As it was in the old days, so it is now. After the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) committed huge resources to build pedestrian bridges across its major roads and prevent people from being knocked over, little seems to have changed. Many road users shun the bridges and still make the dash across the busy roads in spite of the obvious dangers. This is a worry for the authorities and safety campaigners.
Frequent deaths and injuries triggered calls for the overhead bridges in the first place. Almost every week, there were casualties either in the morning or evening and the drivers often sped off.
The FCT has one of the best road networks in the country. Some of them are in Area 1, Area 3, Mabushi and Lugbe-Airport Road, among others. But they soon became death scenes as careless users were hit.
The number of deaths arising from these incidents became unbearable. Social campaigners and interest groups flooded the media, especially the radio, to make the case for bridges. The authorities heeded the call and started building. But months after the bridges were completed and flagged off, a good chunk of the public still prefer the old order. They have been jettisoning the bridges. They brace for it, look this way and that and make the dash.
There have been deaths, though not as much as there used to be before the pedestrian bridges. The FCTA has taken action to discourage pedestrians from risking the dash. One action the authorities took was to block the roadsides near the bridges with a mesh.
This has had little effect. In the course of gathering this report Abuja Review discovered that pedestrians have attacked the mesh, seeing them as obstacles that must be removed.
This was peculiar to some of the expressways where the obstruction could be found. It became so alarming that even if the trimmed part got fixed by the relevant authority, before dawn, two other sections of the iron net would be trimmed down. These things happen every day, much to the worry of the Authority. Some concerned individuals went as far as counseling the public on phone-in radio programmes to avoid the awful act and use the bridges.
Recently, a police team was sighted at Area 3 waiting patiently to nab defiant pedestrians. Abuja Review noticed the police were so careful in their approach. Their vision was clear. First to arrest offenders who chose to cross the expressway rather than use the pedestrian bridge and secondly, to ensure the offenders were not chased to the expressway such that theywon’t be knocked down by coming vehicles.
A taxi operator, Mr. Paul Obi told our correspondent what led to the incident. Being a commercial driver, he was always plying some of these roads. He said, though, the overhead bridges were too far from the spots the pedestrians used. He observed that scavengers popularly known as Babanbola, often in the night, cut down the barricades. He narrated his experience, saying, ‘do you know last week Saturday, one of these Mai’baro wanted to help convey a woman’s goods across the road, but the next thing he did was to just use his barrow to draw the net and push his wheelbarrow through. These are the things people do and push the blame on the government.”
A commuter, Enobong Macanson expressed worry why residents in the territory could be so stubborn. He said it was the same residents that clamoured for the construction of overhead bridges, certainly for their safety but have refused to use it.
On the other hand, a number of reasons have been identified why members of the public would always prefer the conventional way. While some attributed robbery on the bridge as a major cause, others complained of health issues.
“Some people have issues probably with their legs and cannot climb the stairs and the contractors do not make provision for those on wheelchair”, Phoebian Oludamilola said. For Adio Titilayo, some individuals see the road crossing as faster and easier but dangerous.
Macanson told our correspondent that some people have a phobia for heights. So, for that singular reason, they will always go for the normal road crossing.
Gift Chapi stressed that some of the pedestrian bridges were built far away from the park.
“I think it is because some of them has height phobia so they will prefer to use the road. Aside, there are no proper orientation to change that mind set of the people because it’s more of a culture. Some of the pedestrian bridges were even built far away from usual spot so people will rather prefer to cross rather than walk the distance.”
Bushrah Yusuf also emphasised some of the bridges were not situated at the designated bus stops. So, most commuters saw it as a stressful exercise walking down the distance to the bridge. “Some complain of the stress of climbing especially the old people who speak of leg pains whenever they climb the bridge.” Moreover, aside from the listed reasons, Adetola Jensimi basically attributed laziness and impatience as major contributing factor.
She said it was more attitudinal. “We are all guilty as charged but one thing I have come to notice about we Nigerians is that we always look for fast means. I think the reason is not far fetched from the fact that many see the pedestrian bridge as quiet stressful and tiring to climb….”
However, a commercial driver, Mr. Ifeanyi Igbokwe came up with a different story. To him, the blame was to careless drivers who have accident, hitting the fragile barrier. He said reckless drivers often hit the barricade, destroying the grid. Igbokwe asked government to ensure the projects are supervised and maintained for at least one year. This, according him, would enable easy fixing of the damaged barricades.
“At times, it is mostly caused by motor accidents. Most timeS, when I want to drop people by the bridge around the evening, they will resist and prefer I drop them by the normal spot people are used to.”
Miss Etta Chidinma also narrated how a colleague was attacked in the evening around 7 pm on her way back from the office. She said the lady went through the overhead bridge but got robbed of her personal belongings.
Based on her experience, she said it would have been better if the FCTA could put in place adequate security measures to protect pedestrians. She suggested that the authorities could partner the Department of State Security (DSS) who are mostly in mufti to arrest culprits.
“The moment it is 7:30 pm, people are no longer safe using the bridge. As she was coming down from the bridge, the bad boys just came from nowhere, snatched her bag and pushed her away. Some even use knives.”
Some have called on the FCTA to increase awareness and sensitisation campaigns, apart from the existing measures to encourage commuters to adopt the overpass. The gesture, they said, will go a long way in reducing road carnage in the territory and instil a new culture in the residents.
