The Lagos government came out hard last week against communities setting bonfires on tarred roads, saying such acts were capable of reversing the gains of infrastructure renewal in the state, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE
The message from the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) last Friday was succinct: “Stop all bonfires on the road as it is capable of reversing the gains of repairs of the recent months on these roads across several communities in the state.”
The corporation’s appeal came on the heels of bonfires on several roads, which it said could destroy the roads’ integrity.
In a statement by its Information Officer, Ganiu Lawal, LSPWC appealed to Lagosians to refrain from acts that impinge on the lifespan of road infrastructure and cause severe damage to new and recently rehabilitated roads across the state.
LSPWC’s General Manager Olufemi Daramola in the statement said the spate of burning of tyres and other items on the roads across the metropolis to ward off armed robbers, would cause more damage, than help to maintain the roads.
Though that the corporation is not unmindful of the alleged recent attacks on residents by armed groups, security agencies have been directed by the government to beef up surveillance.
Daramola appealed to Community Development Associations (CDAs) to assist the agency in enlightening members of their communities on the repercussions of their actions. He emphasised that such untoward behaviour could lead to the resurgence of potholes and damage road furniture.
He, therefore, implored community leaders, youths and members of various communities across the state to support security agencies in their areas and safeguard the roads from avoidable damage.
He noted that the state government intended to focus on rehabilitating more roads after the lockdown, rather than returning to completed roads that were damaged as a result of burning of tyres or other unwholesome practices of residents.
It wasn’t only the agency that showed concern about the effects of the bonfires on the roads. Similar concerns were expressed by the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu.
Odumosu, who met with CDC leaders across the state on Friday, said the police were alive to their responsibility, saying people could sleep with their eyes closed.
Youths and men in several communities have lost count of how many times they had slept in their homes at night. Reason: They were on the road, keeping vigils against attacks from robbers and the hoodlums who got more audacious by organising themselves in groups with names, such as One Million Boys, or 100 Million Boys.
Stories were rife, of how several communities get letters of visitation from these groups. In one of such letters obtained by our correspondent, a group with the name 100 Million Boys wrote a letter to a community in Surulere, asking them to prepare for them.
The community was warned against reporting to the Police or any other security outfit, but “cooperate with them and gave them what they came for”.
Raymond Akingbola, who lives at Alagbole, a border town with Lagos, told how his street got such a letter penultimate week, from a group that goes by the name One Million Boys.
He said since then every adult male, have been keeping vigil to protect the community.
Many Lagosians would not forget last Monday in a hurry. All streets came “violently alive” as groups of youth armed to the teeth with dangerous weapons took over the streets, lighting up all street junctions with bonfires to scare the dare-devil hoodlums away.
Such was the palpable fear that the Police Command had meetings with CDC leaders to assure them of the readiness of the police to protect the lives and properties of residents.
Odumosu, who led squadrons of anti-robbery policemen to various tension-soaked communities on Friday, allayed residents’ fear, saying the criminal gang called “One Million Boys” had been crushed.
Odumosu said a new set of criminals might be hiding under the gang’s name to scare the public, but he assured all that the police, in conjunction with other security agencies, would neutralise such threats.
He said: “Today, we have come out in full show of force to give you assurance that there’s nothing like ‘One Million Boys’; they are criminals. Be assured that the government is out to protect you. The police are out there to guarantee your safety and we are doing this in conjunction with soldiers, Navy, Air Force and Department of State Services (DSS) operatives.
“So, we are asking you not to panic. Go about your lawful engagements. When it is time for you to sleep, you should sleep without nurturing the fear that some faceless criminal gangs will come and attack you. Faceless people are sending letters around only to put fears in your mind. We will respond swiftly to any attack and we shall be patrolling round the state.”
Odumosu gave out emergency numbers to call in case of armed robbery attacks and cautioned residents not to burn tyres on roads because such acts damaged and posed health risks to children and the sick.
The police chief said the security agencies had been carrying out land and aerial surveillance to ensure the safety of residents during the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government to tackle the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Some of the areas visited by Odumosu and his team of combat-ready policemen were Ikotun, Pako-Ijesha, Igando, Mushin, Surulere, Festac Town, Idimu, Ikeja, Ojodu, Berger, Ogba, Fadeyi, and Onipanu.
Odumosu’s position was reiterated by his Ogun State colleague, who had told residents that the Police were poised to rout anyone out to foment trouble in the state.
He said eagle-eye officers had been posted to border towns to arrest any criminals, saying the law recognised only criminals and not any group parading under any guise.
From Lagos to Ogun states, the message by the police is clear: No more recourse to self-help.
The police insist it is battle ready to protect the lives and properties of the people, especially during the lockdown occasioned by the presidential order restricting movements of the people as a result of the rampaging Coronavirus disease.
Since the meetings, the CDAs seem to have changed tactics. Rather than set bonfires on the roads, the vigilance groups have resulted to getting lamps, which they put inside buckets and placed on road junctions.
A CDA leader at Ogba, Emmanuel Ajetunmobi, said since the police said they were against bonfires, it was agreed that vigilance groups could get lamps and buckets on major roads just to send signals to hoodlums that the people would not be caught napping again.
“We would not be caught napping by any criminal no matter the name. We are willing to cooperate with security agents to police our communities and arrest anyone intending to foment trouble or rob our people,” he said.
Lagos roads had been a major source of worry for motorists for some time. The resultant effect was traffic congestion and gridlock that made travelling on all the major and inner roads a nightmare for many motorists.
On assumption of office, the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration had to push traffic and transportation to lead the six pillars of focus of the government, beginning with the rehabilitation of the 4,500 road networks by the corporation, while other massive road repairs started immediately the rains abated last year.
Until the coronavirus outbreak forced a cessation of repairs across the state, the Public Works Corporation claimed it has repaired over 500 road networks across all the five divisions of the state.
Lawal had said the corporation has achieved huge mileage because it has activated its three asphalt plants in Badagry, Ojodu Berger and Imota, a development which made it possible for it to work across all the state’s five divisions simultaneously.
“We have recorded successes on so many of the road networks within the state in the last few months and we would have be able to achieve more road repairs especially with the delay in the rainfall experienced in the last few weeks, but for this pandemic.”
A LSPWC source whi craved anonymity said the corporation had stopped work on road repairs in compliance with the federal government’s order on restriction of movement.
For him, if the present activities is not promptly stopped, the state may record massive reversals as many of those spots where bonfire are set alight would soften and could easily be washed away once the rain starts in earnest.
“The likely effect of the bonfires is that the areas could easily be affected since fire and asphalt is enemies. The areas could be washed away by rain and reverse the gains of achieving smooth road network which was the mandate of the governor to the agency,” the source said.
At a press conference last year, Daramola said the governor mandated the corporation to embark on massive rehabilitation of roads.
Daramola, who admitted then, that the state faced an emergency on roads said the agency was committed to bringing the state back from the brink of roads collapse.
He assured then, that the state would not suffer such reversals and have its roads get that bad.
But like the agency admitted last week, willful damage occasioned by deliberate burning of tyres and other flammable objects on the roads could reverse rather speedily the gains and put the state in a bad, if not worse, state than it ever was.
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