[size=18pt]Battle to restore Oshodi's fading glory[/size]


Complaints have been rife in recent times that Oshodi is gradually sliding to its former infamous state of criminality and traffic gridlock. Upon the complaints, Governor Fashola has ordered security operatives of the State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences Unit to ensure that criminal shields, traffic gridlock, and unplanned structures do not sprout anywhere in Oshodi and its axis again. Gboyega Akinsanmi writes

Before 2007, Oshodi was widely known as a hot bed of criminals. For many Lagos residents, Oshodi was a no-go area. But the administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola saved the situation upon his assumption of office. As a result, criminal shields were dismantled; traffic gridlocks unlocked and unplanned structures demolished in Oshodi; and the area became one of the centres of attraction of Lagos metropolis.

But lately, complaints have been rife that Oshodi has started losing its restored glory. Concerned Lagos residents have expressed worries about the gradually relapsing state of Oshodi as reflected in the recent traffic build-up in the area. Also, the case of broken barbwires dividing the railway and the road was cited; and the return of social miscreants (otherwise known as Area Boys) was pointed out as well.

One of the concerned residents, Ms. Ngozi Konyebagu called the attention of Governor Babatunde Fashola to the relapsing state of Oshodi in an article THISDAY published penultimate week. In her piece, she indeed, acknowledged Oshodi's transformation under the leadership of Fashola as one of the scorecards of the present administration. She pointed out unhindered traffic flow, disappearance of Area Boys and street lighting, which she said, created an orderly environment out of what Oshodi used to be to before this administration.

Konyebagu wrote further: "The same story cannot be said of Oshodi at the moment. Since the middle of this year, the traffic logjam has come back to stay in Oshodi. There is hardly any day now that one can freely drive through the Oshodi Bridge. Motorists spend a minimum of 30 minutes to get out of Oshodi traffic daily. The most frustrating side of this sad tale is the fact that officers of the State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) now stand unconcerned as buses pick and drop passengers on the bridge right there on their noses".

Disturbed by the relapsed state of Oshodi, Konyebagu lamented about how the LASTMA officers always "pretend not to notice all the commotion on the bridge and one of them is liaising with bus drivers and this usual interaction is no longer hidden from passers-by. The Area Boys now have a field day and are able to collect their own dues in the man-made bumper-to-bumper traffic. Also, the street light, which was a major achievement in Oshodi, do not function regularly again. Most evenings, road users have to grapple in the dark.

"This has made the Oshodi axis predominantly porous in the recent times. The barbwires initially used to barricade the rail lines have all collapsed, and the beauty of that area is quietly fading away as one notices that its erstwhile rowdiness has returned. The lack of a maintenance culture, which is presently the major issue in the country, has found its ways into Oshodi. I hope Governor Fashola would act fast to inject some sanity back into that area because his good work at Oshodi has been one of his stand-out points so far," she wrote.

Konyebagu was not the only Lagos resident concerned about the relapsed state of Oshodi. A good number of Lagos residents too at different times lodged their complaints to different authorities, especially government agencies and the media. But when the complaint about Oshodi's fading glory reached him, the state governor directed security operatives to move and save the situation.

Last week, THISDAY visited Oshodi to observe the alleged fading of Oshodi's glory. On the visit, it was observed that the barbwires used to barricade had been broken, thereby giving passers-by access to cross the rail lines. Also, a good number of pedestrians deliberately ignored the foot bridge and freely crossed the highway contrary to the state traffic laws and regulations, which makes its use mandatory.

During the visit, THISDAY also saw a number of security and traffic operatives attached to the State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offence Unit, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), the State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigeria Police on ground. When approached for comments about the above complaint, the team leader, who did not want his name mentioned, declined to speak with the media.

By the time, THISDAY gathered that the operatives had been given another mandate to ensure that the achievement of the Fashola administration in Oshodi "is not rubbished". The new mandate came from the governor's office through the chairman of the taskforce, Mr. Bayo Suleiman, a Superintendent of Police (SP). Then, traffic gridlocks have been eased; miscreants are nowhere to be found and pedestrians still ignored the footbridge, but a good number of them were ordered back while the defiant ones were arrested and subsequently arraigned.

At the post of KAI operatives, THISDAY found about 10 persons arrested for allegedly flouting the state traffic and environmental regulations, and the team leader acknowledged on the condition of anonymity that about 50 persons had earlier been arrested and taken to the court for prosecution on that day. But the operatives were positioned at different strategic locations along Oshodi-Ikeja Road to mainly direct the passers-by from crossing the road.

It was also observed that some Area Boys were seen around, apparently looking gaunt and fierce, but could not prowl around to extort the commercial drivers due to the heavy presence of security operatives. While the miscreants kept off the bridge, they were busy extorting the commercial drivers at the main bus stop, a situation that keeps commercial bus operators in Lagos metropolis complaining and groaning.

When THISDAY spoke with him last week, Suleiman, who is the taskforce chairman, acknowledged that the operation was embarked upon due to a number of messages and comments in the national dailies about the return of miscreants and the regular traffic build-up in Oshodi. He said the taskforce received information that the public infrastructure was destroyed and the growing inefficiency of the LASTMA operatives.

He added that the security operatives "are now on ground 24 hours to ensure public order and compliance with state laws. We have been there. The traffic jams must have been due to an increase in the number of vehicles in Oshodi, but not because the law enforcement officers are not on the ground. The barbwire was broken in the night after our security operatives had gone. We always end our operations at 10 p.m. Then the miscreants may come out. Even at this, we have devised fresh approach to get them arrested. But this is not what we can discuss on the pages of the national dailies or on air".

But Suleiman debunked the complaint that the law enforcement agents had relented their effort at maintaining the reclaimed glory of Oshodi. According to him, our security operatives are fully on ground from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. And the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad patrol all through the night. We have been maintaining public order and ensure protection of public infrastructure and installation as the constitution directs. In fact, we have made series of arrests and tremendously the criminal activities in Oshodi.

The chairman confirmed about 200 miscreants, who have been arrested in Oshodi alone. "At the inception of October, the taskforce arrested more than 146 miscreants, who were paraded. We have never rested on our oars. There is no hidden place for them at Oshodi both during the day and night. This is to attest to the fact that our approach to getting rid of miscreants in the area is effective. We are not joking with them at all. We are always on ground to deal with issues that cause public disorder and nuisance".

When some of those arrested were interviewed, THISDAY discovered that the suspects were arrested for different offences ranging from flouting traffic regulations to breaking public orders. A number of the suspects were arrested for alleged environmental offences. One of the suspects, Ms. Amina Adigun told THISDAY that she was innocent of the state law making it mandatory for the pedestrians to use the footbridge to cross the highway. She pleaded for clemency, and promised that she would no longer flout the state regulation again.

However, it remains to be seen if the current onslaught would restore the fading glory of Oshodi long known for its intractable traffice snarl. As many residents observed, it is only the persistence of the various security agencies there that would restore order eventually.


http://odili.net/news/source/2010/nov/3/200.html

I feel like this is rubbish, just another way to extort money from "offenders".
Arresting them is not going to fix anything, they'd end up back in point A when they eventually get out of jail.
The only solution to restoring not only Oshodi's glory, but also Nigeria's glory is to create jobs for this jobless area boys.

Ileke-IdI:

I feel like this is rubbish, just another way to extort money from "offenders".
Arresting them is not going to fix anything, they'd end up back in point A when they eventually get out of jail.
The only solution to restoring not only Oshodi's glory, but also Nigeria's glory is to create jobs for this jobless area boys.

And how do you create these jobs? Do you just invent jobs or how do you go about it? Who will pay the wages or these created jobs? I've been hearing this phrase for a while now. I'd be really interested to know how this would work?

Mariory:

And how do you create these jobs? Do you just invent jobs or how do you go about it? Who will pay the wages or these created jobs? I've been hearing this phrase for a while now. I'd be really interested to know how this would work?

I am not exactly supposed to figure that out since it's not in my position.
However, I'll give you an example. The construction of Enugu Airport is guaranteed to provide some of its locals with temporary/ permanent jobs, no?
The jobs do not have to be high classed, as long as it takes their time and earns them a salary. I.E street cleaner and garbage pick up in Lagos.
Who pays for the wages? Like you said, it depends on  source of the job.

So we should continue to arrest them and imposed strict guard on oshodi ? With each new system, someone will eventually find a way to peek through a crack in the wall.

Creating job could be one of the ways to eradicate thurgery and arm robbery, though no matter how many jobs created some people are born to destroy, many are so lazy , it is in their blood. and that is why many other nations see blacks as destructive and often associate blacks with 'failure'. We can see Lagos is becoming over populated 'why' people are migrating everyday to seek better life in Lagos and when they cannot find what they are looking for turns to something else just to survive, If other states in the country could emulate the rapid development and make life more better for their citizens, very few people will consider migrating to other bigger cities. Urban planning is a necessity. Nigeria as a whole lack this.

Just my own opinion.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SOME NIGERIANS ARE QUICK AT OFFERING UNINFORMED SOLUTIONS TO PRESSING PROBLEMS. YOU WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE JOBS SO AS TO CURB THE FLAGRANT UNLAWFULNESS (I MEAN CROSSING THE HIGHWAY ILLEGALY). HOW ARE U SURE THAT ITS ONLY THOSE THAT ARE JOBLESS THAT CROSS THE HIGHWAY? ARE U AWARE THAT UNEMPLOYMENT CAN HALDLY BE DEALT WITH BY GOVERNMENT WITHOUT UPSURGE IN INFLATION-MOST ESPECIALLY WITH MOSTLY NON-PRODUCTIVE CIVIL SERVICE?
I ENCOURAGE NIGERIANS TO EMBARK ON RESEARCH BEFORE PROFERING SOLUTIONS AS ONLY THROUGH THIS THAT THE REAL CAUSE OF A PROBLEM CAN BE UNMASKED.

Hmmm [img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

Point of correction BATTLE TO RESTORE OSHODI BRIDGE EXCHANGE. Development around oshodi is noticeable from Cappa Bustop to the Bolade Bustop.  A minute drive off the main road no noticeable govt presence. Julius berger Nigeria Ltd been working on this less than 3km road for over 2 years the work there  been extremely slow.

we lack 'maintenance culture' in this country na.

obasy09:

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SOME NIGERIANS ARE QUICK AT OFFERING UNINFORMED SOLUTIONS TO PRESSING PROBLEMS. YOU WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE JOBS SO AS TO CURB THE FLAGRANT UNLAWFULNESS (I MEAN CROSSING THE HIGHWAY ILLEGALY). HOW ARE U SURE THAT ITS ONLY THOSE THAT ARE JOBLESS THAT CROSS THE HIGHWAY? ARE U AWARE THAT UNEMPLOYMENT CAN HALDLY BE DEALT WITH BY GOVERNMENT WITHOUT UPSURGE IN INFLATION-MOST ESPECIALLY WITH MOSTLY NON-PRODUCTIVE CIVIL SERVICE?
I ENCOURAGE NIGERIANS TO EMBARK ON RESEARCH BEFORE PROFERING SOLUTIONS AS ONLY THROUGH THIS THAT THE REAL CAUSE OF A PROBLEM CAN BE UNMASKED.

My sentiment, exactly! Many are guilty of this act, not just the area boys but pedestrian as well!

I welcome any strategies that deter offenders including fines.

Hitting them in the pocket is most likely to deter offenders especially in nigeria in my opinion.

It will probably in the next century that Oshodi will be fixed.

Glory ??