WHY NIGERIANS ABUSE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES AND HOW

WHY NIGERIANS ABUSE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES

Former governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu modernised the pedestrian bridges at Ketu, Mile 12, Fadeyi, Oshodi, Mile 2, Ojo cantonment, and a host of other places, and in the process dislodged numerous traders and beggars who had occupied the bridges.

 Now a similar modernisation is expected in Abuja and its environs. Pedestrian bridges throughout the world are constructed at strategic points to help people cross busy highways without having to risk

 their lives because of some reckless drivers. Impatient motorists and agencies in charge of road safety to control or reduce deaths resulting from road accidents, especially of children and old people,

 as they eliminate the proximity of speeding cars and pedestrians at high density, in some well-populated areas of cities.  A high proportion of which involved people

  who wanted to cross the roads to their destination. Before the bridges were constructed, more than 100 people died from road accidents yearly, many arising from reckless driving or over-speeding along the city’s major highways, according to statistics from the Federal Road Safety Commission.

 However, recently the original aim for which the pedestrian bridges within Abuja and environs were built seems to have been lost, as they have become selling point for traders or points where beggars assemble to beg. follow us

Nigerian petty traders, that are known for their ingenious business acumen and their eagerness to risk everything, have find out that pedestrian bridges can be put to a different use and they have relocated to the bridges to set up display corners or sales points on the railings and on the floors, making it difficult for pedestrians to move or use the facilities freely. One of the resource person said reasons for trading on bridges is that some of the traders cited the high cost of getting shops in conventional markets, good patronage from commuters, and no requirement to pay taxes and levies like their co-traders in conventional markets. Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway by Shehu Shagari Way, near the popular Nicon Junction bus stop, traders were plying their trade while customers bought from them without fear of arrest. Products displayed at the bridge included shoes, underwear, used clothes, belts, fruit, and groundnuts. HECTNET representative said that selling on the bridge affords them ample opportunity to dodge task force operatives. He added that many can't afford the fees charged for shops or stalls in ABUJA markets.