This Killer Manhole In Ketu Lagos Is Wide Enough To Swallow A Tricycle
By Jide Owatunmise
The case of a promising young Accountant, Adewura Bello who met her untimely death in a manhole on a road in Lagos State is still very fresh in our memories.
For about three years now, I have used various platforms to draw the attention of the governments, drivers, riders and pedestrians to the open manholes in Lagos and Abuja. This was a follow-up to my road traffic research assignments in Ketu area of Lagos State and Wuse Area 1 in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).
At Ketu bus stop in Lagos State, there is a very dangerous manhole by the junction of Ketu – Ikosi road which is wide enough to swallow a tricycle. Whenever it rains, the rush of water through the manhole can move a car with speed.
There are open drainage, weak wooden planks and broken concretes at different parts of the drainage along Ketu – Ikosi road. The drainage beside the Ketu market is another snare whether there is rainfall or not.
In the Federal Capital Territory, far beyond the areas of coverage of my research, dangerous open manholes have dotted virtually all the roads in Abuja.
During my research, I was told that people, particularly the refuse cart pushers popularly called “BOLAR” used to steal the iron covers for the manholes.
This is another demonstration of the security lapses even in the Federal Capital Territory.
These open manholes can cause harm to pedestrians, cars and other road users. The manhole can cause tyre blowout and somersault among other hazards.
The government road and traffic monitoring agencies should take stock of all these open and dangerous manholes so as to replace them with welded or screwed iron covers or better still, with concrete covers. The construction companies should also change their preference to concrete manhole covers.
May the Lord have mercy. The local government chairman need to do something fast.
All the chairman will start going after is reelection and nothing more. our leaders are the problem
ABOUT CANCER: EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT ENSURES recovery. But when it is not detected and treated until it festers, the sufferer would have to live with it until death liberates him from his anguish.
THAT IS exactly how corruption is. When it had not developed to this stage in Nigeria, we failed as a country to dislodge it. Out leaders played with fighting against it. Political affiliations beclouded their judgments. Tribal bloodlines and religious persuasions slanted our objectivity. And so, the smoldering menace gradually blew into a roaring inferno, burning virtually everybody that lives in this country, and in every nook and cranny we have shrewd people with warped understanding and dead consciences.
AND NOW, WE WANT to fight that seven-horn devil called corruption! I wonder how we would succeed! How could we explain that somebody could be heartless enough to steal the metal covering of a manhole in the middle of a road, thereby creating a very hazardous environment for everybody, not only motorists, but cyclists as well? How could we explain that the authorities did not know well enough to replace the missing covering promptly? How could we tell the tale of thousands of other inordinate abnormalities in this country, from blocking of drainage channels to littering refuse along the streets; from salaries unpaid to people being forced to steal because of hardship; from government officials looting the country to the police harassment of law-abiding citizens; from any bad thing to another bad thing? How? The answer is simple: Cancer! It has gone too deep, touching every remote thing concerning us. No cure anymore. We have to live with it, and manage it until death helps us out.
we have seen it all.failed leadership