Olaoluwa Ayodele
‘Ambode Vows To End Lagos Traffic Jam, Read Riot Act To Motorists’.
‘Challenges relating to public water supply currently being experienced in some parts of the metropolis will soon become a thing of the past,’ says Gov. Ambode.
These are some of rhetorics that government has been feeding us while the people are going through so much trouble due to lack of basic infrastructure like water and electricity.
All around the state, people are complaining with some expressing the sentiment that maybe Ambode wants to undo all the good works that Fashola had done.
Oshodi is gradually crawling back to its pre-Fashola seedy state while some of the trees and flowers planted by the former administration have gone wild as they have been left untouched for quite a while.
Lagos traffic which has always been chaotic is now fully insane.
Says Bolaji Aberuagba, a civil servant who lives in Surulere area of the state. “For how long are Lagosians going to listen to the empty promises made by our state government? Lagos has not been the same since Fashola left. Almost every Lagosian has one complaint or the other about the present administration, ranging from water scarcity to insecurity issues.”
It is ironic that though Lagos is a city surrounded by water, people now find it very difficult to get clean water to drink and do other domestic chores.
Many Lagosians have settled for buying water from water vendors popularly called ‘mai ruwa’, who have now doubled the price due to scarcity of water.
A keg of water is sold between N50 and N100 for a 25-litre container. Many families have resorted to rationing water, while the wells are running dry because in some areas they are now the only source of water.
There is a serious crisis brewing in the state due to lack of drinking water. In Ketu Alapere, Kosofe Local Government Area of the state there is already a fear of an epidemic breaking out. Cholera and typhoid have shown up in some hospitals, while the lack of water hits harder.
There have been rumours that the state government wants to privatise water supply like the federal government did to electricity, but nobody has really come out to debunk the rumour.
The Capital went around the city and spoke with some of the residents. Rasak Adeyemi, an entrepreneur said: “I now buy a jerry can of water for N70. How much is my salary?”
Mama Jumoke, a trader lamented that, “all my frozen foods are spoilt and I am losing money due to epileptic power supply.
Iya Eleja in Ipaja said in Yoruba: “Oshodi ti yato si aye igba Fashola, (Oshodi is now different from what it was during the Fashola administration)”
Artisans like welders who rely on public power supply cannot work because the power supply is not steady. People can’t sleep properly at night due to the noise and fumes from generators, which is a health hazard.
The issue of insecurity in Lagos is very alarming, armed robbers now rob in broad daylight with no fear of police authorities, girls are now being raped while the perpetrators go free.
Some roads are have gone bad and have been responsible for traffic chaos in some parts of the city. The result is that robbers and burglars have taken advantage of this.
Most of the respondents appealed to state and local governments to help alleviate the suffering of the masses.
