Ikeja
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Ikeja is a suburb of the city of Lagos and the capital of Lagos State. The Murtala Mohammed International Airport is located there. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980's, was a well planned, clean and quiet residential environment with shopping malls, phamarcies and government reservation areas. Ikeja is also home to the Femi Kuti Africa Shrine. The Africa Shrine is a renowned live music venue.
It is also home to the very popular computer village, a typical unplanned, disorganized, and unsafe commericial environment market, where all types of computers and accessories are sold. Known throughout Nigeria almost all computers used in Nigeria are bought there. However the constant presence of street touts and other unsavoury characters whose presence has made the environment not only dangerous but chaotic.
An explosion in the Lagos Army Barracks on 27 January 2002 caused fires. Many fleeing people drowned in a canal when a bridge collapsed during the stampede.[1] [2] The official death toll is 600 people. Much of Ikeja was kept intact, however.
A disaster fund was created to provide for those displaced in the tragedy. The government provided food, clothing, shelter and health care. The official number of displaced people was put at 20,000.
Ikeja like other Lagos municipalities has suffered from neglect, a lack of planning and over concentration of disorganized commercial activities (which include street trading)
[edit] References
- ^ Anger follows Lagos blasts, CNN News January 29, 2002. Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ Talking Point - Lagos Explosion, BBC News January 31, 2002. Retrieved February 18, 2007
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