People commit blunder and suffer wastage when they lack information to what they need. Many Ikorodu residents still suffer lots of valuable hours in traffic, five days a week, because they are not aware that a safer and quickest way to reach the Lagos Islands, lay just in the Ikorodu coastal towns. The Ikorodu main road, which link the region to the Lagos Islands, comes alive as early as 5 a.m. every day and commuters spend three to four hours on their way to work. Little did they know that one can access Ajah, Victoria Island, CMS and Apapa within eight minutes, ten minutes fifteen minutes and twenty minutes respectively.
Over seven boat terminals currently operate in Ikorodu and they offer services to major destinations on the Islands. The Lagos State Government, under the auspice of the Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, built a world class terminal, which convey passengers from the Ebute terminal to Victoria Island (V.I.), CMS and Apapa. Trips to these places take less than 20 minutes to reach the destinations without traffic jam. The fares for these destinations range from N400 to V.I., N500 to CMS and N700 to Apapa. Compared to the motorway, these fares are reasonably affordable, and it takes just minutes to get to these places through the boat. The government also extended the service to Ajah and Lekki through Igbogbo/Bayeku, as boats load from the Bayeku community to these two popular destination at #400. The boat cruise from Bayeku to Ajah last for about nine minutes. On motorway, it cost over N600 to get to Lekki and Ajah, with a tiring ride of about four hours.
The Ijede town is another coastal area in Ikorodu, where over four private operators ply Ikorodu-Ajah-VI route. The most popular water transport firm in Ikorodu is the Tarzan boats, which charge three hundred and fifty naira to Ajah (Badore), in a journey of nine minutes. There is also a new jetty established at the Egbin area of Ijede, where they charge three hundred naira to Ajah and the trip lasts for just six minutes. There are also other new jetties around the Ijede Police Divisional office plying these popular destinations to the Islands.
For those who worry about the safety of the waterways, the statistics of water accident is very low compared to the motor ways. Besides, all passengers are provided with life jackets to keep them afloat in case of accident. The boat riders are trained and handle their vessel with caution. More safety and precautionary mechanism are being considered and put in place by the government agents in charge. In order to ensure efficient service to the people, the government entrusted the day to day operation of the terminals to the Concessioner. The private firm runs the waterways while the government regulates the policies. Though attempt was made by our correspondents to get details of operations of the Ebute boat terminal from Mr. Zack, the Concessioner Manager, he declined comment and referred us to the government office. Manager of the Egbin Boat Station, Mr. Sylvester Anikwe, expressed confidence in their service, and said people are still wasting time and money on the motorway while the waterways remains underutilized. “Despite the fact that we are running below operation cost, we made our fares affordable and ensure the convenience of our passengers” Anikwe explained.
There are tips from reliable sources that the government is importing bigger and convenient boats, which will provide utility and luxury services to passengers. The boat terminals also provide other services like car parking space for car owners, who intend to cut traffic and save fuel consumption. They also have shops, which sell consumables and have modern lounge for passengers.