Agbado Oke Odo Residents Cry Out As Pedestrian Bridge Turns Love Nest

BY: Babalola Seyi

In spite of the pedestrian bridge at the Ile-Epo market axis on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, residents of Oke-Odo have continued to risk their lives by dashing across the road. The development has led to many deaths as fast moving vehicles crush people who fail to adhere to warnings against crossing the expressway.

Some of the residents speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, said the facility had been converted into a meeting spot for lovers who use the bridge as a rendezvous of sorts. They also said that hoodlums in the area have also taken advantage of the location of the bridge to perpetrate acts of illegality on pedestrians using the bridge.

Some of those who don’t use the bridge complained about their health conditions, including age and rheumatic pains which prevents them from being able to climb the bridge. The development, they said had made some residents, especially those with children to dash across the road, instead of using the bridge that was meant for their safety and well-being.

A trader, Mrs. Yetunde Tomori told Alimosho Standard that the reason she does not use the bridge is because of her physical condition. “I don’t have the strength to climb this bridge, I prefer to walk across the road which is easier for me,’’ she said. She however urged the government to light up the pedestrian bridge at night to assure would-be users of their safety when they pass through at night. “By so doing we can comfortably use the bridge without any fear,’’ she added.

Mrs. Adebimpe Adeoye, a business woman said she avoided the bridge because of the acts of immorality that is being perpetrated by the itinerant lovers on the bridge. “When I leave my shop every day, I pass through the bridge with my children and I do not want my children to learn bad things from what they see these young girls and boys do on the bridge” she said. “It is also a big risk for me to take my children across the express because we have fast moving vehicles there, the government has given us the bridge to save our lives and not to destroy it or turn it into a love nest, so they need to intensify their surveillance in this area especially on the bridge,’’ she concluded.

Meanwhile, officials of Kick Against indiscipline (KAI) said they have arrested over 6,000 persons for crossing the road instead of using the pedestrian bridge.