Should Lagos street gates be re-opened?

— Governor Akinwumni Ambode has ordered that streets gate be re-opened

—Some Lagosians have said street gates protect their streets from intruders

—Is Ambode right in ordering the re-opening of the gates?

As the governor of Lagos State Akinwunmi Ambode ordered that all street gates in Lagos be re-opened, I suddenly had a feeling of dejavu. Governor Ambode's ultimatum to landlords association and community organisations is not the first time a governor wills such order.

During the early years of former governor Fashola administration, the erstwhile governor also gave an order for the gates to be thrown open.

People had complained at the time that the gates were inhibiting movement especially during emergencies. But the associations at the time had insisted that streets gates are necessary because they protect their neighborhoods from armed robbery attacks.

Nonetheless, the state government had its way and street gates were removed for easy access. Now several years later after the first pronouncement by Fashola, we are back to the same issue.

Now concerned by the excessive use of street gates and barricades in many parts of Lagos, the Lagos state government ordered immediate re-opening of all street gates and barricades in the nook and cranny of the State.

Street gates are to be re-opened between 5am and 12 mid-night daily, just as it warned that defaulting streets would have their gates pulled down within the next seven days.

While the neighbourhoods associations may be right in wanting to protect themselves from intruders, there are genuine arguments against mounting street gates. Inner city roads are meant to serve as alternative routes during traffic congestion on major roads. 

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