PART 1
Have you seen Oshodi lately? I am sure for Nigerians living abroad (at least those who left not less than 3 years ago) whose last experience was having to go through Oshodi (I am sure you remember spending not less than 2-3hrs on a journey of less than 500m on the Oshodi bridge) to get to the airport would find it a little bit difficult to relate to the new look Oshodi.Even some of us living here still find it a bit difficult to believe - monitoring with bated breadth to ensure it does not go back to being the Oshodi of old.
Anyway, for those who do not know of the old Oshodi, a brief description of what I (funny enough) faintly remember (kai, it shows to forget poverty does not take too long o, once you start to enjoy (lol)).
First thing that strikes you about Oshodi is the sea of heads - literally,I mean.Lots of people packed like sardine who seem to be going nowhere and yet everywhere.Chaotic order of some sort.More of a coordinated mess.So many people who push and shove themselves hardly getting a place to put their feet (now that is Oshodi). Along the railway lines, street hawkers display their wares sometimes right on the railway lines and would scamper to remove their goods only when they hear the distant hooting of an oncoming train.You can bet the wares are back immediately the train leaves (sometimes as it is leaving). In the midst of this, are the Molues and Danfos (passenger buses) queueing endlessly and justling with pedestrians for every available space.With 27 seating and 99 standing passengers (as Fela would say), you will still see conductors struggling to load more passengers even when it is evident there is no more shred of space left. The drivers drive like they are on crack early in the morning, on acid/ecstacy in the afternoon and at night on heroine (so no time of the day is one safe).The roads were of no help either, full of potholes.It can take you up to 30minutes (okay so I exaggerate a bit) to go from one end of the pedestrian bridge to the other end not because the footbridge is that long but because of the sheer number of people at any time shoving and pushing to walk on the bridge and also numerous hawkers and sellers displaying wares/goods on the pedestrian bridge.A lot don't even bother to use the bridge.You would see lots of people weaving between cars and buses to cross the road. Okada drivers are a special breed in oshodi as well.
You were sure to find area boys (miscreants, muggers,swindlers,drug addicts,pick pockets, etc) all around.Lest I forget, the ever present disgusting sight and smell of excreta and urine (or is it pure ammonia) is a constant in Oshodi. I have just described Oshodi Isale (or lower Oshodi).
In the same Oshodi, there is a bridge (this is called Oshodi Oke - or upper Oshodi).Almost a replica of Oshodi Isale except for the railway line (but not the hawkers and their wares, these are ever present). To get to Lagos international airport from the Island, you only had two ways of getting there but the Oshodi bridge was the closer of the two (in Kilometres).However, it took forever to get to the airport because of the hold up, bad driving, hawkers taking over half the road with their wares, street urchins stealing and causing distractions etc.
I forgot to mention paraga sellers, usually women or young ladies with trays of concotion on their heads made of herbs mixed with some strong liquor - gin, ogogoro,palmwine and so on.Their customers? drivers, conductors, area boys and so on. You would sometimes find the cause of a major hold early in the morning is a driver who has stopped godsmack in the middle of the road to take his first shot of paraga for the day and every other person behind him could go to hell (and of course you will see the young paraga seller flashing you an apologetic smile - goodness!!!).
During the era of past administrations, cries have gone out to different governors of the state to do something about Oshodi but successive governments left us the same way. Some even swore it was not possible.Others said the problems were too great for any government to tackle.Some experts even told us the untold economic hardship and unbearable effects of "disrupting the oshodi structure". Above all, governments asked why? Why should we disrupt a way of life? Why should we bother ourselves with this ernomous and seemingly insurmountable problem? why? why? why?
PS: By the way, I found this picture of Oshodi after I finished writing and memories just flooded me like water -I was almost overwhelmed.Also, the link is from China but hilariously reminds me of Oshodi Railway line (of course Oshodi was not that dramatic but they sure shared a lot in common)
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