vigilance that prevented the planned attack of Lagos three weeks ago
failed to disclose to the public the magnitude of weapons the
mastermindsof the terror act had deployed for the failed operation and
the main target.
At the weekend from the authorities concerned that apart from the
deadly weapons uncovered, the arrested attackers' main target was the
strategic Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
According to revelations at the weekend, the attackers
surreptitiouslyconveyed the weapons to Lagos inside some of the
numerous fuel tankers that ply major roads to Nigeria's former capital
and indeed Nigeria's commercial nerve centre.
At the weekend that indeed the Federal and Lagos State authorities
were quite startled that the masterminds of the planned terror act
could pile up weapons of mass destruction in Lagos, generally
considered the safest haven for investment at the moment in Nigeria.
It was learnt that the Lagos State authorities, including the
governor, were shown the illegal arms that the security and
intelligence community's interagency co-operation confiscated
recently. "They were shocked, really shocked when they were shown the
levelof organisational capacity of the evil ones that planned to
attack Lagos…", a top source disclosed last week.
In a related development, security chiefs that briefed the National
Assembly top-shots last week about the reality of the planned attack
of Lagos reportedly told the federal legislators that indeed the
attackers had planned to attack Lagos to cripple the economy. Lagos is
the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. Former Head of State, the late
Gen. Murtala Muhammed, had in 1976 recognised thestrategic importance
of Lagos even while he was announcing the creation ofNigeria's new
capital Abuja then.
His words in a national broadcast to the nation on January 3, 1976: "…
Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nation's commercial
capital and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the
present infrastructure alone, the committed amount of money and effort
required will be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope.
"It will even be unfair to expect the state to bear this heavy burden
on its own. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to
continue to sustain the substantial investment in the area. The port
facilities and other economic activities in the Lagos area have to be
expanded.
"There is need in the circumstances forthe Federal Government to
maintain a special defence and security arrangement in Lagos which
will henceforth be designated a special area. These arrangements will
be carefully worked out and written into the new constitution. Kaduna
and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and designated as
Special Areas…"
The security chiefs told the federal legislators and their presiding
officersthat some of the attackers captured had hinted that the plan
of attack on Lagos was deliberate: to cripple the nerve centre of
Nigeria's commerce and industry, a city that plays host to the
international air and sea ports so that Nigeria's economy could
collapse.
It was said that the insurgents had reasoned that since they had
successfully crippled business operations in the North, there should
be federal character spread of the destruction, as even the East and
South-South geo-political zones too have been negatively affected by
the insurgency and kidnapping. The federal legislators were said to
have been alarmed by a revelation about the sense of urgency of the
insurgents to hit Lagos "just to make Nigeria ungovernable for the
present administration", as it was revealed.
It was not clear at press time whether the Federal Government's
planned amnesty programme for Boko Haram insurgents has been partly
influenced by the confirmed incursion to the unofficial commercial
capital that makes the money that Abuja spends. Itis on record that as
critics of Washington DC often say, "New York makes the money that
Washington spends", so it is with Lagos that consumes about 60 per
cent of the fuelthat PPMC/PPPRC imports and the rest of the country
shares the remaining 40per cent.
The implications of targeting the very strategic Lagos Third Mainland
Bridge have been worrisome to authorities at all levels. This is part
of the reasons for the concerns in Abuja and Lagos.
The Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of the three bridges
connectingLagos Island to the mainland. The othertwo are the Eko and
Carter Bridges. It is the longest bridge in Africa. The Third Mainland
Bridge is a vital artery of the network of federal highways
andcommands high patronage in Lagos Municipal Area, as it connects two
of the Lagos State's commercial hubs, Victoria Island and Ikeja.
The bridge, which has about 350,000 daily users, is also a vital link
to Lekki, Ajah and Epe communities. Midway through the bridge, there
is a link to Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba. The bridge starts really from
Oworonsoki, which is linked to the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway and
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and ends at the Adeniji Adele Interchange on
Lagos Island. Built by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, the bridge was
commissioned by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida in 1990
and it measures about 11.8 km in length.
The bridge posts huge economic relevance to the country as it saves
commuters who shuttle between two of the Lagos State commercial hubs,
Victoria Island and Ikeja, a lot of man-hours. It was said that the
last repair of the important bridge cost thenation N1.055 billion.
It is feared that if Lagos Third Mainland Bridge is destroyed, Lagos
and indeed Nigeria, are destroyed. It was estimated that the cache of
arms seized from the insurgents about threeweeks ago when it was
reported that Boko Haram entered Lagos was capableof wreaking havoc on
the vital bridge inthe heart of Lagos.
Source: informationng.com
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