WHILE the Lagos State Government rightly asserts that residents must use pedestrian bridges or face prosecution, it puts the cart before the horse by feigning ignorance of the ruthless insecurity that plagues the footbridges. Indeed, footbridges in Lagos are enclaves of vicious thieves and hoodlums, who attack law-abiding residents, thereby forcing them to choose the dangerous option of crossing expressways. Therefore, Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu must secure footbridges to safeguard lives and properties and give the public the confidence to use them.
Unfortunately, harrowing stories of insecurity are not going away because Lagos is not doing the needful. A recent report by this newspaper said residents who ply the PWD, Ladipo, Oshodi, and Berger footbridges have lamented the presence of hoodlums and thieves on the pedestrian bridges. In this, virtually all Lagos pedestrian bridges are unsafe as thieves and hoodlums extort and attack pedestrians on the Ikeja Along, Ojota, and Obanikoro footbridges.
The incessant harassment and threat to life have made residents risk their lives by avoiding the footbridges. The footbridges house miscreants, thieves, drug-addled hoodlums, and mentally deranged persons. These louts extort and steal the valuables of pedestrians. While women are harassed by the miscreants, pickpockets and other petty criminals have also found the pedestrian bridges a lucrative hub for their dastardly activities. This is disturbing.
Residents rightly assert that hoodlums have also vandalised the railings of the footbridges, thereby further endangering the lives of residents. Yet, the state government has done little or nothing to protect these vital public assets and bring the vandals to book to serve as deterrence to miscreants.
In March, a resident alerted the public to the breaches at the Yaba footbridge in a viral social media post. In the video, the hoodlums were seen collecting illegal levies from traders and others to use the footbridge. This is distasteful. It is a sign of government ineffectiveness when hoodlums seize control of the means of coercion in a state.
The state must rehabilitate existing footbridges and build new ones to cater to the growing population, the existing neighbourhoods around the expressways, and the emerging communities in the state. Also, existing pedestrian bridges must be upgraded with persons living with disability in mind.
The government boasted recently that it arrested and prosecuted 219 persons for crossing the expressway in different parts of the state in March. It said it ejected hoodlums and criminals from footbridges in Ikota and some other parts of the state.
Although this is a good step, the government misses the critical point in law enforcement. Raids are emergency measures and temporary. They cannot replace constant law enforcement. The solution to the breaches on the footbridges is to put boots on both sides and on top of every footbridge in Lagos on a permanent basis.
Indeed, pedestrian bridges are germane for the safety of residents. It is dangerous for pedestrians to cross expressways where vehicles move fast. They are likely to become victims of reckless drivers and those driving against traffic (‘one-way’ road violators). Such action may also endanger the lives of motorists, leading to death, loss of limbs, avoidable accidents, head-on, rear-end and multi-vehicle collisions, and traffic congestion.
While the state government needs to raise awareness on the use of the bridges, the campaign will be unsustainable without emplacing standby security personnel at strategic points on the bridges. It should deploy surveillance cameras and solar-powered electricity to help alert law enforcement of robberies or any criminality in real time. Regular and sustainable power on the footbridges will not only boost public confidence but will help pedestrians discover potential threats easily.
Sanwo-Olu has no excuse; he must make Lagos footbridges safe for residents and visitors.
