The Lion Crossings all over Nigeria

You know those white lines across the road? Yes, the ones that divide the breadth of the road. Yes, the one that somebody near you has called ‘Tom-Tom advertisement’. Yes, the one in the picture above you. It is called a zebra crossing because it is usually characterized with white stripes (typical of the zebra) and the major point of these marks are not to advertise a mint-based candy or to signify that that is where to stop your car. Rather, on the contrary, it is made to place priority on the movement of pedestrians (trekkers) on the road. So if a vehicle is approaching and you need to get to the other side of the road, all you have to do is place a foot on the marks and the driver that sees you (unless he is blind or ignorant) will stop and allow you to go. Why do most people ignore it in Nigeria? I mean, it makes sense and it sounds easy to use. Two major reasons:

1.       LACK OF AWARENESS:

According to the experiment I carried out today 6 out of 10 average Nigerians don’t know what the sign is for. Whose fault? You know me; I always blame everything on colonization. But today it is not only Great Britain’s fault for introducing all these alien ideas to the Nigerian; it is also our personal faults for not enquiring. And guess who else is on my blame list today again? Of course our one and only unfailing Nigerian government! I was speaking with a wise man a few days ago concerning this topic and he said ‘What will it take for the Ministry of Transport to launch awareness programmes on the media?’ Indeed, what will it take? A billion naira? No, it doesn’t cost that much. Oh shocker.

 

Ignorance is Bliss

Another institution on my blame list (no, you won’t escape too) are schools. If someone is a graduate of a university in Nigeria and sees a zebra crossing but still ignores, it doesn’t take up to two Who Wants to be a Millionaire questions to know that it is either the person doesn’t know what the sign is or the person is on booze. I must admit that in this case we want to only narrow it down to the latter. Civic education is the name of the subject that should cover this in schools. I will also mention that originally civic education was added to our curriculum in 2003 for primary and junior secondary in the form of social studies or what have you. But around 4 years ago it was made mandatory in the WAEC exam. A good move, a smart move, hopefully this will help to curb this our problem of ignorance (ignorance including the lack of knowledge of all other road signs (including orange light means get ready and not go)). The government cannot and should not implement something as important (but alien) as this and leave the common man to figure what it does on his own.

2.       FEAR

There was a good reason I named this article ‘Lion Crossing’. And this is because any pedestrian half as smart as I am knows that using the zebra crossing on a general highway in many parts of Nigeria can mean death or near-fatal injuries. Don’t believe me?

Those who risk using Zebra Crossings on highways, believing them for what they are without care may well be killed by vehicles

An unidentified young girl penultimate week took the risk of her life and abruptly ended it on the Zebra Crossing opposite the Ikeja Army Cantonment, Onigbongbo, Ikeja, Lagos.

Copied from http://allafrica.com/stories/200110290160.html. I wish I could give you the full story but unfortunately you have to subscribe to see it. If you have the time to do so just follow the link.

There so you have it, the first problem leads to the second. People don’t know what it is, and kill other people. People know what it is but are afraid to get killed.

In all other advanced countries and some secluded parts of Nigeria, the stress free, easy to use zebra crossing is a respite for us. It makes us pedestrians feel secure on the roads and gives us a sense of importance in comparison to our counterparts mounted on moving machines. It also saves time and energy as we don’t have to wait for the vehicles to stop zooming past before we can move.

OK, MR. ITK WHAT IS YOU AIM?

I am an Obarian and a Nigerian and I am just trying to make common sense.