Lagos is unapologetically one of the busiest cities in Nigeria, if not the busiest. Eko, as it is popularly called, is known to be home to a large chain of business enterprises, companies, recreation centers and of course – it is also known to be overcrowded.
It is a general belief or saying that Lagos is the home of “Money”, hereby causing the influx of people relocating into the state on a daily basis. The population and bad roads are the primary reason for the congestion of movement in the state. And all these amounts to wasting time and stress on a daily basis for commuters.
To help you escape the stress, we have come up with 4 practical ways to avoid traffic in Lagos. This will save you time and energy on a daily.
- Get out extra early
Personally, I have the rule to leave home at least 2 hours early. This is because Lagos roads can be unpredictable, you don’t know what you would face each day, so the best thing is to leave home prepared. Give yourself time to sit in traffic and enjoy it because it is inevitable.
- Grab a bike (Okada)
This is a very funny one. When I just started working, I was not used to waking up early so I would wake up one hour thirty minutes before resumption time and get dressed for 30 minutes then fly bike across Lagos. This earned me the nickname “Van Diesel”. But it works, because bikes have a way of maneuvering in and out of car queues and also they drive against traffic hence what is meant to take 2 hours by car would end up being a 30 minutes journey by bike. This was before bikes were barred on major roads due to safety reason. However, you can still get around the city with GoKada – they are pretty safe.
- Avoid Rush Hours (resumption or closing hours)
If you cannot do the above two, you should consider this third option. It is practical and very effective, but it requires patience. Resumption and closing time of commuters in Lagos are usually the busiest and most congested time of the day. But if you can be patient and let the crowd go ahead, you will find the road traffic free for movement. Basically, resumption time is between 8 – 10 am, while closing time is 4 – 6 pm.
- Make use of traffic multimedia
Technology has arguably made the world a safer and better place, and Lagos is no exception. You can from the comfort of your home or office know what the road is looking like before stepping out. Using apps like Google maps, you will know where the traffic is and alternative routes you can take. Other options are Traffic radio stations or social media handles like @Giditraffic on twitter.
