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An artificial pedestrian cross over bridge along
okokomaiko Cassidy end that is accessing Alaba international market has been
generating a lot of controversy. Residents have said. Accordingly, lot of
pedestrians that are moving to there market place during the peak and after
of peak hours uses that channel on a daily basis. Amazingly, checks also has
it that this man-made pedestrian bridge has been in existence for more than
two decade busy operating on commercial purpose, collecting tolls from the
larger patronage of the Alaba market traders where majority of their
residence has a proximity advantage to that location. Not only in that area
alone, even the access road that is linking Alaba market international is
also not left out on this issue were toll is collected on every
commercial motorcycle that pass through it. The implication of this
development is that the riders have resorted in hiking the price of fare in
other to accommodate the tolls fees leveraged on them, making those
marketers to be at the receiving end, in addition to those that are
patronizing the market. Angered by this development, the market traders resorted
to carry along media agents to have a focus group discussion with some
selected members of the traders that stay in that location. According to them,
they believe that having been collecting tolls for over twenty years, it is
indeed enough for them to have a standard bridge to access through it. To
them, it has become an extortion and that it is unjust and asking the
government of the day to come and intervene.
Checks also reveal that those collecting the
toll are the indigenous people from those areas. According to Ibrahim, an indigene
who is part of those collecting tolls, he said there was nothing wrong in
collecting toll’’ after all ,we are the one providing them with access road
that is linking there major markets where they do there business, when asked
about how long it has been that they have been collecting tolls, he said it
doesn’t matter, and that what matter most is that they have been able to provide
routes for the pedestrians that has being neglected by the government all
these while. It is understood that the collectors are from two families, one
from sabo while the other is from Aganbgadi.
It also reveals
that both families actually run a shifting programme on the tolls. In all,
the solution shouldn’t go beyond control, where we have a grassroots
government that is believe to be pedagogical to the people as submitted by
majority of the residence. When visited the iba council development area were
the controversial bridge has it jurisdiction from to compile their own side
of the report, it was discovered that the chairman of the council was not on
sit, and was advised to see the secretary to the local government. After due
consultation with the secretary, he said he would get back and explain there
on side of the scenario. Coming the next day, after Waiting all the day to get
their on side of the imput which eventually proved abortive, a call was put
through to his phone in which it as rebuffed. Ordinarily, the government
as the regulatory body that is recognize by the law should have wadded in
before time. Having said that, the indigenous people shouldn’t see this as an
avenue to exploits those that are creating an age long opportunity for their
environment and its people, a situation were tail is allowed to wag the dog
and not the dog aging the tail is what the scenario look like. The understanding
of the people toward this most change according to them, they believe that
what they are doing is right and that the land belong to them. The government
of the day must re-orientate them on a positive direction, so that they would
at the end of the day know what is against the laws of the land.
On the other hand,
the idea of bringing in tolls in these circumstance in which the situation
portrays can be better channel towards direction were it would have a time frame;
the collaboration of the people is supposed to be sacrosanct. In other words,
such idea can be best describe as a self help concept, and not the situation
were some selected group of people under the passive notion of an
indigenous group, come up with exploitative idea of milking the
people on no just course for many decades, and still standing. This must
stop; the government should intervene as a matter of urgency majority of its
residence submitted.
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