Popular danfo buses parked at Obalende under bride in Lagos Island
Not minding the stench oozing out from the nearby canal, Edwin
Nwani, 31, devoured every bit of the meal before him like someone who
had just been set loose from days of starvation. Around him were four
other people – a middle-aged woman, two men and a police officer. They
paid no attention to the filth and foul smell all around them as well,
as they proceeded in ‘cleaning up’ the plates before them.
Every day – between 7:00am and 6:00pm, individuals like Nwani find
their way to under the Obalende bridge to have a taste of sumptuous,
affordable plate of ‘Eba’, a local delicacy, at Good Time
canteen, one of several makeshift eating joints dotting the landscape. A
plate of the popular delicacy starts from as low as N150 here and so
for many low-income earners, especially those working or trading around
the area, under this popular Lagos bridge offers plenty of succour for
their lean pockets.
Apart from the highly patronised ‘Eba’ in this somewhat strange community, known meals such as ‘Amala’, ‘Tuwo’, ‘Semovita’ and 'pounded yam', also
enjoy large following. There is also a section for lovers of ‘fast
foods’ like noodles, bread, egg and tea. Whatever your taste is and
depending on the weight of your pocket, you are sure to find solace in
one of the local joints across the area.
But beyond its vast array of food outlets, under the Obalende
bridge provides attractions of all kinds that constantly ensure a steady
flow of human traffic in the area. A vibrant bus park, a thriving
livestock market, a buzzing gambling arena livened by the presence of a
variety of alcoholic mixtures and hard drugs – it is a bizarre
combination that together provides a bustling atmosphere for the most
part of the day across the area. There are also shacks set up at the tip
of the canal that now serves as home to many who trade and engage in
other forms of business activities here all through the day.
“I have been here for over two years and I can tell you that
there are always activities going on under this bridge at every period
of the day,” Morufu Ojo, a lotto agent told Saturday Punch. “There
is hardly anything that you want that you can’t find here. I live under
this bridge with my younger brother in one of these wooden structures.
While I operate a lotto kiosk, he runs a sports betting business. This
place means everything to us because it is from here that we get our
daily living and also lay our heads when it is night,” he said.
During a visit to this part of Lagos earlier in the week, our
correspondent observed all sorts of activities taking place
simultaneously even as more people streamed in to meet one need or the
other. Young men of different ages with fiery looks were seen in groups
of threes and fours either smoking hemp or helping themselves to all
sorts of liquid substances as the afternoon sun unleashed its venom
across the area. It is a world hidden far away from the view of many,
especially the hundreds that daily ride above it in exotic cars and
rickety commercial vehicles.
Interestingly, such vibrant atmosphere occasioned by a vast array
of activities is not peculiar to under the Obalende bridge, it is a
scene now familiar with other parts of the city where bridges exist.
People eating at a joint under Obalende bridge which also accomodates a ram market
Across town in CMS, one of the busiest parts of Lagos for example, a thriving ‘under bridge community’ welcomes
you as you make your way into the neighbourhood. Though, there are no
shack structures serving as residential quarters here like in Obalende, a
handful of men and women together with their children have since made a
home out of every available corner under the bridge. During a visit to
the area earlier in the week, our correspondent observed at least three
men and a woman sleeping at different corners while clutching on to
their few belongings.
At another section under this popular Lagos bridge, bags, shoes,
clothes and other fashion accessories were vigorously displayed while at
a separate angle, auto mechanics had erected a workshop where they
attended to faulty vehicles. A sizeable part of the area is also
dedicated to the sale of food items, alcoholic drinks and cosmetics.
A trader, Mrs. Kemi Adejare, told Saturday Punch that the high cost
of shops in most parts of Lagos Island was responsible for the growing
number of small sheds under the CMS bridge where petty traders like her
display various wares and support their families from the proceeds.
“It was a friend who introduced me to this place last year. I
used to have a shop at Idumota before but I lost it when I couldn’t keep
up with the high rent anymore. Instead of sitting and doing nothing at
home with two children to cater for, I managed to secure a space for a
shed here where I have been selling little items.
“Many of the men and women who have sheds here were also pushed
to this area as a result of the high cost of renting shops in town.
Though, there is not much patronage, at least many of us are able to
feed and support our families from the little that comes in at the end
of the day. But the only problem is the regular harassment from touts
and local council officials as us of money all the time,” she said.
While the under bridges of Obalende and CMS were discovered to be
havens for cheap alcoholic drinks and illicit drugs like Indian hemp
aside from the other buying and selling activities that go unabated for
most parts of the day, in other similar and bizarre ‘communities’ scattered
all across the metropolis, the sight is equally amazing – each provides
a different kind of the blend that adds colour to the entire mix.
Under the Ojuelegba bridge for example, sights of books,
newspapers, magazines and academic materials displayed on large tables
and wooden shelves are a common feature. Customers journey from far and
near to this area every day to search for and buy literatures hardly
found in other parts of the city and country. It is a vibrant industry
that has thrived for several years.
“For the past five years, this is where I have been selling books,” Francis Obiora told Saturday Punch. “There
is no type of book that I don’t sell. Some of my customers come from as
far as Benin in Edo State to patronise me because they know that there
is hardly any type of book that they want that I would not help them
get. The business is not a bad one just that sales is no longer what it
used to be like,” he said.
Apart from book sellers like Obiora, under the Ojuelegba bridge is
also home to commercial buses plying various routes across the
metropolis and also several kiosks where lotto, sports betting and other
gambling activities take place. There is also room for merchants and
patrons of alcoholic drinks who are either stationed at a spot or hawk
their wares from one point to another in this distinct ‘community’.
At Oshodi, one of the most notorious parts of the metropolis, life
under the bridge is a combination of the sights in almost all other
places. Apart from the regular scenes of eating, drinking and smoking
synonymous with many of such places, there is a cluster of public
toilets and bathrooms that take care of the sanitary needs of those who
turn to it daily and in fact call it home – bands of young men and women
who engage in petty activities around the area.
Though, the place looked calm on the afternoon our correspondent
visited it, a security man guarding one of the banks around the
neighbourhood revealed that it is an entirely different picture at
night.
“This place is not in any way the same at night with what you
see during day time. If you come here at night, you will see all sorts
of activities going on. Small boys and girls would be smoking openly and
even having sex without minding that anybody could see them. Even as a
security man, I am always careful when I pass through under the bridge
at night. The place could be very dangerous at that time of the day,” he said.
Apart from Obalende, CMS, Ojuelegba and Oshodi, under bridges in
other parts of Lagos, especially within the metropolis, have always had
strange and sometimes amazing sights connected to them. While in places
like Ijora and Mile 2, it is home to a variety of businesses and bus
parks, in Maryland for instance a robust and vibrant cane weaving and
sculpture industry exists.
Town planning expert, Anayo Ogunbo, though, appreciates these
bizarre sights from the under bridges of Lagos, equates this phenomenon
to the shortage of land within the city and also the high cost of
renting shops.
According to him, the twin factors of high rent and shortage of
land have contributed to pushing many people to either live or trade
under the bridges these days.
“If you look at Lagos as it is now, there is hardly any
available land within the city again except you are going to buy from an
existing owner and that would cost you several millions, if not
billions. How many people can afford that?
“Also, renting a shop or small space to do business in Lagos
these days is very expensive, so for those who cannot afford this, part
of the alternatives is to settle for a portion under some of these
bridges where they can engage in little buying and selling activities to
sustain their families.
“I think part of the ways we can solve this problem is for
government to maximise every available space for the benefit of the
masses. For example, government should convert some of these abandoned
structures into affordable lock up stalls. That way, many of the guys
under these bridges can get a shop for themselves and quit those
places,” he said.
During the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Mr.
Babatunde Fashola, a massive clear out operation was conducted across
under most bridges in the city. Occupants of such places were evicted
while the areas got improved facelifts.
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