By Emeka Alex Duru
Speculations on the imminent ban on commercial motorcyclists (Okada) and Tri-cycle operators (Keke), by Lagos State, had filtered into the system a week earlier. But the government dismissed it, claiming that consultations were still going on, on the issue. When eventually the announcement was made, it came with a bang. Gbenga Omotosho, the Commissioner for Information, did not mince words in handing down the order.
“After a robust assessment of the debate on what has been widely referred to as the motorcycle (Okada) and tricycle (Keke) menace, the Lagos State Government and the State Security Council have decided that the security and safety of lives of Lagosians are paramount….. After consultations with stakeholders, the State Security Council, in compliance with the extant Transport Sector Reform Law 2018, has decided to commence enforcement of the law which bans the operation of Okada and Keke in six Local Government Areas and nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs)”, he said. Commencement date was fixed for February 1.
The reasons for the measure ranged from the recklessness on the part of the riders leading to accidents and deaths, as well as incidences of criminality associated with some of them. Figures arising from accidents by Okada and Keke operators, the commissioner said, were scary. According to him, from 2016 to 2019, there were over 10,000 accidents recorded at the General Hospitals alone, adding that this number excluded unreported cases and those recorded by other hospitals. The total number of deaths from reported cases was over 600 as at date. “Also, the rate of crimes aided by Okada and Keke keeps rising. They are also used as get-away means by criminals”, Omotosho added.
Even among government critics, the allegation of recklessness among the Okada and Keke riders and some of them getting involved in crime, cannot be faulted. Okada riders are more particularly involved in these incidences of menace. Most successful robbery operations on traffic and against people coming out from the banks or other business transactions in the state, are known to have been carried out by people on bikes. Okada and Keke operators are also known for driving against traffic and flouting traffic signals and regulations.
Okada riders in particular, are seen by residents of the state, as necessary evil who they patronize because of inaccessibility of some parts of the state or the debilitating traffic that can at times, take two or three hours to get to a destination, that ordinarily should not take 30 minutes. These factors of safety and security account for those who support the government on the ban.
The areas affected are, Apapa LGA, Apapa Iganmu LCDA, Lagos Mainland LGA, Yaba LCDA, Surulere LGA, Itire-Ikate LCDA, and Coker-Aguda LCDA. Others are Ikeja LGA, Onigbongbo, LCDA, Ojodu LCDA, Eti-Osa LGA, Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA, and Iru-Victoria Island LCDA, Lagos Island LGA and Lagos Island East LCDA.
The Okada and Keke NAPEP are restricted on the particular highways and bridges, including Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Oworonshoki-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos-Ikorodu Expressway, Lagos-Badagry Expressway. The Bridges are, Iyana- Ipaja Bridge Agege, Dopemu Bridge Agege, Airport/Ikeja Bridge, Agege Motor road/oshodi Loop, Oshodi, Dorman Long Bridge, Ojuelegba Bridge, National Stadium Flyover, Apapa-Iganmu Bridge, among others.
Since Saturday, February 1, when the enforcement of the ban took off, many reactions have trailed the measure. On Monday, February 3, 2020, there was a protest at Allen roundabout, Ikeja area of the State by the riders over the ban. Before Monday’s protests, thousands of riders working for Gokada and Max (branded commercial motorcyclists) had on Friday protested at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
While appreciating the sanity which the order has brought on the roads, commuters complain that absence of Okada/Keke has been cashed in on by unscrupulous bus and taxi drivers to hike their fares. In some instances, there are no buses or taxis, forcing commuters to embark on trekking. Some other observers lament that the exercise would throw thousands of the riders to the job market.
More critical minds, argue that bad as they are, Okada/Keke operators do not pose as much security threat to the state as Trailer and Tanker drivers. Veteran Journalist and Newspaper columnist, Ikeddy Isiguzo, argues for instance, that Lagos should have better reasons for banning okada and tricycles in parts of the State than the statistics on accidents and crimes that are linked to them. “Has Lagos considered banning fuel tankers or trailers with unlatched containers that have been implicated in routine fire and road accidents in Lagos?”, he asked, adding, “ The ban on okada would neither result in drop in the crime figures and not even the accidents”.
According to him, weak enforcement of traffic regulations has made okada and keke operators everything they have become. “They run on their own laws. State traffic officials, many of who owe these machines, are lenient with the riders. Other considerations are the origins of the riders. Some of the most notorious riders are also from parts of the country that are placed beyond the law. Of course, they take advantage”, he stressed.
The ban, Isiguzo insists, amounts to decapitation as cure for headache, adding, “It is extreme; a possible admission that the State has failed to implement its own traffic regulations”.
Fred Chukwuelobe, another journalist and public relations expert, has a contrary opinion. In his view and based on experience in the first few days of the ban, sanity is gradually returning to the roads. In his words, “I just drove past Masha in Surulere, Lagos, and there’s sanity there. No single Okada or its sister, Keke. Traffic moved freely. Nobody is going to scratch your car and beat you in the process. Same on other roads I drove past from Ikeja to Surulere. Once the government fine tunes the ban to allow GoPay (branded motorcyclists) and its likes, and adds alternative means to it, Lagosians will feel the impact. But before we jubilate, government must sustain the prohibition by strictly enforcing the ban. These Okada and Keke drivers are menace to decency. Truly”.
The state government put the compliance level of the order at 90 percent, vowing not to relent. In a bid to cushion the impact of the order, it had pledged to release a fleet of 65 buses to join the others on some major routes as from Monday, adding that no less than 550 more buses are being expected. 14 ferries were also billed to be commissioned, the next day, Tuesday to further open up the waterways, reduce travel time on various routes and provide safe, dependable and comfortable alternatives for commuters, officials announced.
By the time the order is sustained and more alternatives provided, residents of the state, may not after all, miss the okada riders, per se, except, perhaps, their nuisance and menace.
