One of the displaced squatters of the 86 apartments under the Dolphin Estate Bridge, Ikoyi, Lagos State, a 75-year-old Ghanaian, Usman Hassan, has revealed why he ended up living under the bridge.
Hassan who was a teacher at Remo Divisional High School, Ogun State before relocating to Lagos said he opted for the underbridge apartment as he could not afford the state cost of living. DailyTrust report
He, however, lamented that he lost some of his belongings to the onslaught as he was not around during the ‘attack’ by the Lagos officials.
He said, “The man who owned the place doesn’t force people, the engineers working in this company (referring to a company around) begged him for their workers to stay nearby and when they need them for work, they’ll enter the place.
“I don’t know exactly how much he collects from them, but personally he didn’t collect anything from me. For people paying, whether it’s N250,000 or not, I don’t know.”
The Ghanian, also known as Baba Baraka said, “People found solace in the under-bridge apartments because “town is hard and they could not afford rent within Lagos.
“You see, conditions are hard for people in the country and not everyone can afford houses in the town. I have been in this country since 1981 in Ogun State. I was a teacher at Remo Divisional High School for about 11 years before I came to Lagos.
“No work in town to survive on. This man pitied my condition and gave me space here (under the bridge). So, when this thing happened, I took my belongings and I am going again.”
Asked what is the hope for the future, he responded “Well, everything is in the hand of God. Sleeping under the bridge is dangerous but the condition of the country made people resort to this.
“As you are seeing me, I don’t have a dime in my pocket.”
Also speaking, a 12-year-old girl from Kogi State, simply identified as Usena, said her elder sister brought her from the village.
“She is paying but I don’t know the amount.
“I don’t really enjoy the place. I want a new house where I can stay with my parents in peace and enjoy ourselves. We had to stay under this bridge with my sister so we could raise money for a new house,” she told our correspondent.
Another occupant, a farmer, admitted that he paid an initial N40,000 and subsequently N20,000 quarterly to stay in the apartment
On Wednesday, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, said the government discovered 86 partitioned rooms, sized 10×10 and 12×10, under the Dolphin Estate Bridge.
Tenants were said to be paying N250,000 per annum for the makeshift apartment under the bridge.
The commissioner stated that the enforcement team of the state’s Ministry of Environment and Water Resources successfully removed all structures, including a container utilised for various illegal activities, from beneath the Dolphin Estate bridge.
