The irony of Lagos pedestrian bridges

Lagos is the most populous city in Africa, housing millions of people from diverse ethnicities and walks of life. It is boastful of several pedestrian bridges, in the belief that the pedestrians, who happen to be the most vulnerable on the motor road, will now be safe. As observed, many lives have been lost to […]

Lagos is the most populous city in Africa, housing millions of people from diverse ethnicities and walks of life. It is boastful of several pedestrian bridges, in the belief that the pedestrians, who happen to be the most vulnerable on the motor road, will now be safe. As observed, many lives have been lost to fatal accidents on the roads, and so sadly, the majority of these victims have been those who should or could have used the pedestrian bridges.

Why would any Lagosian risk the safety of their own life? Or are there ‘demons’ on the bridges, whose presence could send waves of fright to any potential bridge user? While one may not be able to satisfactorily answer these questions, one could proceed to discuss the happenings on the bridges.

First, Lagos bridges are fast becoming a home to beggars. Beggars have successfully found a cool spot for their alms solicitation endeavours. Think about the characteristics of beggars in Lagos, you are sure to encounter those with offensive body structures, unbelievable bulging body parts, red—looking terminal wounds among others. In fairness to these beggars, they do not interfere with the movement of pedestrians, however, their mere presence could be the “turn off” for some pedestrians since not everyone is naturally wired to encounter such a disturbing sight and still hold their heads up. 

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Petty traders, on their part, have suddenly become landlords on the bridges. They have their “ shops” on the bridges and do their business there. Why would anyone rent a business space on a pedestrian bridge? Poverty or what? Whatever it is, their presence is a symptom of a problem. If left unchecked, the few Lagosians who still use the bridges may soon become discouraged due to the artificial or man-made traffic that will be created on the bridges.

Going further, we could see that vagabonds have become the unofficial patrol officers as one is sure to see people who evidently have no purpose on the bridges wandering lazily and sometimes dangerously. In fact, this last category of Lagos bridge “owners” are the most notorious.

My conclusion of this entire irony of a bridge is for the government to superintend its infrastructure and ensure that Lagos bridges are taken back from these many “ landlords” that have taken charge of these costly structures.

Samuel Ogunnaike wrote from Lagos