- We prefer living in shanties to dying in kidnappers’ hands – Inhabitants
- Months after government destroyed water channel apartments, inhabitants return
About four months after the Lagos State Government conducted pockets of demolition operations at some under-bridges, removed unauthorised structures and evicted their inhabitants, homeless residents have been returning to the environments in piecemeal, findings by The Point have revealed.
According to the inhabitants of the under-bridge shanties, since they left their various states due to insecurity and economic hardship, they had been taking refuge under bridges because they could not afford the exorbitant rents being charged by landlords in the state.
Checks revealed that most occupants of apartments constructed under Obalende, Ijora, Adeniji-Adele under bridges are from the northern parts of the country and some of them have been living in the water channel structures for over 30 years.
These occupants explained that they have fled their various communities owing to rising cases of kidnapping and abject poverty as bandits have prevented them from working on their farmlands.
At Obalende Under Bridge, there are no fewer than 60 persons living under the bridge. Ninety per cent of these inhabitants are from the North. For this reason, the environment is popularly named “Karkashin Gada” in Hausa, which means “under bridge.”
A resident, Adamu Sahara who had lived in a house that is very close to “Karkashin Gada” for over 30 years said lack of accommodation has been worsening in Lagos, a situation that has forced visitors to find shelter in shanties.
He said, “Many fled their communities due to lack of security and constant attacks by Jihad groups, and poor economy has also contributed in making many people to leave the North to Lagos,” Sahara said.
“Nigerian leaders should know what is happening so as to know how to proffer solutions because no one should be living under the bridge. Those who have stayed so long in Karkashin Gada do not have any plan to return to their states in the North because of the economic hardship that is getting worse daily and to worsen the matter, kidnapping and other forms of attacks have been deadly.
“These ugly happenings have forced many to abandon their works, businesses and farmlands and they are also scared of being kidnapped. No one wants to pay ransom to abductors,” he added.
Liya’u Sa’adu, a 60-year-old man has been living under Obalende bridge for over 30 years.
The scavenger who hails from Zumi community in Zamfara State left his hometown in 1994 and settled under the bridge.
After spending about half of his lifetime under Lagos bridge, Sa’adu has become a ‘landlord’ of sorts for many Lagosians who are destitute and lacking shelter.
He has facilitated accommodation for many others under the bridge, especially his kinsmen from the North.
The bridge at Obalende area of Lagos houses more than 60 people. Notwithstanding the noise and dirty environment, they prefer staying in the squalor owing to increasing house rent in the nation’s commercial nerve centre.
Sa’adu advises those who newly arrived Lagos, especially youths on how to live in areas that would not be prone to illicit criminal behaviours. For this, many in the shanties regard and respect him highly.
“I have been living under Lagos bridge for 30 years. I am 60 years old and I have those who have taken me as their father in this Karkashin Gada. I see it as my responsibility to direct them right.
“Yes, a lot of us living under bridges are from the Northern part of the country and that is because of insecurity in our communities. We find it very easy to work in Lagos unlike in our place where bandits have been disturbing us,” he said.
He added, “Those who come here (Obalende Under Bridge) newly know those who had been living here before or had relationships with those who know something about Karkashin Gada. When I came here, those I met were not up to ten, but now, we are more than 60.”
To make his living conditions comfortable, Sa’adu purchased a bed, mosquito net and other household items for his make-shift apartment.
He laid the bed on some planks and underneath the woods; he created his safe where he keeps his valuables.
While Sa’adu owns a bed, others who live under the bridge are yet to acquire it as they sleep on mattresses and bare floors.
The Point gathered that their stay in the area has reduced incidents of robbery and gangsterism that usually characterise such vicinity.
The inhabitants of the bridge use only one toilet and bathroom as each of them would have to pay a sum of N100 before making use of the facilities.
Cooking activities rarely take place in Karkashin Gada because the dwellers buy foods from vendors.
“This place is one of the areas in Lagos that has Northerners in high population and because of this, I sell Fura here and I am happy because I am making good sales and people are patronising me,” a food vendor, Aisha Hadi, who sells food in the area said.
Sa’adu, after spending 30 years in Lagos said he has been making progress financially. From shoemaking, he ventured into scavenging for iron materials and selling them to dealers.
He said he makes N5, 000 daily from his scavenging business.
“Don’t forget I have to send money to my family members at home in Zamfara every week. That is why it is important for me to be hardworking,” Sa’adu said.
Tukur Garba, who started living under the bridge about five years ago said the pieces of advice from Sa’adu to them had been very useful and that is why those who came for a brighter future in Lagos regard him.
Garba, aged 31, who came to Lagos from Kaduna, said, “He (Sa’adu) is like our elder brother because he has been here for many years. We need his wealth of experience and his admonition because it is very easy to fall into trouble in Lagos.”
Recall that officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Lagos Waste Management Authority had in May, this year, stormed Obalende Under-Bridge, Adeniji Adele Under-Bridge, Ijora Under-Bridge with trucks and removed the make-shift apartments put in place by some homeless residents, mostly non-indigenes.
The removal of the shanties and eviction of their inhabitants followed a mandate from Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who, after inspecting the areas alongside the Commissioners and Special Advisers for Environment and Water Resources and Transport, identified the informal settlements as contributing to environmental degradation and public health concerns.
A statement by Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, had highlighted the initiative as a crucial step by the state to enhance the cleanliness and overall well-being of Lagos.
