2022
Local Guides programme has really been a blessing upon me!
Each moment I tend to discover something new and interesting.
So, this meetup was an impromptu one, there's an opportunity to meet in Ikeja, I thought it wise to have a side activity to improve the Google Maps and talk to colleagues about accessibility.
We visited three major places
1. Vibranium Valley 2. The MUSON Centre 3. TBS Bus terminal
The Wakanda Tech Hub
Vibranium Valley is a new tech hub in Lagos. We toured the space to see some great features. The name was deduced from the famous Black Panther movie. Vibranium exists only in "Wakanda"!
A major observation here was lack of accessible trails inside the facility. The engagement officer promised to take this suggestion up with the management.
The MUSON Centre 
This historic building is the home of the Musical Society of Nigeria. There two large event halls in the complex. Other facilities include art gallery, conference rooms, music school, garden, water fountain, and music library.
Accessibility is limited to walkways online. Entrace and movement upstairs is impossible for PLWD. We understand it's an old structure but their responsive team have acknowledged the importance and promised to improvise.
Tafawa Balewa Square Terminal
Tafawa Balewa Square is a historic venue for Nigeria's indepence celebration. Various activities were hosted here before and after the indepence period. It was named after Nigeria's first Prime Minister Alahaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
The Bus Terminus is beside the Square and it's a transit point for various BRT buses crisscrossing Lagos Island.
It is commendable to note that the terminal has wheelchair Entrace and access to the loading bay. There's also an auditory and visual display board for arrival/departure information.
Recently, seats and restrooms have been provided with customer care lines to reach the bus operators.
*Milestones:
During the tour Of the Vibranium at Ikeja, I spoke about Local Guides programmes. Guests were encouraged to add reviews to Google Maps and most importantly help add accessible to our NAW list. Two ladies activated their LG membership
You may love to view our photographs and watch the short videos too. Do let us know what you think about the three locations. How can old structures improve accessibility for differently abled?
Another important observation is that the three locations have duplicates which give wrong directions to map users. Someone lost his way by following a wrong marker to the Vibranium Valley. After his complaint, we tried to make some editing but this is yet to reflect on the map.
There's need to give urgent attention to such issues especially when LGs make such recommendations.
How best can we get owners of old structures to provide accessibility trails without sending so much and defacing their buildings?
@InnocensiaO @kmajewski @BruceDM @KarenVChin @LawrenceNYC @AriMar @Justine2807 @Atsukot @MarinSt @ErmesT
Xoxo
Emeka
