Traffic congestion: The haunting nightmare on Abuja Airport Road

2026-03-27 - 03:53

—Motorists call for alternative route By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief Danladi Ayuba graduated with a first-class degree in chemical engineering from one of the country’s first-generation universities. He has spent a year working in a firm in Abuja, while waiting to secure what he described as his “dream job” in one of the petrochemical companies in Southern Nigeria. After several applications, the young engineer received an invitation for an aptitude test from a prominent Port-Harcourt-based energy firm. For Ayuba, it was a lifetime opportunity that must not be missed. He spent several hours each night preparing for the test and was determined to prove to his would-be employers that he actually earned his first-class degree in chemical engineering. Due to the pressure of work at his current job, Ayuba couldn’t take many days off ahead of the test. He was granted just a day off. His plan was to take an afternoon flight from Abuja to Port Harcourt, a day before the test, write the test the following morning, and return to Abuja after the test. Everything was well-laid out, but they did not go well as outlined by the young man. This was because, as Ayuba left the office at 1. 30 pm, he did not know that the trip from Abuja City Centre, which usually takes about 30 minutes to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, would turn out to be a three-hour trip. The movement initially went smoothly until the taxi got to the U-turn at the Abuja Trade Fair Ground. The driver let out a scream. It was that scream that took Ayuba’s eyes from his phone when he was sending a message to his friend. He looked up and couldn’t comprehend what he saw. The entire Airport Road was jammed on both sides. “What’s going on here?” he screamed in alarm. Neither the driver nor any one in sight could offer any explanations. Within minutes, the young engineer began to sweat despite the fact that the air-conditioning system of the taxi was operating maximally. To say that Ayuba was in a desperate situation was an understatement. He was in a mess due to the time left at his disposal to reach the airport and make the catch for the crucial and perhaps life-changing flight to Port Harcourt that fateful day. The driver was later told that an articulated truck had fallen across the lane towards the town. Desperate motorists on that lane had manoeuvred to the opposite lane, took it over and blocked traffic from the city towards the airport. The first set of motorists from the city, led by siren-blaring escort SUVs, who didn’t know what happened thought they could take advantage of what appeared to be empty opposite lanes, took over the lanes of those going to the city and drove freely until they got stuck at the scene of the accident. There was no way for Ayuba’s taxi driver to manoeuvre, as other vehicles had blocked them from all sides and behind. They were in the same spot for more than one hour. Not willing to miss his flight under any circumstance, the engineer alighted and had to trek all the way to Lugbe, covering more than 10 kilometres, from where he boarded another taxi to the airport. To navigate the chaos and walk to Lugbe and board another taxi to the airport took more than one and a half hours. The experience of that afternoon was a nightmare for Ayuba. He eventually missed his flight and the aptitude test all because there was no alternate route from Abuja city to airport. Ayuba is one among thousands of Abuja residents who have missed their flights and very important appointments because there is no alternative road to the airport. Incidentally, accidents are very common on the Abuja Airport Road. When they occur, driving against traffic(aka One Way), becomes the rule, rather than the exception. Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, are often helpless because driving against traffic in such circumstances is spearheaded by escort vehicles. It takes just one of the siren-blaring vehicles to head the wrong direction and other motorists follow on to block the free lanes. A case for alternate Airport Road According to the Abuja Master Plan, there are at least three roads that can connect the city to the airport. However, only the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Express Way has been constructed. What it means is that anyone going from the City Centre to the Airport has only one way, without an alternative route. The Airport Road was largely free of heavy traffic many years ago. Those were days when a motorist could plan his movement along the road. But not anymore. Things have changed with the passage of time and the continuous mass migration into Abuja for the good life, has not helped matters in any way. The Airport Road has become unpredictable due to the frequency of accidents and the heavy traffic that has come to characterise the entire stretch from the City Gate to anywhere around the Glory Dome and even to the airport itself. Being a presidential route, the President, top government functionaries and private sector VIPs (Very Important Persons) ply the Abuja Airport Road constantly. This is the more reason why there should be an alternative route to the airport, in order to free up the existing one and make movement on the route a lot easier. This calls for the urgent attention of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. The Abuja Master Plan provides alternative roads which should be urgently constructed to reduce the pressure on the existing road. “We really need a new road to counter the perennial congestion on the Airport Road,” said Alice Morgan, who lives in Lugbe and commutes for her business daily at the airport. “Sometimes, we have to leave home as early as 5 am to avoid the alarming traffic on the road and this is something that we can easily avoid with a new alternative route to the airport, the beauty specialist, who owns a shop at the airport, said. Adding his voice to the issue, a barber, who runs a small boutique at the precinct of the airport, Ali Ngume, said it was imperative for the FCTA to take urgent steps to decongest the Airport Road by constructing a new road to solve the problem once and for all.