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00:00:01w, from meetings to evening soirs i'll
00:00:05be there, all
00:00:06to the trendiest street festivals or to
00:00:08of music concert even's day has something for everyone,
00:00:12so join me as we explore the vibrant tapestry of
00:00:15nigerian scene, one event a
00:00:18time.
00:00:24a
00:00:47The fire burns for over 24
00:00:50hours,
00:00:55on Christmas Eve, 2025, the inferno
00:00:59consum. to one of
00:01:00of Lagos Island's most recognizable
00:01:04of landmarks, the great naria insurance
00:01:07building,
00:01:08of GNI. a Within
00:01:09of hours
00:01:13decades of investment were reduced to
00:01:16arsh with years of
00:01:18in work disappearing
00:01:20in a single night. Official
00:01:24records later
00:01:25in confirmed eight people, including three siblings
00:01:29lost the... alive to the Balohum market
00:01:31fire. Steven Omatu, Kasmir
00:01:35Omatu and Collins Omato
00:01:38of were trapped with their bodies buried beneath the
00:01:41smoke.
00:01:44Miraculously, Lukman abogum, better known
00:01:48as batchman, was rescued after hours of being
00:01:51trapped beneath the colapse
00:01:54of concrete. It was one
00:01:56of of of the 13 oters rescued from the wreckage.
00:02:00of "i lost everything, my goods, nothing now, something that somebody
00:02:04not pack together
00:02:06in a day that was just
00:02:09of ring and
00:02:10of in a day, so so painful,
00:02:12really, as
00:02:16it does settles, another story begins to
00:02:19emerge, the december 2025 inferno was
00:02:23devastating, but it was not
00:02:27of unprecedented, previous
00:02:29of report show. that fires have repeatedly scarred
00:02:33these commercial district over the
00:02:35years. The
00:02:38first fire incident in the GNI house was in
00:02:422005, then the complex experienced
00:02:46a major fire in 2013
00:02:50that the recent one in
00:02:53of 2025. Investigations
00:02:56a into
00:02:57me previous incident repeatedly identified.
00:03:00familiar safety concerns
00:03:02and many other
00:03:05systemic violations. Each incident
00:03:09sounded alarm, each alarm was followed
00:03:13by another
00:03:15of fire.
00:03:17i On January 2nd, governor Babalu
00:03:21stood at this spot, his verdict was
00:03:24blunt. One
00:03:26of the things that has come to us is the clearlessness of people.
00:03:30is people choosing to want to save their
00:03:34ws as again saving their lives, because
00:03:37in a fire it doesn't happen in two minutes, didn't happen in three minutes, it was
00:03:41couple of hours and i was getting report or tout the night
00:03:45advising
00:03:46a people to leave the side, people chose not to, this old area,
00:03:50100 meters from this side will remain short, it
00:03:53will remain
00:03:55of close for building, i'm sorry for businesses, the
00:03:59restrictions st has another conversation
00:04:02of for those whose businesses were shot due to the
00:04:07of directive taking full
00:04:10a account of
00:04:12in officers either of local government or the state government that might have issued
00:04:15out
00:04:16of in one form or the other approvals or compliance
00:04:20in which they are meant to have raised by all their buses are here and i've
00:04:24told them that they need to give me names. this is story traising
00:04:28the real effect of system.
00:04:30failure:
00:04:39month later, demolation
00:04:42of begins of from the upper floors, break by break,
00:04:48of manually, the building that once helped thousands stand
00:04:51of tall is now struggling to remain standing with the
00:04:55of carcas surrounding the
00:04:57a skeletal structure, bearing scars. the devastating
00:05:02of incident, about 15 buildings have
00:05:04of been taken down, including shitter Bay
00:05:07mask, to
00:05:11understand why the... Options of manual and not controlled
00:05:15demolition. Mudent safety experts say
00:05:19the decision may be informed by several
00:05:22factors. For building to be marked for demolition,
00:05:26there must have been a serious threats
00:05:30to life. Yes, the most important thing in that is
00:05:34safety. No, no amount of money is what a
00:05:37single human life, yes, and so the government must be
00:05:41responsible. enough to protect every single
00:05:44life that is entrusted under them, and
00:05:48so that may have informed the mode of
00:05:51demolition. first of all, when you talk about control demolition,
00:05:55it involves implosion using explosives and
00:05:59of course that is done within short period, for
00:06:03instance, if that building has to be demolished can be demolished within
00:06:06one one one day, all they need to do is to
00:06:10take the pro section
00:06:13the things that may come out the
00:06:16inclusion take care of it so that it doesn't get to the ad joining
00:06:20buildings, the government, i believe they know
00:06:23that under a control system using
00:06:27high-tech equipment like it will happen
00:06:30any climb, the believe i believe that that's
00:06:34a better alternat but a
00:06:38situation where they are
00:06:42aware. of this control a more efficient system that
00:06:46is less risky and
00:06:49uh they will see issues to do at the
00:06:53manual demolition which still endangered the life
00:06:57of people, the life of people walking on the
00:07:00side, the life of people living
00:07:04around uh, it
00:07:07it it tells us, it speaks
00:07:10volumes about. the state the
00:07:13economy, so I know that
00:07:17legal state government, they know that there are better ways, the
00:07:21are more efficient way that which uh,
00:07:23which is less
00:07:25risky, with every
00:07:29trail simply turning this outbreak into
00:07:33something unexpected, unforcin, it
00:07:37is difficult not to wonder if this is
00:07:41simply the demolition. of building or the slow
00:07:45dismantling of unanswered
00:07:47questions, beyond the twisted steel
00:07:51and shuttered concrete lies another kind of
00:07:54rubble, lives interrupted, businesses
00:07:58erased, dreams force to begin
00:08:01again. i've gotten very small place with the help the
00:08:05union and an imam of our they've a
00:08:08marks here, given very small place that i'm managing, but
00:08:12the financial thing now to get up, even in time of medical things,
00:08:16i'm still having challenges over it, shoe,
00:08:19canvas, sell shoes and canvas at
00:08:23great Nigeria, i've been selling there for the past 20
00:08:26years, selling my wears, it was there gave birth
00:08:30to my children, since i've been there, i've been making
00:08:34gradual sales, but now it has caught fire, we've not seen
00:08:38a place to sell our wears, it is this place that we were given
00:08:42to sell and we barely have customers because they
00:08:45complain that the roads are blocked. while no
00:08:49slacking official has been publicly penalized, the
00:08:53laker state government has distributed palliatives to the
00:08:56victims who lost their businesses, but
00:09:00survivors say nothing has been done about those
00:09:04whose lives were crushed in the fire. most these
00:09:08guys are young men that leave widows behind, three kids
00:09:11of two years, the years, five years, so and so
00:09:15far is little thing that the husband left behind, and most of things they
00:09:19left behind are born, so the family are
00:09:22still a nagony that needed
00:09:26assistant of government, we are pleading to government to please come
00:09:30to our aid, really then try, then give us just small
00:09:34small petty petty rice, smart, but not
00:09:38that one that we need, we need government
00:09:41interv'. we need them to please come, we
00:09:45have another location in legos island,
00:09:48you can locate our people there, we have another market in Legos
00:09:52Island that belong to government, you can please help our
00:09:56market, help our people in this community,
00:09:59because people lost a h amount, my own
00:10:03position as one the community leader, we are here to save our
00:10:06people here, most especially the market people, which
00:10:10our baba f'. really really try for
00:10:14us, he's the one give them the opportunity, we are
00:10:17giving time to open and time to close, at least we open by
00:10:216 o'clock and close at 6 o'clock
00:10:24in the evening. so and the area that is directly close
00:10:28directly close to the the Great Nigeria
00:10:32house is a codoned off
00:10:34and we cannot nobody
00:10:37goes into that area so that they can see space to carry out the
00:10:41demolition which is
00:10:43ongoing as demolition
00:10:47continues lagos island may soon lose one of
00:10:51its tallest skyscraper but
00:10:55ability still locks with many unanswered
00:10:58questions. expert express hope
00:11:02that the collapse of strengthen enforcement before
00:11:06another fire forces Lagus to
00:11:09relieve the same painful
00:11:12conversation. Aminat
00:11:15Miskilo. TVC news
00:11:17Lagos.
00:12:00Ogun state, southwest Nigeria is one the most prominent
00:12:04states in the country. The state derives its name
00:12:08from the Ogun river, a powerful river that
00:12:12flows through the state and empties into the Legos
00:12:15Lagoon. The capital
00:12:19the sits on the banks the river.
00:12:23For anyone traveling from into abeta,
00:12:27crossing the og river has always been a
00:12:29necessity. is
00:12:33agably one the first Nigerian cities to enjoy a
00:12:37direct and enduring relationship with the colonial
00:12:40administration. that
00:12:43relationship was made manifest as early as
00:12:461909 when Abel Os connected to Lagos
00:12:50by the
00:12:51rail.
00:12:57In order to achieve that, the very first railway
00:13:01bridge was constructed across the og river to transport
00:13:05goods and agricultural produce from the arts of
00:13:09egbland to Lagos. More than 100
00:13:12years later, the Ogun river in Abilgoda is now
00:13:16spanned by four functional bridges. The
00:13:20old Lafenwa bridge constructed and inaugurated in
00:13:231959. and the concrete bridge recently
00:13:27erected by it side to reduce load and to make it
00:13:31dual carriage way. other bridges are
00:13:34the briri bridge that also links lafen wa
00:13:38from the right side the briri junction and
00:13:42oloore on the left side and the okwako adigwe
00:13:45bridge which links the orada oko area of
00:13:49apekuta, while the lafewa bridge and the orders
00:13:53built after it remain inactive. use 7 thousands of
00:13:56vehicles daily, the first bridge that started the journey now stands
00:14:00in a state of
00:14:01abandonment.
00:14:06this century old historic bridge was constructed for both railway
00:14:10and pedestrian use. it is located in the
00:14:13ararom area of and it
00:14:17connects to orienrin,
00:14:20agbẹloba, the old post office atunseke, and
00:14:24into okewu. which is the commercial district the
00:14:27town, during my visit to Araaro Muri yori,
00:14:31set to a I out catch glimpse the historic bridge that once served
00:14:35as the major link between the colonial authorities and the people
00:14:39of Arbe Okuta and the rest the
00:14:41country. What I found was an engineering
00:14:45masterpiece, a structure build with
00:14:48quality steel and anchored by solid concrete
00:14:51pillars that form its foundation across the...
00:14:55river, the bridge was also designed with
00:14:58pedestrian walkways on both sides, allowing
00:15:02people to move freely even as trains passed.
00:15:06now the story has changed, years of abandonment
00:15:10and vandalization have taken their toe. most
00:15:13the railings have been removed and the wooden deckings on
00:15:17the pedestrian sections as decayed,
00:15:21yet people still use the breed daily to connect. to
00:15:25the toushin and aro axis the town. Un
00:15:29deterred by the risk, both young and old continue
00:15:33to cross. To them, this is not just
00:15:37a bridge. it is a historic monument that must not be
00:15:40allowed to rot away, they also say it makes
00:15:44economic sense because crossing the bridge cost nothing, but
00:15:48if they are forced to go around and use the bridge at burry,
00:15:52transport fair ranges between 600 and 800 na
00:15:55depending on negotiation, for a student
00:15:59making the trip twice daily over distance of less than
00:16:03700 meters, the cost becomes heavy burden,
00:16:07is very closer to it from
00:16:11this uh
00:16:13to it very closer, you can check it from
00:16:17the totion and cost the bridge, this place without any money,
00:16:21be sincere without it lot of people will have, i don't have to say it
00:16:25really, because lot of people going to school down from
00:16:28it to all schools around here,
00:16:32agn and afro
00:16:35gateway, they do take this and finish um this
00:16:39thing, but it was good and fine before, but later on it went off
00:16:43like this, based on the fact that parts the bridge have been
00:16:47vandalized by those who cut away metal, i was afraid to
00:16:51cross, didn't want to mistap, and the height was
00:16:55downting. i spoke with pedestrians, especially the women who
00:16:59use it daily, but they were indifferent, to
00:17:02them it was a way of life, no, except
00:17:06in the... maybe they have removed
00:17:09some some plank
00:17:12so as everything is straight to be faster than what
00:17:16i think trains used to pass here
00:17:20before but not again as it is now we cross
00:17:24the bridge anytime even at night we pass through the
00:17:27bridge because it's faster to it both
00:17:31young and old including students make use the
00:17:34bridge later moved into the host community to speak with
00:17:38residents about the historic bridge which they call bridge
00:17:42arrow. an 85 year old indigen
00:17:45of told me he grew up knowing the
00:17:48bridge. he said his parents informed him that it was
00:17:51constructed by the british. he said the bridge has
00:17:55served the people
00:17:56of eg and beyond for more than a
00:17:59century.
00:18:07up knowing this bridge is very useful for all of us
00:18:11here because it's faster to get to
00:18:15area, we passed through it to go and sell our
00:18:18goods, i also passed through it when i was going to school
00:18:22at itaushin, but since strings are no longer passing
00:18:26through it, that was when the problem
00:18:28started,
00:18:32his younger brother shared similar experience recalling how
00:18:36the bridge shaped their trade and movement in their younger
00:18:39years that
00:18:41it is two uh places
00:18:45one here one here but now we have only one i have now
00:18:48is sp and that b now useful
00:18:51for everybody because when i was when i was young
00:18:54i was going to school any time we are selling uh
00:18:58sugar cane i station but a
00:19:01big somewhere now so any time
00:19:05one o'clock in the night in the midnight
00:19:37we enjoy the bridge, but now
00:19:41personally
00:19:42i can never
00:19:45uh a professor who is resident offer a
00:19:49deeper insight into the history behind the bridge and why government
00:19:53must not abandoned it and the
00:19:56bridge that
00:19:59was a real line
00:20:01bridge became
00:20:05dysfunctional.
00:20:09which informs the granite
00:20:13connecting centers
00:20:16around around
00:20:18Ibara became
00:20:21disused, so that trail
00:20:24line after a long
00:20:28abandonment was
00:20:32converted into
00:20:35residential lines.
00:20:50to the granite collection center and today is major
00:20:53road called kari road. for the
00:20:57alakuso, the head the community, his appeal is
00:21:00clear, government should consider the historic, economic
00:21:04and developmental values attached to the bridge and come to the
00:21:08rescue in the community. the bridge is now
00:21:11useful for the uh, somebody using
00:21:15legs to cross, so if it can be developed
00:21:19in. that the vehicle can be passing through so
00:21:22definitely it will reduce the cost
00:21:26and the
00:21:27the the traffic jam in
00:21:31the what they call the place and
00:21:35burry
00:21:36and
00:21:40that place very close to the glory there so definitely
00:21:43anybody going
00:21:44to this will
00:21:48be easier as ' road for death recently,
00:21:52the state house of assembly has passed resolution to h
00:21:56the state government to consider reconstruction the bridge in
00:22:00order to enhance public safety, its traffic congestion
00:22:04and to stimulate the local economy in the
00:22:06state. the resolution which was sponsored by the
00:22:10law maker representing north state
00:22:14constituency by bar was passed by the
00:22:17assembly for yet to manifest ph. development in the
00:22:21area, by reconstructing the
00:22:24bridge, we will be writing our names in
00:22:28just as our fathers who first build it over
00:22:32a century ago, i
00:22:36therefore passionately all this honorable house to
00:22:40support this motion and call on the state government through the
00:22:43ministry of works and infrastructure to take immediate steps
00:22:47towards the reconstruction of this all important. for the
00:22:50safety, convenience and prosperity of our
00:22:54people
00:22:58and modernize for the use
00:23:00the people of
00:23:04open
00:23:04stage.
00:23:08despite my fears, my desire to work on the historic
00:23:12bridge prompted me to give it another
00:23:14trial. this time the chairman the community
00:23:18development association the area was my guide, he showed
00:23:22me how to navigate the bridge without fear,
00:23:25then i decided to give it a trial on my own.
00:23:28after watching people trying to move on
00:23:32this uh bridge, i also want to attempt crossing this bridge,
00:23:35although it's a bit scary uh, when you look into the
00:23:39water and of course you are on this uh asient bridge, but
00:23:43i'm going to uh cross it uh with determination,
00:23:47so take a look.
00:24:34And finally I'm here, I've conquered
00:24:38the fear, uh, looking at this place, it's
00:24:41just uh, less than
00:24:44um, 500 meters, uh, but
00:24:48the danger at... attach to this place currently is what
00:24:52people
00:24:53are actually calling government attention to, they want the government to actually
00:24:57replace this bridge by constructing the concrete
00:25:00one and remove this century hood uh railway
00:25:04bridge which has been abandoned here, however people
00:25:08still plied it every
00:25:09day.
00:25:14from my experience during the trip, i see the
00:25:17117-year-old bridge, standing as a symbol of
00:25:21engineering foresight and the foundation of modern transportation
00:25:25in Nigeria, restoring it will honor the vision
00:25:29the past leaders and strengthen the courage the future
00:25:32generations to dream big about their country with
00:25:36commitment to make an indealable impact,
00:25:40despite the current major road construction ongoing across the
00:25:43state, abandoning this heritage to rot a waste like to lose
00:25:47critical part of Nigeria's colony. and pre-independence
00:25:51history, a history into the land
00:25:54the state
00:25:56capital. TBC News
00:26:00aberta.
00:26:27every day across forests, highways, towns and
00:26:30villages, brave men and women stand watch so that Nigeria can
00:26:34sleep, they leave their families behind, confront danger head
00:26:38on and make sacrifices many of us will never see,
00:26:42yet the enemies of our nation continue their assault, they target
00:26:46our children, they murder innocent citizens, they force families
00:26:50from their homes, they turn thriving communities into places of
00:26:54fear and uncertainty, their goal is simple,
00:26:58to break our spirit, divide our people and steal the
00:27:02future. of our nation, but Nigeria is stronger than
00:27:05terror. As we demand greater accountability, stronger security
00:27:09measures and more effective action from those entrusted with our safety,
00:27:13we must also play our part. Support our security
00:27:17forces, salute their galentry, stand with those
00:27:20stand for us. If you see something, say
00:27:24something. Let us be our brothers keeper. We must
00:27:28never surrender to fear, despare or hopelessness. This
00:27:32is... not the time for division, not by tribe, not by
00:27:36religion, not by region, not by political
00:27:40party, because terror recognizes no ethnicity,
00:27:44no faith and no ideology, its enemy is all of
00:27:47us and together, united as one people, we can
00:27:51defeat it for our children, for our communities, for
00:27:55our future, for Nigeria, join the
00:27:59movement, stand for our country, stand for one
00:28:03another #unite against
00:28:06terror imagine a country with over
00:28:09300 plenty plenty plenty languages why you
00:28:12going to only focus on and gibo when we get a common language where
00:28:16they unite everybody froma even mad and every
00:28:20person we they introduce to 89.9 yanga
00:28:24fm the number one urban fiji radio station station where they unite
00:28:28us all from the award winning breakfast show waiting day with your brother your
00:28:32friend.
00:29:02the last sensible voice where you go here we be
00:29:0689.9 Yanga
00:29:08FM. It's your
00:29:11street, your community and your
00:29:14voice. Now you don't have to
00:29:18wonder whom to complain to, from bad roads and poor waste
00:29:22management to broken street lights, drainage problems and other issues
00:29:26affecting your neighborhood. See it, report it, appraise it,
00:29:29complain about it, because your voice matters. And when your voice
00:29:33joins the voices of your neighbors, it becomes a voice that cannot be
00:29:37ignored. So how do you do this? Visit
00:29:40www.lgtracker.ngg and follow
00:29:44these steps. Step one: choose the local government you want to
00:29:47commend or file report on. Step two: choose what
00:29:51category your report falls under. Step three: write your
00:29:55report. Step four: submit. Hold your local
00:29:59government accountable. See it, rate it. it
00:30:03visit
00:30:03www.lgtracker.ng,
00:30:07together we can make our communities
00:30:09better.
00:30:14at tv news, wherever the big news stories
00:30:17happening, we're get up to break it. tvc
00:30:20news first with
00:30:22break.
00:30:53Many thanks for joining us on TBC News, this are as political
00:30:57momentum builds ahead the 2027 general election.