Bomb crater-sized potholes, roads resembling muddy rivers in the annual rainy season and some unrecognisable even as public thoroughfares have been posted online.
Many roads lack proper drainage, turning them into swimming pools within minutes of a downpour; roadside culverts overflow; tarmac disintegrates; traffic lights and road signs are often absent. (Scroll down for photos)
“Here’s one Lagos road (state governor Babatunde) Fashola needs to repair fast,” says one tweet, with a picture of a motorcyclist navigating a flooded road, with water nearly up to his saddle.
Reportedly, Africa’s leading economy and oil producer claims to have pumped 1.4 trillion naira into infrastructure improvements since 1999.
A lot of tweets underline seriousness of this problem, users want to know why the roads are so bad.
According to Olanrewaju Adenekan who is a clearing agent at Lagos’ main port of Apapa, the traffic situation is bad. “I spend between four and five hours for a journey that should take less than one hour,” he told AFP.
Adenekan owns two cars but prefers to take public transport because it is cheaper — and also because the badly maintained roads take a debilitating toll on his vehicles.
“Nigerians spend a lot of money on maintaining their vehicles because of potholes, which damage tyres, wheel rims, shock absorbers and other components,” said quantity surveyor Alani Amusa.
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