Mixed reactions have greeted the total ban on the activities of commercial motorcycle operators, otherwise known as okada riders, in six local government areas in Lagos State, Daily Trust Saturday reports.
The ban, which was announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, took effect from June 1 in Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, Apapa and their local council development areas (LCDAs).
While the decision has received praises and commendations by a section of stakeholders, there are also fears that it can lead to an upsurge in crimeby the banned operators and abuse by security operatives. Commuters are also worried it will complicate the poor transportation system in the state. Also, many ask, what options the okada riders have now.
A factory worker at Apapa, simply identified as Jeremiah, who lives in Abaranje in Ikotun, said he spent between three and four hours daily to endure the tortuous journey from his house to his place of work.
“I leave home at 5am and expected to get to work at 8am, but sometimes I don’t make it there until 9am. If not for the understanding I have with my supervisor, I would have been sacked by now,” he said.
With decades of under-investment in the public transportation sector and poor transport management system, coupled with growing population in the state, Jeremiah, like most lowly paid factory workers, is faced with spending between three and four hours from his house in Ikotun to Apapa, where he works. In Lagos, a journey of 30km can take five or more hours.
For those who reside in areas such as Ikotun, Okokomaiko, Iyana-Ipaja and Abule-Egba, almost 80 per cent of their journey daily is done on commercial motorcycles.
Lagos Island has now been added to the list of okada-prone areas with the closure of the Apongbo bridge, caused by a recent fire outbreak.
A good number of Customs officers in Apapa and Tin-Can Island commands, as well as other uniform men, also use bikes for their journey.
A Customs officer at Tin-Can Island, who does not wish to be named, said he would park his car at Amuwo-Odofin and complete the journey to work on a motorcycle.
He said it was not possible to drive to the office as a result of the never-ending traffic jam along the Mile 2-Tin-Can Island expressway.
“The road is in a mess. Also, I cannot afford to risk my life struggling with truck drivers who do not have respect for human lives,” he said.
He has a special rider who takes him from Amuwo-Odofin to Tin-Can Island in the morning and back in the evening.
The middle cadre officer, who revealed that he resides at Ago-Palace Way, Okota, said the only reason he would drive is because he leaves his office very late.
Similarly, some Customs clearing agents said that even the managing directors of some companies in Apapa would at times also go to their office on okada.
Customs officers and freight forwarders appealed to the state government to exclude Apapa from areas affected.
Abdul Sulaimon, a clearing agent who resides at Ijanikin, said placing a ban on the activities of riders was as good as punishing those who reside in areas such as Apapa, Tin-Can, Ikotun and Okokomaiko.
“Until the road is completed, okada riders should be allowed to work,” he said.
But Raphael Adewole, a lawyer, has a different view. He said okada riders should not be allowed to operate on the Mile 2-Badagry expressway, insisting that a good number of them are reckless.
“A good number of lives have been lost while many have also been confined to wheelchairs. They attack drivers at the slightest provocation. Look at how they almost overran a police station in Ojo. They are gradually getting emboldened every day by their reckless attitude,” he added.
Riders relocate to other areas
For fear of being arrested and losing their bikes, some okada riders are now relocating to areas not included in the ban.
There is an upsurge in the activities of riders at some areas, such as Abule-Egba, Igando, Ikotun, Ojo, Ajangbadi, Ijanikin and Badagry.
Before the June 1 deadline, the leader of the Arewa Okada Riders in Lagos, Musa Haruna Gazamma, told Daily Trust Saturday in a telephone interview that some of the riders had already fled the state while some moved to other local government areas to continue to eke a living.
Gazamma added that there were many bad eggs among the okada riders, mostly foreigners that the government must get rid of.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Arewa Community had on Sunday called on security agencies in the state to identify and arrest criminal elements masquerading as okada riders. Rising from an extraordinary meeting, it expressed support for all measures taken by the Lagos State Government in its efforts towards protecting the lives and property of Lagosians. It also resolved unanimously that all its members must comply with the provisions of the laws of Lagos State.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the secretary-general of the Lagos State Arewa Community (LASACOMM) noted that restriction of commercial motorcycle operators in some local government areas was not new as it had been in existence for over 10 years.
The community stressed the need to have adequate data of every operator, and called on the Lagos State Government to be vigilant and take punitive measures on bad eggs within the security agencies.
“We condemn in totality, the activities of all criminal elements, who are mostly foreigners from Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon and other neighbouring countries, who have infiltrated the ranks of genuine riders, thereby perpetrating all forms of crime in Lagos State and constituting serious threats to the lives and property of Lagosians,” the communique stated.
The Arewa community also urged the Nigeria Immigration Service to step up its efforts along borderlines in checking the influx of foreign elements coming into the country without genuine intention.
It also called on the Lagos State Government to support its developmental programmes, which include registration, data generation and compliance monitoring, as well as the 2-wheel to 4-wheel upgrade programme.
Lagos to establish mobile courts to try riders, passengers
The commissioner of police in Lagos State, Abiodun Alabi, had disclosed the plan of the state government to establish mobile courts to try any rider and passenger apprehended from June 1.
While speaking on a morning show on a national television, Alabi said that from June 1, his men would ensure that anybody flouting the law would not get away with it.
“We have been able to put a strategy in place, and that was why the governor gave them a 12-day notice. Starting from June 1, we are going to ensure that nobody flouts that law and gets away with it. There is a plan towards establishing a mobile court that will try both the passenger and the rider. They will be tried instantly.
“We have been enforcing the ban on okada since February 1, 2020 when it was announced, but you see, there was a slack on the part of officers to enforce the law. But I think okada ban is not a new issue to police officers in Lagos. All we need to do is enforce the law. What is going to be different now is that officers would work efficiently to enforce the law and ensure that riders are not allowed to ply the roads where they are prohibited,” he said.
The commissioner also said the police had discovered that majority of the okada riders were not licensed, and many of them were criminals.
“We had arrested many of them with locally made pistols during our operations. We know they are using okada riding as a disguise to perpetrate evil in so many communities. That is why we have been having dialogues and meetings with their union. And in the course of doing that, I believe the best way out is to get them off our roads,” he added.
While he agreed that banning okada riding could increase crime rate as a result of unemployment, he assured that the state government was already putting strategies in place to contend with the situation.
Alabi said the command would no longer tolerate the violent nature of the riders, who carry out unprovoked attacks on members of the public.
He said 35 suspects were arrested over their attempt to overrun a police station at Ojo, while 195 motorcycles were impounded.
85% compliance as Govt crushes 2,000 motorcycles
The Chairman of Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce), Shola Jejeloye on Friday disclosed that 85 per cent compliance has been recorded in the last three days of commercial motorcycle ban in the state.
Jejeloye made the disclosure during the crushing of commercial motorcycles impounded during theenforcement of the ban.
According to Jejeloye, the enforcement of the ban would continue, so as to ensure sanity of the environment.
He said, “Since June 1, there has been more than 85 per cent compliance in the sense that we don’t see Okadas on the roads, on the expressway any longer. The number has drastically reduced.
Another phase will begin on Monday as there is no going back on enforcement of okada ban. Government does not make mockery of its policies and decisions.”
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso urged the okada riders to embrace the many alternative modes of transportation provided by the government, as there were plans to inject more first and last mile buses into the metropolis.
Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederick Oladeinde noted that government is reforming the transportation sector and integrating all the various modes of transport to enable residents move from one mode to the other seamlessly and pay with just one ticket.
The first and last mile buses rolled out by government, he said, will help to transport residents where okada operations are restricted.
Oladeinde urged residents of Lagos State to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses without fear, saying, government has provided alternative to Okada.
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