Filth, dust in Abuja’s motor parks

The dilapidated state of almost all motor parks in Abuja has become a source of worry to many residents who patronize them. Mercy Nuhu was met at the Jabi Motor Park, where she alighted from a mini bus that just arrived from Ilorin, Kwara state. She said the park was dirty and dusty, and not […]

The dilapidated state of almost all motor parks in Abuja has become a source of worry to many residents who patronize them.

Mercy Nuhu was met at the Jabi Motor Park, where she alighted from a mini bus that just arrived from Ilorin, Kwara state. She said the park was dirty and dusty, and not befitting the status of the capital city.

She added that the state of the park discourages commuters from going there to board vehicles to their destinations, especially when they have other alternatives.

“If I’m travelling to Lagos, I wouldn’t come here to board a bus. There are fleet companies that have better terminus. For instance, if you have boarded a bus to Ibadan for instance and it hasn’t filled up yet and you have to wait, where will you sit apart from inside the bus? So the situation in this park is not ideal,” she said.

Our reporters who visited Jabi and Zuba parks discovered that they are in the same state, with refuse littered around the garage. The roads leading into the parks are also in a state of disrepair.

Another passenger at Jabi Park, Jimoh Abdulrasheed, lamented that there were no lounges at the park, which should be the biggest in the capital city, a situation he said discourages a lot of travellers from patronizing the park.

“When I have an alternative, I would board a vehicle elsewhere because the environment here is not conducive. I am surprised that the biggest motor terminal in Abuja has been left in this state. What happens to the taxes the government collects here?” he queried.

But the head, works department of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Engr Alhassan Dakwoyi, said there are efforts for it to be upgraded. He said the council chairman, Adamu Abdullahi Candido, has already constituted a committee headed by the vice chairman, Lawrence Onuchukwu, to explore options in giving the park a befitting outlook which also included private partnership.

Meanwhile Candido during a radio program monitored by our reporter on Aso Radio had said that the council would have commenced the development of Jabi Park but for some factors militating against this process. “We would have gone far by now so that you can have a complete modern park and we still have it in mind.”

At Zuba Park, Yusuf Muhammad, a passenger also complained about the dirt and dust, saying it was not healthy for a lot of people to gather in such an environment everyday.

He said he had been patronizing the park for the past three years but every time he was going there, he felt apprehensive.

“I have been coming to this park for years now and I really don’t like the way it is. We plead with the government to rebuild the park to a modern one in which the facilities will

be decent and both passengers and the transporters will enjoy,” he said.

Aso Chronicle learnt that during rainy season, the parks are muddy, especially when there is a downpour, making it uncomfortable for both passengers and the operators.

Our the reporters also discovered that the toilets were filthy and swarmed with flies. Some of the commuters expressed fear that they might contact toilet infection if they use.

“These toilets are managed by individuals who charges money to enable him maintain the toilets but they are still not neat. The state of the toilets should be a cause of concern to those responsible for this park because it is putting the health of the public at risk,” Olawole Surajuddeen, a passenger complained.

“Public utilities like these should be in good shape so as to offer quality services to the public but when they are left in a filthy state like this, it shows how little authorities care about the welfare of the masses. Despite the taxes that the local governments are collecting from the motorists there is no change in this environment,” Surajuddeen added.

Speaking, the Chairman Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria RTEAN Zuba branch, Mr Ejiwumi Dauda, he said the park was not functioning well because the passsengers preferred to board vehicle by the roadsides. He conceded that the state of the park might have discouraged passengers from patronizing it, which in turn has forced motorists to prefer picking up passengers by the roadsides.

“We pay tax, for every vehicle that leaves the park, to the local government. The park is under Gwagwalada area council and we expect the government to make improvements on the infrastructure in the park,” he added.

Dauda said they wanted the government to make the environment conducive by renovating the park and turning it into world standard.

“After that, the government can set up a special task force team to force the drivers to the park and generate more revenue,” he said.

Asked about the state of the toilets, he said: “The toilets are bad but one needs to pay some amount of money to be able to use them. The prices are from N10 to N50.”

The operator of the toilets, who preferred anonymity, said “the place need rehabilitation before it could be made decent. “We are ready to work with the government to improve the place.”

Also, the shop owners in the park lamented that lack of passengers was affecting their businesses.  A shop owner Abdulkadir Muawura, said “I have been here for the past eight years and of recent, we have been experiencing low patronage because fewer and fewer passengers come here now.”

He lamented that they used to sell 24 hours a day but now they don’t make sales yet they are still paying taxes to government.

“The vehicles load passengers only once in a day till the next day again because only few number of vehicles are coming inside the park.”

“We plead with the government to create special task force to force those who are picking passengers along the road to come back to the park and make it lively like it was eight years ago and make the environment more conducive for the users,” he added.

However, Mallam Abdullahi Umar, another trader at the park said the garage was in a good condition except for the access road. “This park is very good. It is better than many other parks and I have been working here for a year and half without changing my place,” he explained.