Sleeping under the Lagos Bridge for 30 years

Liya’u Sa’adu, who has spent half his life living under a bridge in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, sees himself as a “guardian” for the many people who share his homelessness there.

Now, more than 60 men live in this close-knit outdoor community above the busy and noisy Obalende Bridge because they can’t even afford to rent a shack.

Mr. Sadhu advises new arrivals, usually young people from far-flung towns and villages, on how to remain street smart in fast-paced Lagos, where it’s easy to fall into crime and drugs.

“I’m 60 years old and there are young people here who came only a few months or years ago. I think it’s my responsibility to guide them,” he told the BBC.

“In Lagos, it’s easy for people to get lost, especially the young ones, because they don’t have family to look after them.”

Like most people living under the bridge, he speaks Hausa, the most widely spoken language in northern Nigeria.

He arrived here in 1994 from Zurmi, a small town in northwestern Zamfara state, but the friends he made by then have either died or returned to their hometowns or villages.

Tukur Garba, who started living under the bridge five years ago, said Mr. Sadhu’s advice was invaluable and he earned great respect from those who came to try their luck in Nigeria’s economic hub.

The 31-year-old is from the northern state of Katsina, about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away.

“He is like a big brother to us because he has lived here for a long time. We do need his words of wisdom because it is easy to get into trouble in Lagos,” he said.

The area is now known as the “Kalkasin Gorge,” which means “under the bridge” in the Hausa language.

“People who come here know someone who already lives here, or have contacts who told them about Kalkasingada,” Mr. Sadhu said.

“When I came, there were less than 10 people here.”

Adamu Sahara, who has lived in a flat near Kalkasingada for over 30 years, said the number of homeless people in Lagos is increasing.

“Insecurity, including the jihadist insurgency, and economic decline have caused many people to flee northern Nigeria,” Mr. Sahara said.

“Nigerian leaders must be aware of what is happening so they can address the problem because no one should sleep under a bridge.”

The longest-serving resident of Carcasingada has no plans to return to Zamfara, where economic opportunities remain bleak and kidnapping and banditry are on the rise.

This has forced many to abandon their businesses and farms as they face the risk of being kidnapped and held for ransom by criminal gangs.

To make life as comfortable as possible, Mr. Sadhu bought a mattress, some bedding, a wooden cabinet and a mosquito net.

He placed his mattress on top of the cabinet and that’s where he slept.

Mr. Sadhu’s living conditions were better because some of the other people living there had no furniture and shared sleeping mats on the floor.

Thankfully, the risk of theft is minimal as a number of Carcassingada’s “residents” are usually around, either working or enjoying their leisure time.

They all used nearby public bathrooms and toilets, which cost 100 naira ($0.06; £0.05) each time.

Cooking or fires are rarely practiced in Kalkasingada, even in winter, as most residents buy their food from vendors selling dishes favored by northerners.

“This is one of the places in Lagos where you get a lot of northern Nigerians, so I sell fura (a mixture of millet flour and fermented milk) here and I’m happy to say that a lot of people buy it,” food vendor Aisha Hadi told the BBC.

In his three decades in Lagos, Mr. Sadhu went from being a shoe shiner to a scrap metal seller, picking up metal from the streets and workshops and recycling it.

He earns an average of 5,000 naira ($3; £2) a day, more than The extreme poverty line is $1.90 a day But it was just enough for him to survive.

“Don’t forget, I also have to send money every week to my family in Zamfara, so it’s a constant struggle,” Mr Sadhu said.

It is unclear how many people are sleeping rough on the streets of Lagos, but non-governmental organizations say the number is as high as half a million.

Over the past few months, the Kalkasingada community has come under intense pressure from the Lagos State Environmental Task Force.

Police often conduct surprise inspections because people are allegedly living there illegally.

Those caught face fines of up to 20,000 naira ($12; £9), a sum equivalent to a week’s earnings for many of the people living under the bridge.

“They come around 1 or 2am to arrest people sleeping here. Where do they want us to go?” Mr Garba said, adding that most “residents” return by morning.

He called on the government to show compassion and “pay attention to housing issues so that poor people like us can have a good living environment.”

But in Nigeria, the government does not provide shelter for the homeless and has no such program.

Instead, Lagos is currently focusing on helping low-income people, such as cleaners, drivers and office messengers, buy homes.

For people like Mr Sadhu, any type of housing in Lagos is unaffordable – renting a shack in an informal settlement costs around 100,000 naira ($48; £62) a year, while a small apartment in a working-class area costs around 350,000 naira ($220; £170) a year.

Worse, many landlords are demanding a year’s rent upon move-in, and the government has no plans to regulate the market despite a cost-of-living crisis that has made housing unaffordable even for some young professionals.

In this context, people like Mr. Sadhu have no choice but to continue living under the Obalende Bridge.

“Considering my profession, it’s hard to save enough money for a decent place to live,” he said, lying on his mattress, the noise of passing vehicles overhead.

“I have become accustomed to the sound of the cars. It does not affect my sleep at all, especially after a tiring day,” he added.