Lagosians make ends meet under high tension lines

Many Lagosians, for reasons best known to them, and despite repeated warnings, prefer living or trading under high tension wires or telecoms towers. Oluwaseun Ayantokun writes on the inherent danger in taking such risk.

IN Lagos , a lot of issues had pitched the citizens against the state government especially as they affect the interest of Lagosians. These issues range from taxation which is one of the sources of revenue for the government and part of which was being used to provide social amenities and infrastructure for the development of the state. The latest, and which was yet to be resolved, was the colletion of tax on each of the telecommunication towers located within the state. The state government allegedly saw this as a way of encouraging telecom operators to relocate so as to reduce the number of telecom towers in the state. The implication of this was to save Lagosians from health hazards including cancer that might result from exposure to radiation from the towers.

However, this has generated a lot of controversy as it has not been established that people living or doing businesses around telecom towers could contact cancer. But, there are more inherent dangers to the lives of those living or doing businesses around telecom towers. It would not be out of place to say that in an attempt to find a piece of land for the construction of a place of abode or for businesses, many people in the state have found themselves living or transacting businesses under high tension electric power lines.

Indeed, Lagosians no longer entertain fear as they comfortably erect houses,places of worship, even police stations and markets directly under the pylons or close to them. The question is, who actually cares for these Nigerians in the commercial nerve centre? Engr Gbenga Adebayo, an Electrical/Electronic expert and former General Manager of VGC Communications Ltd expressed unhappiness that some Lagosians were exposed to high level radiation from the Power Holding Company Nigeria’s towers and high tension power wires under which people live and seek their daily bread. He drew the attention of the state government to the situation and raised an alarm that it was a disaster waiting for the right time. According to him, this is a serious situation that should attract the attention of the government. “In Europe , you won’t see that kind of things.

“People are not allowed to build houses under high tension power lines. Even in places where railway lines have to pass under, additional insulating mesh was provided underneath and that was apart from the insulating covers provided around the lines,” he said. According to him, there was the need for people to realise that there was enormous danger in living under the high tension power lines or stay close to electric towers as they emit high level electrostatics that could be between 33 and 330 KVA. Lagos Life gathered that constant maintenance works are not usually carried out in most areas where these high tension lines are erected and nobody could say when the insulators around them can wear out.

“When that happens, there could be what we call earth leakage and any body caught in the connection will be electrocuted”, Engr Adebayo said. “I was a witness to the case of a woman at Mile 12 who was electrocuted at the market last year. It was even the normal power wire, not the 33 KVA one. It happened very close to the turkey sellers store. One of the wires snapped suddenly and came down on the woman who had come to shop. “I think it was due to God’s grace that it was only one of the wires that fell, it would have been a serious disaster because it wouldn’t have been the woman alone that would have died”, a resident of Mile 12 told Lagos Life.

That not withstanding, Lagos Life learnt that kerosene dealers and other market women have continued with their businesses around the place without sensing any danger. Speaking to Lagos Life, another resident recalled how a tractor driver who was working on a farm land, unaware of any earth leakage as he drove under the power line and suddenly, he was caught up in the connection between the tractor and the power lines above him. She blamed the situation in Lagos mostly on the notorious people commonly called omo onile, saying “they go about selling plots of land to people under high tension lines even when they knew that the state government was against it. But should the blame be heaped on the miscreants alone? Since such areas under power lines belong to the government, it has a duty to ensure that the areas are free from any sort of human activity.

But this seems not to be the case. It was evident that market stores and shops under high tension wires were provided by the government. Lagos Life gathered that market men and women have continued their buying and selling activities without having time to find out the implications of staying under high tension lines. Pastor Julius Adeyemi of CAC Gospel Centre, Ikotun counselled clergy men against establishing places of worship under electric power wires or too close to it. He said “they are not doing their members or followers any good” and that maintaining faith in such places is like tempting God which he said was sinful. Everything has to be done to discourage such development by those at the helm of affairs if they really care for the lives of the people in the state.