SPECIAL REPORT: Jaywalkers in Abuja avoid pedestrian bridges built to protect them

Nkechi Ukwuoma (not real names) was buried on Monday, May 14, 2018. A retiree, Nkwuoma was knocked down at the popular Area 3 junction in the Garki district of Abuja by a hit-and-run driver.

She had just left her house at Area 2 on a Sunday evening in April to meet her relative who was visiting Abuja for the first time. It was on their way back, that she got knocked down. The person she had gone to receive, being younger, was able to cross faster and so escaped death by a whisker.

A few yards from where the accident occurred, was a pedestrian bridge constructed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), to prevent jaywalking.

Jaywalking is the technical term referring to the act of crossing a major road illegally, i.e. without adhering to traffic regulations.

“There’s no week that passes without at least one person being knocked down along this road,” a commercial driver, Tunde, told ICIR.

“Just yesterday, I nearly knocked a woman down,” he continued. “The woman had hesitated to cross, but her son pulled her along but she was already late. She just managed to jump past a Hilux truck and if I hadn’t applied my brakes just in time, I would have knocked her down.”

Road accident is a frequent occurrence in Abuja, and the official of the city are aware of the problem. Ifeanyi Ughammadu, Public Relations Officer at the FCTA transport secretariat, admitted this much, but he was reluctant to give detail because he had no authorisation to speak.

KILLED UNDER THE BRIDGE

Another official of the FCTA transport secretriat narrated an incident she witnessed along the Airport road.

She said two friends were about to cross the road but were arguing whether or not to make use of the popular car wash pedestrian bridge at Lugbe.

One was adamant and opted to cross, telling his friend that they would meet at the federal housing estate junction. But as he made to run through the third lane of the expressway, he was swept off by an oncoming vehicle which also ran him over.

“His bones were scattered all over the road, I couldn’t believe it,” she said, her face contorted in shock

“You needed to see how his friend was crying and saying ‘I told him that we should climb the bridge.’”

WHY ARE PEOPLE RELUCTANT TO USE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES?

ICIR observed a few of pedestrian bridges in the city and found that most people do not use the bridges

“The bridges are very far from the junctions,” said Amaka, a resident of Abuja who spoke with ICIR. “Instead of trekking for several minutes under the sun, and then climbing up and down the bridge, abeg person go just run across in less than one minute.”

Asked if she is concerned about getting knocked down by impatient driver, “I no get eyes? You have to look carefully before you cross now. You don’t just run into a major road like that,” Amaka retorted.

This reporter put Amaka’s claim to the test, by timing the walk from the Finance Junction, along the Area 1 – Berger road, to the nearest pedestrian bridge. It took exactly four minutes, 21 seconds of casual walking.

INSECURITY

Other people interviewed by ICIR also harped on the danger of passing through pedestrian bridges, especially in the night. A colleague of this reporter narrated how he saw a trail of blood along one of the bridges on his way to work one morning. “Certainly, someone must have been stabbed there last night,” he said.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/special-report-jaywalkers-in-abuja-avoid-pedestrian-bridges-built-to-protect-them/

impatience and ignorant of the consequences