Flay Activities Of Hoodlums
RESIDENTS of Mafoluku and environs have decried the activities of miscreants on the bridge linking the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road with Mafoluku. They urged the Lagos State government to commission the bridge and post security men there.

The two-kilometer stretch, which begins at NACHO Motor Park and ends at Ajibulu Street in Mafoluku, was completed early 2015 with features that include drainage, walkway and streetlights. It has, however, not been officially opened for public use.

Some motorists in NACHO, who spoke with The Guardian, expressed displeasure over the development, calling for the bridge to be commissioned, so that they could be spared having to pay toll at Airport Road.

Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA) in Mafoluku, Magnus Olagundoye, said the miscreants are in the habit of snatching people’s possessions, such as handbags, mobile phones and cash.

“The contractors have stopped coming to the site for over eight months. Commissioning of the bridge would facilitate easy movement. There is need also for government to provide security on the bridge, especially at night, in order to check these hoodlums and hemp smokers. Sometimes, they mess up the drainage with excreta. Sometimes, we hear victims of these miscreants crying for help at night, and the following morning we find bloodstains on the ground,” Olagundoye said.

According to Bello Yusuf, a resident, “We waited for the completion of this bridge for more than eight years, yet it has not been commissioned. Now that it is finished, there is no reason for the delay. We are finding if difficult to connect Murtala Mohammed Airport Road. Opening the bridge would help us move freely; it would also reduce traffic.”

One Mr. David Kola at NACHO Motor Park spoke of his disappointment over government’s delay in commissioning the bridge. He said: “For government to meet the demand of people living in this area, it should commission the bridge. It should surmount all the challenges involved and do this immediately. We heard that there is an issue of unpaid money between the contractor and the government. We appeal to both parties to reach an agreement for the sake of the people.

“We spend money paying toll at Airport Road everyday. The money is increased from time to time, yet we do not see what use it is put to. Before, it was N100. Now, it is N300 for cars and buses, and N500 for trucks. Roads have been very bad but they keep collecting money without rehabilitating them. We want the Lagos State government to open the bridge, so that we wouldn’t waste money paying tolls anymore.”

The site engineer said via telephone that he is not authorised to speak about the project, adding: “If you need any information, go to the Lagos State Ministry of Works.”

Efforts to speak with officials of the Ministry proved abortive.