Lagos residents have lamented the disappearance of rails on footbridges and bus stops provided to protect pedestrians and other road users across the state.
According to them, most of the protective rails installed at bus stops by the last administration have been vandalised or damaged.
A resident, Emmanuel Odeh, lamented that the rails in Oshodi and environs installed to check activities of miscreants have been damaged without repairs and replacement.
Similarly, a commercial motorist, who plies Obalande-Berger route, Afeez Oyeleke, said some damaged rails at Berger, Alapere and 7-Up Bus Stops were ran over by motorists.
He, however, lamented that government has not shown interest in replacing it .
Oyeleke lamented that many drivers have resorted to parking on the road because of the destroyed railings, which hitherto restrict commercial bus drivers within the bus stops.
Apart from vandalisation of the railings at bus stops, several pedestrian and walk bridges in the metropolis, he said, have also suffered vandalisation.
“For instance, footbridge at Five Star Bus Stop and Iyana-Isolo along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway was one of the worst hit, as over 90 per cent of the protective railings have been removed.
“Similarly, the railings at Iyana-Isolo over headbridge have also given way.
“More dangerously was the struggle between pedestrians and commercial motorcyclists, who in a bid to beat traffic, resorted to riding on the pedestrian sidewalks of the bridge.
“The sidewalks are not only narrow, but also bare as the railings, which ought to serve as protective guides, have been removed, making it dangerous for anyone standing there to fall on a moving vehicle with a little push.
“Also, lack of these protective fittings expose motorcyclists and their passengers to the risk of falling from the bridge into the busy Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, if any of the bikes accidentally run into each other,” he noted.
A commuter, Ayinde David, who narrowly escaped falling from the pedestrian bridge at Five Star Bus Stop, lamented government’s carefree attitude to the dangers posed by the vandalised protective fittings at most pedestrian bridges and walkways in Lagos.
According to him, going by the trite, which says that a stitch in time saves nine, it would be proper for the authorities concerned to nip the looming danger in the bud .
Another pedestrian, Mrs. Adeola Dotun called for prompt fixing of the damaged railings.
She stressed the need for government to find a lasting solution to the vandalisation of critical road infrastructure in Lagos.
Contacted, an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Works, said issue of vandalisation has remained a serious issue in Lagos infrastructure.
The officials, who spoke in confidence, said government is considering using protective bricks against steels in its new designs to curtail their attraction to criminals, who are wont to vandalise them for commercial purposes.
Another top official of Lagos State government, who confided in The Guardian, said there is need for a highway infrastructure protection committee or agency to protect highway infrastructure furniture like the protective railings across the state.
The official lamented that at present, these infrastructure have been abused and government seemed to lack capacity to address the situation.
According to the official, even the ministry of works and infrastructure cannot do much, because there is no push for it, but with such a dedicated inter ministerial committee, the vandalisation of the railings and others like manholes could be tackled.
“We are pushing for an inter ministerial committee, which should respond rapidly, if we are to get it right. The committee should be placed under the emergency unit of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA),” the official added.
