From Fred Itua, Adanna Nnamani and Jude Idu, Abuja
When the framers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) conceptualised Abuja, they hoped that it would rival capital cities in Africa, Europe and Asia. More than four decades after that tall dream was envisioned, hopes of its materialising are waning.
Beside what many residents describe as weak leadership, activities of daredevil vandals are threatening the infrastructural landscape of the nation’s capital. From Wuse to Utako, Asokoro to Maitama, Gwarinpa to the Central Business District, activities of infrastructure vandals are defacing the city and robbing it of its beauty.
Vandals now target traffic lights, streetlights, manhole lids, irons used for bridges and other important materials used to build public infrastructure. The horror is more rampant in satellite towns like Kubwa, Zuba and Mararaba where security patrols are low.
The theft has worsened the security situation in many areas. At night, criminals latch on the darkness caused by the absence of streetlights to rob and maim hapless citizens. More so, in areas where the traffic lights have been destroyed, traffic management becomes a tough task, just as accidents are on the rise in many chaotic jurisdictions.
The vandals, Daily Sun gathered, sell metals like streetlights, traffic light poles and manhole lids to scrap metal dealers for ridiculously low amounts. They in turn sell to local iron smelters for recycling into other uses.
Residents insist there should be no justification for stripping cities and suburbs of vital social amenities as the consequences far outweigh the gains anticipated by the looters. A former staff of the Nigerian Tribune, Mr. Sanya Adejokun, resident in Gbazango, Kubwa, told Daily Sun:
“I live in an area of town that authorities seem completely oblivious of even though the layout is in the master plan and you cannot build without approval. Every year, council officials drop tenement bills but there is almost no government presence. Our street is usually dark and lonely because people are either away at work in the day or locked inside their apartments at night.
“I, therefore, decided to illuminate the area by installing solar street lights. Each unit cost about ₦20,000 or so when I installed them some three years ago. On a particular day, as I watched an early morning magazine programme on television before leaving for work, I suddenly heard a cracking sound outside.
“At first, I didn’t make much of it. But when I heard it again after a few minutes, I ran out trying to find out what was happening. The entire street was empty but as I raised my head to check again, I noticed that two of the three lights had been torn away.
“Two things saddened me. The first was the amount of money I spent buying the lights, which today are almost three times the price and second was the destruction to it. Because the vandal(s) were in a hurry, they couldn’t unscrew them and so just tore them off.”
In Lugbe, a fast-growing Abuja suburb along the Airport Road, criminals have discouraged individual efforts at tackling infrastructure challenges plaguing the area. Mary Akintunde, a teacher who resides in the area said:
“Due to the increasing level of insecurity, especially as the year winds down, vigilantes in my area usually use iron bars and vehicle wheels to improvise for a security alert system.
“But this hardly lasts as the criminals, always lurking around, steal these facilities and make alerting residents of any danger a major challenge.
“These same criminals won’t let streetlights serve their purpose of
illuminating our area. Either they demolish it from the base, or they
simply steal the bulbs and solar panels.
“This is most unfortunate. I wonder who these criminals sell these stolen items to. The security agencies should wake up.”
Beside the activities of vandals, collapsing infrastructure in the territory is another challenge. Streetlights seldom work and worsening road conditions is also a huge concern.
Dr. Imeh Goodhead, a private security guard, blamed security agencies and FCT authorities for not thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases of public infrastructure theft because some elites are allegedly involved.
He alleged: “All these things you see are done with a mindset. In my years of experience, certain administrations have seen reasons to abandon the investigation of theft when they discover that some elites are involved and may be exposed.
“Here, we are not talking about traffic lights alone. What about the streetlights which they vandalise to make ways for robbery to thrive?
We in the security business know this so well and the residents of FCT should be well aware of these facts.
“You can take a look at the entire FCT in the night. You will witness a different FCT, far from what it used to be. Today, every nook and cranny is a hideout due to darkness that has enveloped the city.
“Criminals now operate at will with dangerous weapons. Bags snatching at gunpoint in dark places. This has made the administration ban late hour operation of gardens and event places. But is that the solution?”
Another public infrastructure targeted by vandals is manhole lids.
Aside from damaging vehicles and limbs of commuters, petty thieves now take advantage of “unclad” manholes to steal steel pipes, wires and other facilities.
A civil servant, Mathilda Uchenna recounted an unpleasant experience:
“It was a rainy day on that fateful Saturday morning in September when I was going to the market. I was trying to hitch a ride but I didn’t know there was an open around where I stood. As I attempted to board
the vehicle, I slumped into it because it was filled with water and looked like the normal road water-logged road.
“It tore my skirt and my left lap. From there, I landed in hospital.
It was deep and my phone fell into it. Thank goodness it wasn’t wide, it would have swallowed me.”
Another victim, a 50-year-old trader, Janet Michael, said she mistakenly fell into a manhole around the Federal Secretariat, Abuja:
After alighting from a cab, I did not know there was an opened manhole. Before I could say jack, I was inside the hole.
“I was so embarrassed. It took the intervention of passersby to pull me out. I got bruises on my right leg and a scratch on my face.
“I had to cancel my activities for that day. It is even bad that street sweepers heap dirt inside it. You won’t even know because it looks filled.”