Sometimes one finds something curious about government and governance in Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre that prides itself as a megacity. It is either that politicians who run the state do not care enough about the safety and welfare of the citizens or they are too busy with themselves to see the danger that ordinary citizens face on daily basis.
This was how, Adekunle Ajala, a retired federal servant, who resides in Ajao Estate along the Lagos airport road, expressed his frustration over the lack of urgency in handling issues that border on the safety of the people in Nigeria’s most populous city.
Ajala’s outburst, like many other residents of the state, stems from the absence of pedestrian bridges along the newly reconstructed Muritala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Road, Lagos.
The elder statesman is one of thousands of residents of Ajao Estate and the adjoining Mafoluku communities, who risk their lives daily to cross what is now a ten-lane expressway in a built-up area of the metropolis without overhead pedestrian crossing.
No thanks to the previous nor the present managers of affairs in the state, who haven’t seen the urgent need to complete the abandoned pedestrian bridges, almost six months after the road was hurriedly commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari, on the invitation of Akinwunmi Ambode, immediate past governor of Lagos State.
Ambode had been denied the ticket to seek a second term in office by his party men, and obviously not wanting his predecessor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to take the ‘glory’ for his signature projects, the former governor had invited President Buhari to commission the reconstructed airport road and Oshodi Transport Interchange (OTI) without fully completing the projects.
Since leaving office on May 29, there have been allegations against the former governor, with the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), recently visiting his Epe and Ikoyi homes to conduct a search. The EFCC had frozen accounts allegedly linked to the ex-governor while in office, in which about N9.9 billion was said to have passed through. Ambode subsequently denied the allegation.
It was gathered that the current administration had withheld further payments to contractors in respect of some projects awarded under the Ambode’s government, the airport road being one of such, with the citizens bearing the brunt.
On Tuesday, August 6, a woman in her forties later identified as Gracia, narrowly escaped being crushed by a commercial bus (Danfo) some metres away from the 7/8 Bus Stop along the road.
Gracia was crossing to Ajao Estate from the Mafoluku end when she suddenly sighted the approaching vehicle. A confused Gracia was said to have hurriedly retreated but ended up colliding with a motorcycle and sustained some injuries.
Juliana Adegoke, a resident of Ajao Estate, who witnessed the incident, said such was their fate on the road. According to Adegoke, the excitement that greeted the reconstruction of the once neglected road has since given way to lamentation, as residents of the neighbourhoods now live with danger, crossing the road.
“We appreciate the fact that after years of neglect, the last administration took the initiative to reconstruct the federal road, but the absence of pedestrian bridges has left us competing with fast-moving vehicles on the road.
We’re worried that since the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu took over in May, nothing has been done about this situation,” said another resident, Joy Attah.
Aramide Adeyoye, the special adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on works and infrastructure did not take calls or respond to SMS sent to her cell phone seeking to know what the government is doing about the road.
However, Olujimi Hotonu, the permanent secretary in the ministry of works and infrastructure, when contacted said that the government was aware of the situation.
“There are action plans on the governor’s table to complete the work. We have four bridges on the airport road. But the plan is also to extend the reconstruction work to Toyota bus stop where additional bridge would be constructed,” said Hotonu.
He, however, cited funding as the challenge, assuring, however, that the government would mobilise the contractors back to site to complete the bridges.
President Buhari commissioned the road on April 24, 2019 amid criticisms against its non completion.
The road was redesigned from four to ten lanes with two flyover bridges at Mafoluku and the Haji Camp and four pedestrian overhead bridges which were never completed before the commissioning.
The reconstruction has eased gridlock on the road and boosted Nigeria’s image locally and internationally.
JOSHUA BASSEY
