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•Pedestrians, motorists warn of impending tragedy
By Steve Agbota
Residents and motorists in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area and Ejigbo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have called for urgent intervention as the Oko-Afa bridge risks collapse. They have called for urgent rehabilitation of the bridge and replacement of the railings removed by vandals.
A portion of the bridge, which caved in over two months ago, has led to frustration for thousands of commercial bus drivers, heavy duty trucks and thousands of other users on a daily basis and posed a threat to their lives.
The popular bridge is beside the mass burial site of those killed in the Ikeja Military Cantonment bomb blasts of January 2002.
The bridge, which also connects several communities in Oshodi-Isolo and Ejigbo, has potholes even as rods are exposed. The bridge connects Isolo, Cele, Jakande Estate Gate, Isheri, Ijegun, Egbe, Ikotun, Bucknor, Idimu, Canoe-Ajao Estate and Oke Afa Estate, among others.
The development, coupled with the dilapidated state of the roads in the axis, has been causing serious traffic gridlock along the route, especially in the morning hours and closing hours in the evening.
The roads in this axis are synonymous with heavy traffic. The holes on the bridge have complicated the situation as traffic around the axis has gone from bad to worse.
Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that the bridge was last rehabilitated about 20 years ago.
Further investigation by the Daily Sun revealed that over 7,000 vehicles, including heavy duty trucks, commercial buses, private cars and tricycles (Keke) ply the bridge every day.
Residents said each street around Oke Afa and its environs has no fewer than three to five warehouses, where trucks come on a regular basis to offload goods.
They said the trucks pass through the same bridge, which has been neglected by Lagos State and the federal government, even as the warehouse owners pay all manner of taxes.
However, residents who claimed to have reported the case of the failing bridge to the authorities in Lagos State blamed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for neglecting the area as he has failed to carryout any major development in the area.
Speaking with Daily Sun, a motorist said it has become dangerous using the bridge, as some portions have collapsed.
“We need both the state and federal governments to take immediate action to fix this bridge. The area is one of the populated areas in Lagos State. Do you know the thousands of vehicles passing through this bridge every 24 hours?
“This is a major road that connects almost every part of Lagos State. How can a responsible government leave the road to deteriorate to the extent of taking people’s lives? It is so pathetic my brother.
“We have so many warehouses in this axis that offload containers every day. The owners of these warehouses cannot use their money to fix the road because they pay taxes to government. It is the responsibility of government to fix it.
“The bridge has been in a terrible condition for over six months and we have been calling on the Lagos State government and the chairmen of the LGA and LCDA to come to our aid, but no action has been taken to fix the bridge.”
Another motorist, Ernest Dera, expressed regrets that the bridge had been left unattended by the authorities concerned in spite of the heavy traffic on the route.
“My worries are not about the traffic around the bridge but about the danger to which Nigerians who use the bridge are exposed.
This bridge will collapse any moment from now, if any work is not done as soon as possible.
“The Oke-Afa Bridge is about the busiest road in Lagos State and I am sure you will understand why I worry about what might happen if this bridge is not fixed as soon as possible.
“From the portion that has completely caved in, one can clearly see inside the canal and also notice the increase in vibration as motorists struggle to find their way through.
“It is a disaster waiting to happen and I am calling on the relevant authorities to urgently address the problem. The disaster will be worse than the 2009 bomb-blast that killed many people that are buried beside this bridge,” he warned.
According to the chief executive officer of Teniola Fabrics, Mosunmola Eniola, the failing portion of the bridge is a disaster waiting to happen, particularly whenever trailers pass through it.
She called on the concerned authorities to take urgent action to ensure that the bridge is rehabilitated to prevent disaster.
One of the landlords in the area, Sunday Emmanuel, urged government to move swiftly to repair the bridge, while calling for a ban on heavy duty trucks across the bridge, pending when the repair is carried out.
He said: “If this bridge falls, the casualty will be much and it will also obstruct the movement of pedestrians, vehicles and cargo. So, what the government should do is to expedite action in making sure the bridge is rehabilitated. But it is like the main iron that is carrying the bridge is weak, that is what they call attachment.”
He said the reinforcement inside the bridge has become weak because of how the bridge vibrates whenever trailers pass on it.
Another resident, Akeem Musibau, told our reporter that, apart from the bridge, which started failing some years back, with government showing no concern, the road is also in a bad condition.
“Isolo-Ejigbo is known to be a very busy area. Even when the road was good, we did experience a lot of traffic on it. Now, it is impossible for even two heavy duty vehicles to move side by side on the road as a result of the level of damage.
“This is causing heavy traffic on the road; the time of getting to one’s destination is now tripled. We wrote to the Lagos State Public Works Corporation to come and inspect the roads in the area and we were all expecting them to come and do something about it but we didn’t see them,” he said.
