Thousands of pedestrians in Lagos prefer crossing the expressway to using the pedestrian bridges provided by the state government. OLATUNDE ODEBIYI and IBRAHIM ADAM examine the dangers pedestrians who cross the expressway expose themselves to on daily basis at the Ojota axis along Ikorodu Expressway.
If one stands at the Ojota axis of the Ikorodu Expressway in Lagos for about 10 minutes, one will notice that over 100 people would have crossed the expressway. Those who cross the road are aware of the pedestrian bridge at that point, yet they prefer crossing the road to using the pedestrian bridge.
Motorcyclists and wheelbarrow pushers are not left out. They not only romance death on the highway but also hinder free vehicular movement on this axis every day.
Southwest Report observed that people cross the road at the axis where there are two pedestrian bridges in Ojota. The median are getting damaged and the wire mesh is already removed.
Recall that when pedestrians complained years back that the old footbridge was not enough to accommodate the volume of human traffic on the pedestrian bridge, the state government constructed the second bridge in 2017. But, despite the provision of two pedestrian bridges, many still cross the expressway.
It was also observed that despite the presence of police, officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and officials of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), people still cross the road. None of the offenders has been arrested by any of the officials.
Thousands of people cross the road on a daily basis; wheelbarrow pushers neglect the provisions made for them on the new bridge and the commercial motorcyclists jostle for space with motorists on the expressway.
A journalist Samuel, who shared his experience on this axis said: “I was driving from Ketu to Maryland on the express road when a commercial motorcyclist who was not supposed to be on the expressway, carried his motorcycle and crossed to the other side of the expressway. He crossed the median and broke through the wire mesh and impeded vehicular movement on the other side.
“I had to quickly apply the brakes and all he could do was to do waka waka to me.
“The concrete median and the wire mesh that government spent millions of naira to put in place are being destroyed.
“The wire mesh is costly and it has been pulled down; this is the same place government has invested money following initial complaints that the old pedestrian bridge was not enough to accommodate the volume of human traffic. Government spent money to make another one, but the wire mesh is now destroyed right under the bridge.
“Despite the fact that the new pedestrian bridge has a roller for wheelbarrow, none of them uses the platform as they too cross the road.”
He described the axis as where lawlessness pervade, noting that security personnel are always at the spot but they do not arrest the traffic offenders.
”There is complete breakdown of order on that axis and government should do something about it. I know there is an existing law that bans all of these; all government needs to do is to enforce the law. The law is that okada operators should not ply the entire Ikorodu Road. Even danfo drivers are not supposed to drop or carry passengers on the expressway. They should park well on the service lane and pick their passengers. All these are happening and government is not doing anything. Government needs to enforce the existing laws; people should be encouraged to use the pedestrian bridges to ensure safety,” he said.
A worker in one of the firms in Lagos, Comrade Busari Jelili said people cross the express road without giving a thought to their lives.
“The funniest part of all is that if a car or a truck hits them, there will be no case, because they are crossing the road instead of using the pedestrian bridge.
“Despite the two pedestrian bridges that government provided at Ojota axis of the expressway, people still prefer crossing the highway to using the bridges. Before the wire mesh was removed to create a passage, people made use of both bridges but today, only few use the bridge.
“Recently, a man was knocked down by one of those motorcycles and the motorcyclist ran away.”
He begged government to fix the open space and also mount CCTV cameras everywhere to provide surveillance around that environment.
A motorcyclist who didn’t want his name in print for security reasons, said no one has been arrested for crossing the road.
“As you can see, people are crossing the expressway as they like. If you want to cross, you can cross the road and no one would arrest you.
“Okada riders too carry passengers here and we cross with our motorcycle, because we have no other place around here to make a U-turn and nobody arrests us. Just look at the cars well before you cross.
“Our lives belong to God and He protects us but, if you want to cross, be very smart,” he said.
Another motorcyclist, who identified himself as Sodiq, said even though their movement on the express roads are risky, he said they have no option than to go about their businesses.
“We know it’s risky plying the the expressway, but this is the only business many of us do to keep body and soul together. We have to put our motorcycles on the axis where passengers are. We are here because this is where the danfo buses drop passengers. If we are not here, how will we get passengers?”
He added that the wire mesh was removed by Area Boys and usually done in the middle of the night.
“I cannot tell you that I have seen anyone removing the wire mesh, but it is obvious that it is removed by those homeless Area Boys,” he said.
A pedestrian, Yetunde Alao said using the pedestrian bridge takes time, adding that crossing the road is faster and less stressful.
“I cannot waste my time using the pedestrian bridge. I only have to be smart and look well before I cross the road; after all there is nobody here that will arrest us,” he said.
A trader around the new pedestrian bridge lamented that those who display their wares on the pedestrian bridges for people to buy are not happy that people are crossing the express way. She said the proceeds from sales to buyers who make use of the bridges have reduced, noting that the situation has affected sales badly.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Dr Taiwo Salaam, said enforcement of the law to arrest those who cross the road would be reintroduced in the area.
“The officials that are on that axis currently are there to ensure free flow of traffic and movement of people in the environment. They are not there to arrest people who cross the expressway.
“Initially when we wanted to stop people from crossing the expressway, we had to prevent them from crossing by fixing wire mesh in between the expressway because of the increasing casualties recorded on the road.
“In Ojota, we later observed that only one foot bridge was not enough for people crossing the road. We told government to construct another bridge which was done. Wire mesh was also put in between the expressway to prevent people from crossing the road.
“We do not want to treat people like animals, we expect them to voluntarily use the two bridges. They give all manner of excuses why they do cross the road. Some say their legs were paining them, some say they are tired.
“Before the wire mesh, there were officials there to arrest those who cross the road but since the wire mesh was fixed and there was another bridge, we decided to take away the officials because we expected that people will naturally use the bridges.
“Now that we have noticed that people don’t want to do the needful, we will redeploy officials to man the area. We will reintroduce taskforce in that area to arrest people who cross the expressway.
“Even motorcycles are not meant to ply the road because there is a law in the state that bans commercial motorcycles from plying some routes in the state,” he said.
On the wire mesh that has been removed, he said: “Those people who remove it probably do so at midnight. We need you journalists to help us to investigate those who remove the wire mesh. When we know those who remove the wire mesh through your report, then we will take it up from there.”
