A certain Mr Daniel Aransiola who relocated to his home town in Osun State after his retirement from the public service in Lagos got the surprise of his life when he visited the envisaged mega-city last weekend.
Arriving Oshodi late in the night via Agege Motor Road, he could not believe his eyes when he found the entire stretch of the road illuminated by street light.
And to the amusement of his fellow passengers, he continued to give vent to his astonishment all the way to his Mushin destination.
Daniel, and indeed all Lagosians, have the Light Up Lagos Initiative introduced by the Governor Ambode administration to thank for this amazing development in the state.
Some of the areas in Lagos Mainland and suburbs which have already benefited from the Light Up Initiative include International Airport to Sango Tollgate, Agege Motor Road, Murtala Muhammed Airport Road inward, 7 & 8 Bus Stop, Charity inward Oshodi, Local Airport Road, Agege Motor Road and Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Iyana-Oworo, Berger, Ikorodu Road and Ipaja\ Ayobo inward Ishefun, Aiyetoro roads, among others. On the Island are Victoria Island inward, Lekki\Epe and Third Mainland Bridge and inward Iyana-Oworo.
Also proposed to benefit from the project are Seme Border to Badagry, Ikorodu\Sagamu Road and so many others.
Speaking with Vanguard Metro, the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources Mr Olawale Oluwo said the Light Up Lagos Initiative is divided into three phases, namely: street lighting, community electrification and embedded power.
Under street lighting, he said the project will light up all existing street lights and create new ones. ‘’Chances are that if you enter Lagos from any corner, you will be welcomed by street light. We want to introduce technology into street lighting and take them away from public sector to private level. Also, we want to strengthen the backbones of the cables and form the Lagos State Grid,” he said.
Under community electrification, he said: ‘’There are some communities that have not had electricity for a long time. An example is Ibeju Lekki. We have powered 68 communities so far and between now and September, we want to take rural electrification to Seme and other left out areas in the state”.
The Commissioner said the embedded power will take electricity to homes and supply electricity 24\7. He said: ‘’A committee headed by the Deputy Governor has been set up and we are into partnership with Oando Gas, Egbin Power Plant and Disco, but this will be done in phases.
I want to assure Lagosians that these projects will take care of their electricity problems”.
The Public Affairs Officer of Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Task Force), Adebayo Taofik, said the initiatives have reduced crimes in the state.
According to him: ‘’The Lagos State Light Up Initiative is really assisting the Agency as there is no more hide out for criminals as everywhere, including under bridges, have been illuminated”.
Indeed, the project has elicited commendations from various community development associations, CDAs, as they see it as a laudable one capable of enhancing the security of lives and property.” For instance, Mr Bankole Adeneye, a road user who spoke with VM at the Obalende Bus-stop area said he can now drive confidently at night, something he was always scared to do in the past.
He said: ‘’With the street lights in place one can see clearly enough to drive at night. Before now most roads were death traps because there was no light to see the many potholes and broken down vehicles on the way”.
Some road users at Iyana-Oworo said they can now confidently stand at the bus-stop without fear of being attacked, adding that darkness encourages hoodlums to attack people at night.
Both Madam Orisadare Phelomena and one Alhaji Akerele Garba said the project has reduced criminal activities drastically as most criminals prefer to operate in the dark. ‘’We now walk freely without fear of attacks and molestation.
We indeed thank Governor Ambode for his vision that gave birth to this Light Up Initiative,” they chorused. But some road users expressed misgivings about the continuity and safety of the project.
For example, Madam Adewoyin Omolola, has this to say: ‘’The project is laudable but how do they protect it from vandals lurking around and waiting for the right moment to pounce?”
A Marwa operator at 7 & 8 bus-stop, Airport road, Mr Chinedu Olisah, also expressed same fear as he said: “There are beautiful overhead bridges that have been vandalized and no arrest made in respect of that.
I hope the Light Up Initiative will not end up the same way”.
Indeed the fear so expressed may well be founded as VM’s investigations reveal that some of the Light Up installations around Oshodi Bus-stop appear to have been tampered with, a development some commuters attributed to marauders usually present in the area.
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