The requirement of helmets for motorcyclists by the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA) has created a massive market for helmet merchants in Kaduna, investigation by Daily Trust has revealed.
The law establishing the agency requires every motorcyclists to wear a helmet when he/she is in motion or pay a fine of N5,000.
When this correspondent visited Katsina Road, the major helmet sales depot in Kaduna, motorcyclists were bargaining the price of the helmets which cost between N1,500 and N3,000.
Commenting on the sales, dealers in motorcycle spear parts in Kaduna, including Prosper Ventures, Jenta Nigeria Enterprise and Onyegbosi and Sons described the sales as booming. One of the dealers said, “We sell between 30 to 50 helmets on a daily basis since the enforcement of the law. The helmets are moving like wild fire. We have to continuously order for more helmets from Anambra State.”
Meanwhile, though some cyclists are happy with the enforcement of helmets on motorcyclists in the state, some see it as causing inconveniences. A motorcyclist, Ibrahim Yahaya, said, “I am a traditional title holder and I need to be seen in public with a turban, how can I wear my turban when I have to wear a helmet?
One Mr Matthew Moses also does not like helmets. He said, “Already, when I go somewhere, it is a problem to get where to keep my motorcycle so that it will not be stolen. Now I have to go around carrying a helmet too. I am still battling to make it part of me because, at times, I forget the helmet somewhere.”
On the other hand, Mr. Simon Joseph said he was very happy with the law. “You know us Nigerians, we do not like change, but this change is for our good,” he asserted.
