Okadas return to Kano streets as ‘Keke’ riders’ strike enters day 2

As the strike action embarked upon by tricycle riders popularly known as ‘Adaidaita Sahu’ in Kano entered its second day, ‘Okadas’ (commercial motorcycles) hitherto banned in Kano city have flooded the streets as people seek alternative means of transportation.

The strike disrupted movements in Kano on Monday, which forced many people, including students and businessmen to stay at home due to lack of means of transportation to take them to their schools and workplaces.

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Daily Trust reports that the latest strike is the second in the city in less than 12 months.

The riders are protesting against the registration fee charged by the Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA).

The agency is charging new registrants, N18,000, while renewal is N8,000, on annual basis.

The riders, who kicked against this, refused to convey residents to their destinations on Monday morning and subsequently, on Tuesday.

Aside the use of motorcycles as alternatives to tricycles, minivans and private cars are now being used to ferry people from one place to the other, with the latter raising fears among the general public on issues of insecurity and kidnapping.

Reacting on the first day of the strike, the Managing Director, Kano Road and Traffic Agency, KAROTA, Baffa Babba Danagundi, said the state government had taken drastic measures to curtail the strike.

“The government is already at the verge of bringing out an alternative because the government feels it has allow a monopoly on the transport system in the state now.”

But the Chairman, Tricycle operators Association, Sani Sa’idu Dankoli, said the action did not come as a surprise as it was announced two weeks earlier.

He, however, assured of reconciliation and return of the riders to the street as at the 2nd day.

“We are in talks with our people to review the action as majority of us don’t have means to feed their families except when they go out everyday. So, the strike action is everyone’s business. We assure you by the 2nd day, we will be back.”