traffic anywhere in Lagos. I can sell more than 100 bottles within hours if the traffic is really intense.

“With the planned closure of the expressway, I expect that there would be room to improve on my business and make more money.

“My brother would join me. He had travelled before now, but I have told him to return to join me in the business so we can make a huge profit.’’More in Home

Ohimini who is a dropout said he planned to return to school someday after making money.

He added, “I arrived in Lagos two years ago and I’ve been trying to make ends meet and even send a token to my parents weekly. If everything works fine, I will combine the business later with schooling.”

According to him, thirsty commuters should not expect to buy bottled water at the usual N50 but N100 during the period.

“Oga, this is Lagos and nobody came to the place to count the number of cars on the road or bridges built by the government,” he said.

Joy decorated the cheeks of an ice cream seller identified only as Moses, when Saturday PUNCH approached him. He said the closure was a blessing in disguise for highways traders like him who survive in gridlock.

As of Thursday when our correspondent asked him for a particular flavour of ice cream, he said it had finished as commuters stuck in traffic on the road that day bought all his goods.

He said, “It’s going to be tough to meet up with demand. It will be a time I want to call traffic season and I hope to make more money. I intend to use the money to buy some household items I have been longing for.”

For Mustapha AbdulGaniyu, a trader in bed sheets and pillowcases from Kano State, the coming closure was the best news of the year, especially as it would drag towards the end of the year.

“I will surely profit from the situation because I sell more in traffic. I will send some money home to me people,” he said.

Great expectation

Miracle could no longer wait for the closure to come.

He said, “Anytime there is traffic, I usually sell about 50 nylon raps of guinea fowl eggs (four each in a wrap) per day at N200 per bag,” he told our correspondent at the Berger end of the expressway.

According to him, he is likely to make about N10,000 per day and N300,000 per month and N1.2m during the closure which will be for four months. “I will come out every day to make money,” he gleefully said. “With the traffic situation going to linger for four months, I hope to sell more eggs and make more money. It will be good if the traffic is ‘bumper-to-bumper’.

Asked if he might increase the price of his products, he said, “No, I won’t increase the price. I will still make money. I’m happy I would benefit from the expressway closure.”

Like Miracle, a plantain chips seller, identified only as Ezekiel, from Imo State, said he had no reason not to smile during the period. He anticipated selling more plantain chips throughout the period of the closure.

“I will be at the expressway to sell my goods every day. A lot of people eat plantain chips anytime there is traffic and I hope to exploit the four-month road closure to my benefit,” Ezekiel said.

The 24-year-old, who said he sold up to 100 sachets of plantain chips per day at N100 each, said he hoped to make more money during the period.

He said it would not be a bad idea to make good money during the period as he had some debts to pay. “I won’t spend all the profits as I have to pay some debts, I will still make some profit,” he said as he sped towards a black SUV to sell plantain chips to a woman who beckoned to him.

On her part, Mrs Taiwo Jimoh, who sells cooked groundnuts in traffic, said she hoped to rake in more money within the next four months.

The woman, who said she lived in the Ibafo axis of the expressway, said the expected traffic arising from the partial closure would be a blessing to her.

She said, “I’m going to benefit from the closure because there would be traffic. Some women like us are now the breadwinners in our families. I hope to make some money from the traffic situation to assist my family. The number of men providing for their families these days is low. If my husband is providing for us, I shouldn’t be this stressed. The closure of the expressway will bring pain to passengers but for me, it is both a blessing and pain. Coming to Berger to sell goods from Ibafo is not an easy task.”

Jimoh, who is probably in her 50s, however stated that the more the money they make from selling in traffic, the more the pain.

She said, “We run after moving vehicles almost throughout the day and the toll on the body is sometimes unbearable.” She pleaded with the government to deploy security men in the expressway because there might be cases of theft. “Some people sometimes rob us of goods on the expressway anytime there is gridlock.”

Another trader, identified only as Mrs Fatimoh, said she hoped to make more money from selling soft drinks and bottled water to commuters and motorists plying the road.

“Even though I am not happy that the situation would bring suffering to some people, traders like me would benefit,” she told Saturday PUNCH.

Similarly, a street hawker, Rashidat, who sells roasted groundnuts and kulikuli(marched groundnut), said she would be able to make more money for her mother.

“I sell more when there is traffic and hope to make more money for my mother. With the likely closure, I am happy I will make much more money for her,” the teenager said.