Enugu people have lauded the state government for bringing sanity in the state traffic activities. A cross-section of residents interviewed testified that the government has made frantic efforts to halt the hitherto incessant harassments of motorists in the state by some agents of the government.  A resident of the state and a public affairs analyst, Mr. Jeff Ejiofor revealed that prior to the inception of the current administration in 2015, the chaotic traffic situation in the state was worrisome and of major concern to motorists in Enugu state.

He said that some flashpoints such as Holy Ghost roundabout/Old Park, Okpara Avenue, Otigba Junction, NOAS Junction, Abakpa Liberty, Ogui Junction, and some other busy areas of the city were like a hell to motorists who at times spent hours in the traffic build-up. Mr. Ejiofor averred that Holy Ghost and Old Park areas were the most affected as motorists dreaded and avoided them like a plague. He pointed out that even with a good road network in the city, the traffic crisis occasioned by this problem was a nightmare and it negatively affected the socio-economic life of the city.

He further stated that the unfortunate situation prompted an unconventional response by both the state and some urban local governments who, through the Ministry of Transport and Capital Territory Development Authority, recruited local tugs to enforce traffic rules. According to him, the touts as expected, and who were mandated to earn their income from what they get from the field turned a nightmare to motorists and consequently made life most difficult for road users and ordinary citizens of the state.

He apparently said that various state and local government agencies turned the problem into a cash cow for both the tugs and their paymasters through illegal harassment and extortion of motorists. He alleged that the boys introduced a system of setting traffic traps for people with the sole aim of extorting money from them, accusing Enugu East local government as the worst and most notorious of them. He revealed that throughout that period of terror, the Abakpa axis became heavily dreaded and avoided by law-abiding citizens. He concluded by saying that people who disparage the current administration for any reason have a short memory. Recounting the ordeal of residents especially motorists before the coming of Gburugburu, he said it was an era of terror that nobody will forget in a hurry. He thanked the governor for the traffic sanity which the people enjoy today as a result of his responsive ingenuity and appealed for support to enable him to take Enugu state to the next level.

Another concerned resident and a top civil servant, Dr. Godwin Chukwu while describing the situation in Enugu at that time, said it was akin to a police state where road users became so scared of going out for fear of being molested by the touts under the umbrella of MOT/CTDA. He declared that the fear of the tugs became the beginning of wisdom in Enugu, with residents and visitors living in palpable fear as a result of the unknown. Dr. Chukwu bemoaned the activities of these ill-informed miscreants who he said were backed by the local authorities to constantly instill fear on the citizens. He narrated the helpless ordeal of the conventional traffic police who according to him usually watched motorists bullied and manhandled for no just cause.

The Gleamer News learned that all efforts made by the masses through complaints and calls on the then government for help fell on deaf ears. Even on radio programmes, people called and complained bitterly about the evil activities of these criminals, yet nothing was done.

According to respondents, these illegal urchins continued terrorizing road users unabated till 2015, when an astute administrator, Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi came to power. As a caring leader who loves the masses, Ugwuanyi listened to the cries of the people and immediately suspended the activities of these terror groups. On that fateful evening, the announcement was made, jubilation erupted in the streets of Enugu, heralding a new era of freedom in the State, recounted an eye witness.

After the historic suspension of the illegal groups, he, the governor, quickly recruited over 1000 able-bodied young people and gave them 3 months of professional training in the art of traffic control. He subsequently kitted and equipped them properly with a mandate to, in conjunction with the conventional traffic police; restore traffic sanity in Enugu State.

This singular action of the governor according to residents, explains his unmatched intellectual capacity in the area of governance. He was said to have solved a problem as old as modern Enugu in less than one year of assumption of office. The respondents who looked relieved told The Gleamer News that traffic sanity has completely returned in Enugu and nobody is being harassed or molested again by tugs in the name of traffic control.

From our findings, the people are happy with Gov. Ugwuanyi who they say, has not only by this action secured Enugu roads by ensuring traffic sanity and freedom of motorists, but has also provided employment for teeming Enugu youths desirous of making their own contributions to the development of the State. According to them, he has done in one year what his predecessors could not attempt in 16 years of their leadership in the state. Gburugburu they said is indeed an icon and should be commended by all well-meaning citizens of Enugu State. They maintain that through purposeful leadership by the governor, the socio-economic life of the state has come alive again, attracting investors who sequel to the unwarranted molestations of citizens by those miscreants ran away from the state. Undoubtedly, Enugu is currently benefiting from the tranquility occasioned by this policy feat which has expectedly brought sanity in the system and given way for meaningful economic development. The people are really happy as such areas that were dreaded because of seeming intractable traffic crises are now peaceful and relatively free. Holy Ghost and Old Park no longer witness the usual traffic gridlock they were known with as according to road users, this is the first time in the history of modern Enugu one can pass the areas in less than five minutes.

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