Every morning underneath the Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos, vehicles, traders, passengers, drivers and people from all walks of life combine to make the area one rowdy place. The noisy and boisterous nature of the area makes it unattractive for anyone who has no business there and it is mostly avoided.
But that is the least of Samson Ayinde’s worries. His only concern is that after the hustle and bustle of the day, no one takes possession of his sleeping area beside one of the pillars of the bridge.
“That my corner near that pillar is for only me,” said a sullen looking Ayinde who is called ‘Dudu’ by his friendsunder the bridge. “In the afternoon, anybody can stay there. But in the night when I want to sleep, it’s only me that can stay there. Anybody that says he wants to sleep there is looking for my trouble and I will just show the person.”
Ayinde is only one out of the thousands of homeless people in Lagos. Being the most populous state in the country with over 17 million inhabitants, Lagos state is faced with myriad housing problems. A large number of people come into Lagos daily, with a greater proportion migrating for permanent stay in the state. This presents a challenge for housing, thereby resulting in the growth of slums and other derogatory forms of living for its inhabitants. The housing deficit is so overwhelming that street corners and bridges serve as somewhat permanent homes for a good number of people.
Ayinde, who pushes carts and carries people’s load for a living, has been sleeping under Ojuelegba bridge since 2012. “In Ondo, I have my own room in my father’s house, but there is no money there so I have to come to Lagos to hustle,” he said. “Since there is no money to rent house, I sleep here.”
Mutiu is another young man who sleeps under Ojuelegba bridge. Unlike Ayinde whose only sleeping conditions in Lagos has been under the bridge, Mutiu was forced to find a sleeping area there after losing his mother. “I never knew my father,” said Mutiu who refused to give his last name. “I was living with my mother in one room in Oworonshoki but she died in 2010. Before, I used to do conductor work but my oga’s bus had accident and he can’t use it again. Since then I’ve been sleeping here and looking for job.”
Despite the fact that the conditions under most bridges in Lagos are very filthy and uncomfortable, Monday Akoma, a bus driver, explains that it is not only poor and illiterate people that sleep under the bridge. Having slept under the bridge at Ikeja for a few weeks during his homeless state, Akoma says his interactions with people who sleep under the bridge revealed a wide mix of personalities and social class.
“Sometimes, a rich person will just get drunk and he won’t be able to reach home and will sleep under the bridge,” he recalled. “Also, some mad people sleep under the bridge too. But majority of the people who sleep here do so because they don’t have houses. I slept there for some time because my landlord sent me out of his house so I used to park my bus under the bridge and sleep inside. But the thing is many people can’t afford to rent house in Lagos because it is too expensive.”
Costs of renting apartments in Lagos vary according to the areas the houses are situated. In high brow areas like Lekki, Ikoyi or Victoria Island, renting a suitable 3 bedroom apartment could cost as high as N2,000,000 yearly, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the area. While in middle class areas like Surulere, Lagos Mainland, it costs between N300,000 toN800,000. And in new communities like Ikorodu and outskirts of Lagos, it could be between N150,000 to N300,000. Single room apartments cost between N1000 to N8000 monthly depending on the area and neatness of the apartment or environment. This makes Lagos one of the most expensive cities to live in, following closely after Port Harcourt and Abuja.
According to James Ugaba, a real estate consultant, the problems of housing in Lagos are aggravated by the high population in the state and the inability of government to effect policies that could lessen the effect. “We all know that Lagos is the most populous city in the country,” he said. “The government can build low cost estates for poor people in the society because they are the ones most affected by the housing deficit. Jakande tried to do it during his tenure as Governor but since then, it is only expensive estates that the government in power has been building. The current administration is even worse. They invest in housing for the extremely rich people like the Eko Atlantic City and other expensive estates. It is only millionaires that can live there. There are more slums in Lagos now than ever before because the government has stopped building for the poor.”
Whether it is a change in government policies or some other measures that would bring about the desired succor to housing problems in Lagos, something needs to be done urgently to curb the hardship and dangers that its inhabitants are exposed to.
A mother of twin boys who are less than a year-old says sleeping at Maryland bus-stop with her sons is not a decision she was happy to make. Speaking in Yoruba without disclosing her name, she said that her twins, Taiwo and Kehinde, are exposed to all manner of health and physical dangers daily. “I don’t like sleeping here and I don’t like begging, but I do it because of my sons,” she said. “People give us money but it is not enough to rent a house in Lagos.”