WHY I DREAD USING THE MADINA FOOT BRIDGES. (Part 1)

WHY I DREAD USING THE MADINA FOOT BRIDGES. (Part 1)

A lot of people are calling for the arrest and prosecution of pedestrians who refuse to use the new foot bridges spanning sections of the Adenta-Madina highway.

In fact, there is a video in circulation which shows some "hungry-looking" military officer subjecting perceived lawless pedestrians to rigorous physical exercise, apparently, for refusing to use the bridge.

I have a contrary opinion on this whole subject, informed largely by experience and observation.

I declared independence from my parents not too long and so I managed to secure some ghetto around one of the gutters in the Madina Zongo area. That is why I FREQUENTLY use the footbridge close to the Zongo junction intersection, if not on a daily basis.

But trust me, I have my own reservations about - the use of - this footbridge, some of which I have detailed below:

If you use the bridge in the evening from 9:00pm thereabouts, I swear, your commentary will change.

There are no lights overlooking the top of the footbridge. It can get so dark you hardly see ahead of you. Every step makes you feel like you are stepping into an empty space/bottomless hole, which sparks that funny or uneasy feeling that you could trip and fall off and onto the road.

That aside, the place is so dark that when on the footbridge, you keep looking over your shoulders and holding your valuables (like phones, purse, bag) firmly while cautiously suspecting those criminal-looking guys who idle about or perch on the metal railings.

You see, the ideal thing is for pedestrians to use the bridges for the purpose for which they were constructed. But my problem is about how people jump into conclusion and accuse pedestrians in the area of lawlessness without crediting them - at least some of them- with some small "sense".😏

There are real issues, which are worth considering. If you only drive pass the place *vuuum vuuum vuuum* or run your commentary from afar, you may not have a good feel of the inconveniences the perceived "lawless pedestrians" go through, which virtually compel them to do what they are doing.

A holistic assessment of the situation will prove very useful.

I shall return

Published: Friday 10th January, 2020