…As The Lord’s Chosen Church appeals for permission to repair collapsed bridge
Cyriacus Nnaji
“Those black patches you are seeing at the foot of the bridge are the blood of an elderly man who was just crushed by a commercial bus a few hours ago while he was crossing the expressway. This kind of gory sight is a daily occurrence since the collapse of the pedestrian bridge”
That was how the current pathetic prevailing situation at Ijesha Bus stop along Oshodi Apapa Expressway as narrated by Iya Fatai, a fruit seller at the bus stop, when this correspondent visited the area. Her lamentation was the same with sellers of different articles and pedestrians at the bus stop.
Recently, there has been an upsurge in the proportion and absolute number of traffic fatalities at the bus stop as a result of the damaged pedestrian bridge. At the last count, the bus stop has witnessed an average of three accidents daily, of which most of them were fatal.
It could be recalled that in the early hours of Wednesday, 16th March, 2022, a truck was coming from Apapa axis at top speed, probably with a faulty bucket and on getting to the bridge with its bucket raised; it hit the bridge and got stuck. In an attempt to pull the truck off the bridge, that resulted in a section of the bridge broke-away, thus rendering the bridge impassable.
The bridge, which was damaged by a heavy duty moving truck over one year ago, was serving all pedestrians from the densely populated Amuwo/FESTAC axis and Ijesha/Surulere areas of Lagos. Besides, other big churches like TREM, Bride Assembly, Mountain of Fire Ministries, Deeper Life Bible Church etc, with large worshipers, have their branches within the areas. It also has as its tenant a branch of Fidelity Bank, the expansive Akolade shopping complex and the headquarters and revival ground of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, which is one of the most mega ministries in Nigeria with tens of thousands of worshipers cross the road for church activities on daily basis. Given the importance of the bridge to the people, it was expected the damage would have been repaired or reconstructed before now. Thus the people are groaning over the inability of the authorities to fix it till date.
Obviously, accidents don’t just happen, they are caused. It therefore goes to say that every accident in relation to transport is not a mere occurrence but has been instituted as a result of one factor or another. Often, members of one family are wiped out. That is more reason it is expected that shortly after the incident, the authority concerned should have swerved into action to fix the bridge due to the purpose it is serving.
We learned that four days after the incident, the Director, Federal Highways, South West Region, Mr Adedamola Kuti made an announcement that the bridge has been shut down for safety reasons. In that briefing Kuti expressed surprise over the accident as according to him the 30 years old bridge was higher than the normal heights for bridges of its types and that was more reason it could enable all trucks, vis-à-vis containerized vehicles and fuel tanks etc. The director also stated that the truck driver who was responsible has been apprehended, and would soon be prosecuted for deliberate damage to public infrastructure.
Kuti regretted that it was not fair after the Federal Government had spent huge resources to construct and repair roads and other infrastructures, such facilities would get damaged or abused by the users. He however promised that the Ministry would invite their contractor to assess the level of damage in order to advise on what to do. Moreover, he ordered that some of the beams and slabs still hanging dangerously on the facility should be removed immediately to prevent them falling on moving vehicles thereby causing more harm. He therefore appealed to
pedestrians and other road users to bear with the government, while assuring speedy rehabilitation of the bridge.
Kuti assured of the presence of the Police at the spot to ensure safety around the damaged facility. Meanwhile, according to him calls had been placed through to the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to assist pedestrians who now have no other option than to walk across the highway. But despite the promises made by Kuti, the bridge is still in a sorry situation and has not been fixed till date. Also those he said would be at the spot to assist pedestrians crossing the road are nowhere to be found. As a result, many road users have died, while others sustained injuries. Some pedestrians had expressed fear and worries over the danger of dashing across the expressway due to the incessant accidents and number of casualties involved.
Given the prevailing anxious situation at Ijesha bus stop, one would be wondering if the huge amount invested by the federal, state government and CSOs in the campaign to draw the attention of Nigerians on the need to use the pedestrians’ bridges when crossing highways is in vain. When there is no alternative crossing-aid provided in such a case like ijesha bus stop, what shall the righteous do? Sometimes some overzealous security agents instead of helping, they
extort pedestrians crossing the highway. Furthermore, what is the rationale of asking the security agencies to arrest and sanction persons who cross the highway at the location where the pedestrian bridge is damaged as it is done at ijesha bus-stop.
We were told that one of the civic responsibilities of the government is to save life and properties. But in the case of this strategic bus stop, lot of doubt is being cast upon the government because of its inability to demonstrate empathy when it is most required.
It was the same story of dismay by those interviewed by this writer at the bus stop..
Mrs Tina Akume, a teacher explained that the fear of death by accident has hindered a lot of businesses within the area, as many children and others in the neighborhood had stopped going to school because of the inability to cross the expressway. According to her, some adults are now compelled to trek a kilometer in order to access another bridge.
Also, one of the pedestrians, Mrs Ogechi Onyenze lamented that due to her health condition, she couldn’t cross the expressway unless assisted by sympathizers.
The same is applicable to many other people living or doing business around the vicinity. Mr Olatunde Adegbemi on his own narrated his ordeal on the damaged bridge, pointing out that life has not been easy for road users like him. “Crossing the expressway without using the bridge is like one trying to commit suicide. In fact, there had been several accidents at this spot. Most times many spend up to thirty minutes for traffic to ease before embarking on crossing the busy expressway. When I remember how vehicles kill people here regularly, I become afraid of crossing, but due to no alternative means, I decided to take the risk." He said.
Adegbemi called on both Lagos State and Federal Government to treat the damaged bridge as an emergency situation that needs urgent attention. “This Bridge needs urgent attention because many accidents have occurred here. Many have died here, while others sustained serious injuries. So, those concerned should not wait until more people die, before fixing the bridge.”
Another pedestrian, Mr. Ernest Asuquo averred that crossing the expressway has caused a lot of deaths, as some pedestrians do so, without looking properly. He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to speedily fix the bridge so as to save lives”
Reacting to the collapsed bridge, spokesperson of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Louis Chidi was almost in tears, as he recounted the number of ghastly accidents that had occurred at the bus stop as a result of the damaged bridge. “The rate at which accidents happen at that bus stop is alarming, and may have exceeded about 40% of the total accidents in Lagos state. The essence of pedestrian bridge is to make crossing safer for pedestrians and other users. And now there is no bridge; it implies that death has been declared to those who would have used it to save their lives.
“Many have died in the course of trying to cross the Apapa/Oshodi expressway either on their way going or returning. We are not happy seeing casualties as a result of controllable accidents that are really posing serious concern to us. Could you believe that many families have lost their loved ones at that place? The lives lost at that place cannot be quantified with what it will cost to fix the bridge.”
He expressed regrets that people are allowed to die in such a manner, when there are supposed to be preventive measures to be taken.
Emphasizing further Chidi said that the Ijesha bus stop needs a functional bridge that would serve the people, to avert accidents. He appealed to both federal and Lagos State Government to intervene in reconstructing the damaged bridge in order to save lives. “We are deeply touched by the ugly situation at the Ijesha bus stop, and are therefore using this opportunity to call on the Federal and Lagos State Government to help fix the bridge.”
Chidi also stated that if the job cannot be handled within the shortest period of time, those concerned should authorize his church to bear the cost of fixing it, in order to further save the lives of the road users. “We wouldn’t mind bearing the cost of reconstruction of the bridge if the authority could allow us to do so.”
