Kayode ShopekanSOME Nigerians have bitterly complained over the fencing of rail tracks to ward off pedestrians and traders who display and sell their wares along the rail track.
Prime Business Africa gathered that the fence was constructed to allow the construction company contracted to work on the rail track carry out its job without problems.
A pedestrian, Biodun Olakunrin, complained about the long distance trekking he had to do, to get into Ikeja Computer Village.
In his words, “as you can see, I am already sweating from the long walk, when I am not training for the Olympics marathon.”
Another pedestrian, Fredrick Olabode, noted that there was nothing wrong about reconstructing the rail track, but the development has subjected Lagosians to stressful trekkings, that affect their productivity at work.
Olabode who noted that the new path created for pedestrians was fraught with pot holes and dilapidated electric poles which could drop from any moment, suggested that a makeshift pedestrian bridge be created instead.
In his words, “I have not been here in a very long while, so when i wanted to highlight from the commercial bus and first he didn’t stop at the usual bus stop and then I noticed the fence, I kind of became agitated in my mind like what’s going on. I was so confused, but a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official explained to me and showed me where to follow.”
An official of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the construction company handling the project who spoke with us under anonymity said “we can’t allow pedestrians or traders to use the rail track while we are working or carrying heavy equipment, it could lead to an accident. He said we are only trying to ensure that we avoid casualty while doing our job.”
“People can be walking past and be oblivious to the fact that something heavy or sharp is being lifted. Meanwhile, we also had to erect the fence because we had appealed to traders to stop displaying their goods here but they failed to respond or heed our warning.” He added
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