With pedestrians shunning the bridges on the major highways in Lagos, accidents are on the increase as the state intensifies efforts to arrest offenders, writes MOTUNRAYO JOEL

John Adeyemi was driving home from work on a wet Wednesday night in April when he witnessed the crushing of a young man by a lorry after he attempted to cross the expressway, shunning one of the pedestrian bridges along the Ikorodu road.

Giving the gory details of the accident, Adeyemi, who works with a leading newspaper company in Nigeria, said the unpleasant experience shattered his night as the shocking incident haunted him in his sleep. He said death like this was avoidable if the need for pedestrian bridges on the expressway was appreciated.

“The pedestrian bridges add aesthetic value to our society but the major reason for their construction was to avoid accidents on the roads. It is however unfortunate that people still prefer to risk their lives by crossing the road even when there are government agents put in place to arrest offenders. They prefer arguing out with the officers to using the bridges.

“I would have killed the man but I applied brakes to avoid him. He was however unlucky as the lorry beside me hit him and ran over him with his body parts flying all over the road,” Adeyemi said.

Such deaths are becoming daily occurrences on the Lagos roads, especially on the Ikorodu Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, and areas like Ikeja and Lagos Island where the pedestrian bridges are erected. Despite warnings from the state government and its agencies, most Lagosians have chosen to turn a deaf ear to these warnings. Regardless of the risk and the fatal consequences involved in crossing the expressways, some pedestrians uphold the view that the choice to use the bridges is personal.

Segun Olabode, who spoke to our correspondent, said climbing the bridge was time-consuming.

“I have a shop at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos and every morning, I travel from Sango to Lagos. Once I get down at the foot of the Ikeja overhead bridge, I quickly cross over to the other side of the road. I don’t see reasons why I should spend valuable minutes climbing the bridge. It is a waste of time. Here in Lagos, time waits for no one. Crossing the main road is much faster if I can avoid the vehicles. It’s a matter of choice if I am certain that I will not be knocked down by a vehicle,” said Olabode.

A trip around Lagos by our correspondent revealed that apart from the people who dash across the express roads at rush hour of each day, those who hawk goods on the expressways freely choose to break the traffic rule.

Bunmi Olusola is a hawker in Ojota, who takes advantage of the gridlock on the road to sell to motorists. To her, the law banning people from crossing the highway is a way of taking away food from some peoples’ tables.

She said, “I can’t be carrying my goods over the pedestrian bridge, it’s stressful. I find it easier crossing the road. I know it’s not safe, but that is what I prefer. I hawk goods here all the time so how will I make money if I have to cross the road, using the pedestrian bridges. No motorist will wait for me if I have to climb the bridge before coming to sell to them. We are used to the system.”

To some pedestrians, crossing the highway is worth the risk because of the “stress” involved in using the bridges. Mary Sidney defended those who cross the highways, blaming the act on the unfriendly design of the bridges. She said her health could not endure climbing the tall and lengthy bridges.

“It is not easy climbing most of those bridges,” she said.

“I nearly had a heart attack the day I tried to climb one of them. The design of most of the bridges is not friendly at all. They are too long and too high for those who have phobia for height. I will rather take a bus that is going to the other side of the road than climbing a bridge.”

John Obi said the huge flow of people on the Ojota pedestrian bridge was enough to scare people from using it despite the government’s effort to upgrade it to modern one.

“The bridge is always filled with people climbing up and down. There is no easy movement and so I find it difficult to use. If one is not careful, you can fall on the staircase. I prefer crossing the expressway to getting stuck in human traffic,” he said.

To ensure that the people make use of the bridges, thereby stopping accidents on the roads, the Lagos State Government empowers officers of the Kick Against Indiscipline to arrest anyone who crosses the road. At Ojota, many of the officers, in green uniforms, can be seen patrolling median of the dual carriageways, waiting to arrest pedestrians who break the law. The agency has an office by the foot of the bridge linking motorists with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Here, offenders are tried in an emergency court and if necessary fined. One of the officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on behalf of the agency (KAI), said his colleagues were having a difficult time persuading the people to use the bridge, adding that those arrested sometimes attempted to force their way to freedom by fighting them.

He said, “Anyone caught crossing the expressway will be sent to our office at Alausa, Ikeja, after which the person would be taken to the Ikeja High Court. The fellow, if found guilty, would be asked to pay a fine. The guilty offender could be asked to engage in community service.”

On the number of persons caught crossing the expressway daily, the KAI official said about 20 people break the law daily.

“The number is on the decrease because more KAI officials are now available and we do not compromise on our rule. If you break the law, you will be taken to court and punished if found guilty. However, we are not aggressive in the way we carry out our duty. Most of the time, we turn people back to use the pedestrian bridge. Those who are adamant are the ones we arrest. The government is encouraging the use of the bridges for the safety of the pedestrians and it is wise to adhere to the simple rule,” he said.

Ademola Ogunleye is a senior KAI official who monitors the activities of his men in Ojota. He urged people to toe the line of safety.

“These bridges are there for their safety. Our job is to prevent people from crossing the expressways, but we can’t be on duty all the day and night. At night when we are not on the roads, people choose to do as they please by crossing the roads,” he said.

Responding to the allegation by pedestrians that some KAI officials collect bribes from those arrested on the road, Ogunleye said, “It is wrong to do so as it amounts to breaking the law that established the agency. We have monitoring teams that arrest officials who go against the law. The guilty ones are dismissed or suspended.”

An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who spoke to our correspondent, said Ojota produced the highest number of traffic offenders because of the huge flow of traffic and human beings to various destinations in Lagos. He narrated the story of a man killed by a vehicle two weeks ago on the road.

“Cases of people being hit by vehicles happen at least once in a week in the area (Ojota). Some of the victims thought they could move faster than the vehicles but in the twinkling of an eye, they are knocked down dead. We warn people not to cross the road but they prove to be stubborn even with the presence of agency officials,” he said.

Around the airport area in Ikeja, cases of people being knocked down as they try to cross the expressway are also on the increase. However, some pedestrians point out that the bridges are not safe sometimes. Chukwudi Ndidi said that the governments of Lagos and Ogun states had ignored the plight of the people who were left with no alternative but to cross the expressway at Berger bus stop.

He said, “Everyday, hundreds of people cross the expressway. There is the need to construct a pedestrian bridge across the highway to ease the flow of people who cross the expressway. Lives have been lost there on many cases but a bridge over the road can stop this tragic occurrence.”

There are about seven pedestrian bridges between the Alaka end of the Ikorodu Road and Ketu bus stop. At night, pedestrians said it was unsafe to use any of the bridges. The same was said of other bridges in other parts of Lagos, with many of them being taken over by mad men and hooligans at night.

“The bridge at Barracks bus stop on the Ikorodu road is a no go area at night,” said Monica Johnson, who lives on Yaba road.

“Thugs take over the bridge at night and we have heard cases of rape and robbery at night on the bridge, so people avoid it at night. They cross the road and it has led to the death of some people who were knocked down by vehicles,” she added

Biodun Adedeji made a case for the people living with physical diabilities in the state as the Lagos para-athlete said most of the bridges had no place for his kind.

“We cannot use our wheelchairs on the bridge because they only have steps, except the new one at barracks bus stop,” he said.

Also speaking on behalf of persons with physical disabilities, the Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, Mr. David Anyaele, said access to pedestrian bridges in Lagos State is one of the greatest challenges for persons living with physical disabilities.

He said, “In my estimation, more than 80 per cent of pedestrian bridges in the state were designed with little or no consideration for persons with mobility challenges, as such, movement for this group of people in Lagos has been restricted due to minimal or no access to pedestrian walkways.

“On the Ikorodu road axis, out of the eight pedestrian bridges, only two could be described as disability-friendly. These include Obanikoro and Anthony pedestrian bridges. The situation is made worse in some areas that have no pedestrian bridges at all. Take for instance, along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, you will hardly find a pedestrian bridge, let alone a facility to help people living with physical disabilitities to cross the roads. What this situation means is that the Federal Government of Nigeria places no human value on issues that affect persons living with disabilities in Nigeria.

“Don’t forget that Nigeria is signatory to the UN convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 9 of the convention states as follows: To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, states shall take appropriate measures to ensure persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communication, including information and communication technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.”

Anyaele stressed that the wide disparity between people living with disabilities and normal persons has made life difficult for people with physical disadvantage.

Mr. Femi Martins, who works at Gbagada area of Lagos, complained of heavy traffic on the Gbagada expressway. He said government should help the people by constructing a pedestrian bridge at a point along the lengthy road.

“I could have been long dead on this road if not for God. This road really needs an overhead bridge because it has eight lanes. Sometimes I see school children crossing the road which is too dangerous. We need to protect our youths from such dangers.

“The nearest bridge for pedestrians is at First Pedro, which is many miles away from Gbagada. I may be forced to leave the area if nothing changes soon,” Martins said.

Speaking on the issue, the Lagos Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission, Nseoboong Akpabio, urged pedestrians to value their lives more.

He said, “We are trying our best to raise more awareness of the dangers of not using pedestrian bridges. People should value their lives, after all these are overhead bridges built by the government with people’s money. Crossing expressways is dangerous,” he said, highlighting the efforts of FRSC at educating Nigerians on the use of road facilities.

“Those arrested by our men are sent to the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency where they learn about road safety rules. They also engage in community service. We also use the United Nations One-week Road safety Day to enlighten the public on the advantage of using expressway safety facilities,” he said.

Speaking on the number of pedestrians who had lost their lives between 2010 and 2013 he said, “In 2010 we lost three pedestrians, in 2011 three, in 2012 seven and in 2013 four. So, between January 2010 and May 2013 a total number of 17 pedestrians had died.”

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, said that pedestrians’ refusal to use overhead bridges was one of the reasons why there was gridlock in the state.

“On the Ikorodu Road axis, pedestrians’ refusal to use the bridges located at major bus stops is responsible for some of the traffic gridlock experienced in the state. Traffic builds up while motorists are trying to slow down for pedestrians who are trying to cross the highways. In my opinion and based on my assessment, the traffic build-up is not caused by commercial buses’ drivers, contrary to belief of most motorists,” he said.


http://www.punchng.com/feature/dash-of-death-growing-concern-as-lagosians-shun-pedestrian-bridges/

Its like people do not value their lives anymore. The govt spends a lot constructing these bridges yet people will not climb it all in the name of been in a hurry.
I wish lagos would go back to the time when KAI would catch people for not climbing that will be much beta. Just that those ones too like Over sabi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr4OUVAmpxc

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