Tope Olamilekan, a woman in her mid-thirties, left home on a cold morning to open her shop as she has always done for years but got a rude shock. Her source of livelihood is gone. Overnight, her shop, located in the busy Abeokuta-Sagamu Interchange Road had been had been burgled. She blamed it on the lack of illumination in the area at night.
This event which happened in late 2023, caused a significant setback to her business, forcing her to start from scratch. To avoid facing similar affliction again, she relocated across the road a few months later. Instead of setting up another shop, she only displayed her goods on a table and packed them away in a safe place every evening.
Mrs Olamilekan said the incident happened months after the LED street lights on the Abeokuta-Sagamu Interchange Road stopped functioning due to missing cables, damaged poles, and locked generators.
“My goods got stolen because the street lights were not turned on overnight. In fact, the street lights’ cable loss is due to the fact that it wasn’t powered on when it was supposed to,” she lamented.
Robbery and accidents now norm
Juliet Kekong, a roadside food vendor at Abeokuta-Sagamu Interchange Road, has been trading there for over two years. Throughout her time, she has never witnessed the streetlights functioning properly. Instead, she has encountered numerous robberies and accidents at night.
Speaking with UDEME, she described one such incident. “I was packing up for the day one night when a lady suddenly ran towards me. She looked scared, dirty, and in distress. She shouted, ‘Please help me, help me!’”
The young lady had been on her way to deliver a food package to her partner when she got robbed while crossing the road. Initially, she struggled with the robbers but was beaten to the ground, sustaining minor injuries. For her safety, she surrendered her phone, bag, and the food package. Once the robbers left, she ran to Mrs Kekong’s shop.
“I had to give her water to regain her strength, help her wash off the dirt on her legs, and let her use my phone to make some calls. She called her boyfriend, who came over and took her home,” she recounted.
Accidents are another frequent occurrence on the road. Mrs Kekong recalled more than two accidents happening around her shop. The streetlights, when functioning, provided much-needed visibility for vehicles at night. However, since the lights stopped working, accidents have become common.
One accident she mentioned involved a vehicle filled with charcoal. In the vehicle were the driver, the charcoal owner, and an accompanying passenger named Toheeb, who was sitting on the charcoal load. Due to the non-functional streetlights, Toheeb, already feeling dizzy, couldn’t see the road clearly. When the driver suddenly braked, Toheeb fell and became unconscious.
“I ran out of my shop when I heard, ‘Toheeb, wake up, Toheeb, wake up,’ but he couldn’t because he was already unconscious,” she said. Toheeb was later rushed to the hospital.
Ifaseun Fetemete, a roadside vulcaniser has his side of the tale. Unlike Mrs Kekong, who started her business after the lights were installed, Ifaseun has been a resident and vulcaniser in the area since 2014. He witnessed the pre-installation crimes, the brief period of peace after the lights were installed, and the return of criminal activities when the lights stopped functioning.
He recounted a recent incident involving a man in his late 40s, whose head was smashed by a vehicle as he attempted to cross the road at night. “I was in my shade when I noticed a hold-up (slow traffic), which is not common here. I went outside to see a crowd surrounding a body. As I moved closer, I saw the body parts of a man whose skull had been smashed by a moving vehicle,” he explained.
The man had missed his step due to the non-functional streetlights, which could have saved him from this cold death.
Failed lighting project
In 2021, the Ogun state government allocated N2.3 billion to install LED street lights along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Interchange Road and around the City Gate Monument in Abeokuta South/Obafemi Owode Local Government Area. The contract, managed by the Ministry of Works, was awarded to LEDCo LIMITED in the same year. Installation was completed and the lights began operating via generators in 2022.
However, by 2023, several issues arose. The multi-billion Naira street lights stopped functioning due to missing cables, damage, pole removal, and some generators meant to power the lights being locked. This problem persisted until 2024, with vandals stealing street light cables and other accessories.
Due to the non-functioning state, the road now experiences life-threatening events and crimes, prompting both roadside vendors and homeowners to retire to their homes as early as 8:00 p.m. to stay safe.
After the LED street lights were installed, a team of security personnel was tasked with powering the generators every night and ensuring the lights remained safe.
David Raphael, one of the street light security agents, said their duties were abruptly halted when their supervisor left. A street light security agent is an individual tasked with the duty of safeguarding and ensuring the street lights are powered on at the appropriate time.
“I didn’t even last three months safeguarding the lights after the boss left. Who would pay us?” he questioned.
Mr Raphael said the lights didn’t stop working at the same time but as long as one doesn’t work, that gave the vandals privilege to vandalize the cables which contributed to the mass blackout.
What next?
A report published on the Ogun State portal on January 30, 2024, announced that the state government had initiated a solar-powered street lights project as a safety measure. This initiative was introduced by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Energy Matters, Oluwafemi Omisanjo, in response to the increasing arrests of vandals stealing street light cables and other accessories along the road.
Mr Omisanjo clearly stated, “The government will replace the street lights on Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Expressway with a solar-powered system.”
This reporter reached out to Mr Omisanjo who said the implementation process commenced in May and they’ve been able to replace some of the lights.
To confirm, this reporter contacted one of the interviewees. He mentioned that he has not noticed any changes in his area yet, but he believes the implementation may have begun in another section of the road.
Curled from RipplesNigeria
