By: Ola Pat, Aisha Abdul-Lateef and Olarewaju Yussuf
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| Locked gate of Oduguwa Street |
It has become part of the Lagos
culture for residents to have a street association that cater more to the
security needs than to their environmental challenges, a carryover from the
failure of government to provide adequate security for the citizenry. It is a
“rarity” to find a street in Lagos apart from Victoria Island and a part of
Ikoyi without a gate. Shomolu-Bariga, Gbagada and Environs are all gated
communities and understandably so. CommuneMagazine, CM can reliably inform you
that streets without a gate are making frantic effort to make their gate.
The street gate concept escalated
in Lagos during the regime of the Sanni Abache Government, when issue of
security was jettison totally by all level of government. And since then, the
lives of the citizens have never be the same as street gate and security levies became part of
citizens monthly expense yet millions of Naira is budgeted for and expended on
security by all level of government. This excludes the notorious and
unaccounted for security vote, an assault on citizens’ intelligent.
To achieve this desired street
security, every streets has its owning governing bodies i.e. association or
committee saddled with the street security. Whatever the named chosen, they are
often voted in every year or two with the tag Landlords-Residents’ Association
under the leadership of a landlord. Posts such as Chainman, financial secretary
and treasurer are often reserved for Landlords, a carryover from the colonial politics.
This is the norm in all the associations except in some few communities.
In an interview granted CM,
Alhaji Tajudeen Bello, chairman Onasanya Street Association gave reasons why
the chairmanship and treasurer positions are reserved for Landlords. According
to him, tenants can move at anytime to another area without batting an eye lid.
These positions are very sensitive because they are sometimes entrusted with levies
collected from residents. The Chairman of Olusoji Residents’ Association chairman,
Mr. Ajiboye Afolabi also collaborate this statement, he averred that the
landlord or any members of his/her household cannot run away with the
association’s money because they have a landed property that tied them to the
community while the same thing cannot be said for a tenant, who can vanished
without a trace.
The Lagos State Government, LSG
has been inundated with the reports of abuse and perpetual locked down of some
street against traffic permanently. The fight to remove this hindrance to easy
access to government infrastructure began during the Administration of
Babatunde Fashola. In fact, the fight was to open up the inner roads to vehicular
traffic in order to reduce traffic on major roads and prolong the life span.
In February 2016, the LSG re-launched
the campaign against locking of street gates between the hours of 5 am and 12
midnight with a note that streets that failed to comply will have their gates
pull down. The LSG also stipulated as part of the term of having a street gate that
every locked gate between 12 midnight to 5 am must be manned so that in cases
of emergences the gates can quickly be opened.
The senior special Assistant to the Governor on Community Affairs Adversary
Council, Mr.
Tajudeen Adeniyi Quadri said it is totally on acceptable that street put
up gates or barricades that obstruct buses and articulated vehicles. “This government
therefore observes with caution that though the erecting and closing of these
gates may be desirable, the consequences on the overall urban efficiency,
aesthetics and functionality of the city and especially traffic flow poses questions
difficult to answer.” He declared.
Hon. Muslim Folami, Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs reiterating the LSG determination to have all streets gate open to the public said “In view of the challenges posed by the unrestricted erection of street gates, the State Government is revisiting the directive on the gates and barricades. Any contravention of this directive will attract necessary punishment for defaulters”
Meanwhile, he went further to say that street that have failed to
comply with the LSG directives have had their gates about 148 gates
earmarked for demolition, 84 of which have been pulled down. “The Ministry promoted 24-hour access through
gated streets in the State with the involvement of Community Development
Associations in the State. So far, enforcement in 84 locations has been
effected as at April, 2016. This is being done to improve security, free flow
of traffic, safety of lives and properties of all citizens in the State.” he said.
In spite of government effort to guaranty freedom of
movement according to the Nigeria constitution, the residents of Oduguwa Street
woke up on Oct 5, 2016 to operation show your receipt. The street,
one of the longest and a major access road in the Ladi-Lak area of Bariga to
about four other major streets and a mini-market had 10 gates, 9 of which were
locked down by the street’s security coordinators. According to one of those
manning the only gate left opened, who refuse blatantly to identify himself to
CM correspondent on ground, the gates were locked down because some of the
residents failed to pay their security levy, thus only people with evidence of
payment i. e. receipt will be allowed to go out of the street. He went to
further to say the residents were given two weeks ultimatum.
All effort to speak with the chairman or the person
representing the security coordinators was frustrated. One of the residents,
who spoke with CM based on the condition of anonymity, said he did not know the
chairman of the committee. But he had heard about the purported lock down but
he did not believe it is possible. A shop owner in the community said although
they allowed people to come into the street, she had to go and meet one of her
customers at the lock gate because it was a long journey for her to go round
and use the open gate.
As at 11:25 am, when our correspondent was leaving the Street,
the gates were still under lock and key. CM sorts the opinions of some
community leaders on the issue of locking up residents in order to effect payment
of security levies. In a Whatsapp chat with Ayoola Julius Esq, popularly called
The Law, he found it unjustifiable and totally unacceptable to lock residents
in simply to force them to pay their dues. “Street Associations are not
government institutions and as such they have no competence to do what they do
by locking out residents on the account of nonpayment of security levies. This
is different in th case of private estate.
The chairman of Akoka CDA, Mr. Adesanya could not understand
why residents will refuse to pay for something they derived direct benefits
from. “The only way people understand is locking the gate some of the time”. On
being told that the government wants all gate open between 5 am to midnight? He
replied, we need to assist the government, the police in areas of security, if
not it would have been free for all for men of the underworld. In response to
the question, if its right to lock people in because they can’t pay their
security levies, he asked if it is right to keep people outside at night in the
cold through the month, while people are sleeping inside their homes. Then fail
to pay them at the end of the month. “Did you realize those security have
families at home? How do you pay them? I think it will be wickedness on our
part if those guys were not paid at the end of the month. Its call community
watch, who pays for it?