Liya’u Sa’adu has lived under a bridge in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, for exactly half his life and considers himself the ‘protector’ of the many other homeless people who have joined him there.
Now more than 60 men live in the close-knit rural community, with the busy and noisy Obalende Bridge above their heads. Renting a hut has proven unaffordable for them.
Mr Sa’adu advises the newcomers – often young people from far-flung towns and villages – on how to behave on the streets of fast-paced Lagos, where crime and drug use are easy.
“I’m 60 and there are young people who came here a few months or a few years ago. I see it as my responsibility to guide them,” he told the BBC.
“It is so easy to get lost here in Lagos, especially for young people, because there is no family to watch their steps.”
Like most of the people living under the bridge, he speaks Hausa, the most widely spoken language in northern Nigeria.
He arrived here in 1994 from the town of Zurmi in the northwestern state of Zamfara, but everyone he befriended then has either died or returned to their hometowns or villages.
Tukur Garba, who started living under the bridge five years ago, says Mr Sa’adu’s advice has been invaluable and he commands a lot of respect from those who come to try their luck in Nigeria’s economic hub.
The 31-year-old is from the northernmost state of Katsina, about 1,000 km (621 miles) away.
“He is like our elder brother because he has been here for so long. We need words of wisdom from him because it is easy to get into trouble in Lagos,” he says.
The area is now called “Karkashin Gada”, which means “Under the Bridge” in Hausa.
“People who come here know someone who is already here or have a contact who told them about Karkashin Gada,” Mr Sa’adu said.
“When I came here, there were less than 10 people.”
Adamu Sahara, who has lived in an apartment near Karkashin Gada for more than 30 years, says homelessness is increasing in Lagos.
“Insecurity (including an insurgency by jihadist groups) and the failing economy have led many people to flee northern Nigeria,” Sahara said.
“Nigerian leaders need to be aware of what is happening so that they can solve the problem. Because no human being should sleep under a bridge.”
Karkashin Gada’s longest-remaining resident has no plans to return to Zamfara, as economic opportunities there remain bleak and kidnappings and banditry are on the rise.
This has forced many people to abandon their businesses and farms, as they risk being held hostage by gangs demanding ransom.
To make life as comfortable as possible, Mr. Sa’adu purchased a mattress, some bedding, a wooden cupboard and a mosquito net.
He put the mattress on top of the closet and that’s where he sleeps.
Mr Sa’adu is one of the better off, as some of the other men living there have no furniture and share sleeping mats that they roll out on the floor.
Fortunately, the risk of theft is minimal, as there are usually a number of ‘residents’ of Karkashin Gada present, either at work or enjoying their free time.
They all use a nearby public bath and toilet. A visit costs 100 naira ($0.06; £0.05).
Cooking – or lighting a fire, even in winter – is rarely done in Karkashin Gada, as most residents buy their food from vendors selling dishes popular with northerners.
“This is one of the places in Lagos where you see a lot of people from Northern Nigeria, so I sell fura (millet flour mixed with fermented milk) here and I am happy to say that a lot of people are buying it,” food vendor Aisha Hadi told the BBC.
In the 30 years he has lived in Lagos, Mr. Sa’adu has risen from shoe shiner to scrap metal dealer, collecting metal from streets and workshops for a company that then sells it for recycling.
He earns an average of 5,000 naira ($3; £2) a day from it, more than the extreme poverty line of $1.90 a day but barely enough to survive.
“Don’t forget that I also have to send money to my family in Zamfara every week, so it’s a constant struggle,” says Mr Sa’adu.
It is unclear how many people are sleeping on the streets of Lagos, but non-governmental organizations speak of half a million.
The Karkashin Gada community has been under intense pressure from the Lagos State Environment Commission in recent months.
Officers occasionally carry out raids on suspicion of illegal residents.
Those arrested face a fine of up to 20,000 naira (US$12; £9), which is a week’s income for many people living under the bridge.
“They come around 1 or 2 in the morning to arrest people who are sleeping here. Where do they want us to go?” Garba says, adding that most of the “residents” will be back by morning.
He urged the government to show compassion and ‘look into the issue of housing so that poor people like us can have a good place to live’.
But in Nigeria, the government does not provide shelter for the homeless, nor is there a plan to do so.
In Lagos, the focus is currently on helping low-wage earners, such as cleaners, drivers and office couriers, to buy a home.
For people like Mr Sa’adu, 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 still, many landlords are charging a year’s rent upon occupancy and the government has no plans to regulate the market, despite the fact that the cost of living crisis has made housing unaffordable even for some young professionals.
Against this backdrop, people like Mr Sa’adu have resigned themselves to having to continue living under the Obalende Bridge.
“Given what I do, it’s hard to save enough money for a decent place to stay,” he says, lying on his mattress as he hears the sound of vehicles passing by just above his head.
“I am already used to the sound of cars. It does not affect my sleep at all, especially after a tiring day,” he adds.
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