BAD LIVING CONDITIONS IN BARIGA By Okiki Oyetunde

Lagos , the center of economic activities in Nigeria has a lot of business opportunities available but despite these qualities , the city of Lagos is lacking in the aspect of urban and regional planning. That is the way and manner in which houses are structured within a city. Many areas in Lagos are so congested and badly structured a good example is Bariga Local government are of Lagos State.

Bariga a very popular district in the suburbs of Lagos is home to many people and it is known as one of the notorious slums in Lagos state. The Bariga community is surrounded by water from the Third Mainland Bridge, and is flagged by Gbagada and Shomolu as its neighbors. 
A typical view of Odunsi Area in Bariga

Bariga can be located from Shomolu or through Oworonshoki, through Bariga Road or through Gbagade or through Igbako Road. The area is divided into two: uptown and downtown Bariga. The uptown has areas like Bariga Road, Bariga Market, down to Odunsi Road. All houses located off Odunsi Road are downtown Bariga with popular streets like Arogbadade and Alhaja Alimi.







A resident who spoke on the grounds of anonymity said he has  been living in Bariga for about twenty years now and the issue of of basic amenities is a cause for concern although there are some amenities within this community but they are not enough . 
''The issue of road alone is enough to traumatize anyone living in this are next is the issue of water . I hope the government would pay attention to us and not only those on the island”, she said.

Facilities in this community established by the government that can be seen are the Ilaje smoked fish market, the Ebutte/Bariga Water Jetty, the Adeife Sodipo Akindeko Primary and the Secondary Schools. In Bariga, streets like Ayoola, Olatunji, Ayedun, Arogbadade, Adedoyin, Benadde, are ‘blessed’ with roads that are impassable. Even Okada riders find it difficult navigating these roads. Some are totally bad that even accessing them on foot is like wading through the swamps. 
Children wading through a bad road in Bariga 


To help themselves, the inhabitants pour waste on the bad roads which more often than not worsens the condition of the roads. The most affected are schoolchildren who walk the roads on a daily basis. Those who live on streets like Olatunji Bendade, which are close to the coastal lines, and the shanties on the Lagoon are the worst hit. They suffer from perennial flooding, being the destination of all the rain waters from uptown Bariga. 





Bariga is home to the popular CMS Grammar School, St. Finbarr’s College amongst other schools from which popular dignitaries in Lagos attended. The area also has a lot of abandoned houses which have been in the state for years because they were not conducive for living again.

During the course of this report , it was noted that most of the inhabitants of  downtown Bariga are suffering from the interference of water from the coastal lines of third Mainland Bridge , while those uptown Bariga are affected by terrible roads and lack of basic amenities. 
The Lagos State Government has erected some infrastructures like bore hole, renovation of schools and hospitals but the community is still lacking in some areas that need serious attention.




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