Less than two years into the implementation of the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, commercial motorcyclists (popularly known as okada riders) have returned to some of the roads the law prevents them from plying.
Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos-Badagry
Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Agege Motor Road, Lagos-Ikorodu
Expressway, Iba-LASU Road and Isolo-Ikotun Road are among the routes
okada riders have resumed their business uninterrupted.
When the law became fully operational
about two years ago, the busy routes and other hundreds of inner city
ones regained sanity, while motorcycle-related accidents reduced by over
50 per cent, according to statistics by the Lagos State Government.
But with the exception of the Third Mainland Bridge and a few other roads, especially on the Island, findings show that okadas, with their associated oddities, have returned to the expressways where they compete with other road users.
Some people have viewed the comeback as a
response to an obvious need. For instance, those who commute between
Apapa and Mile 2 said the perpetual gridlock on the route had left them
with no option but to shuttle the places via motorbikes.
“If they insist okada should not
ply the road, what options do commuters have? If you spend a whole day
on the road, you may not still get to Wharf, unless you navigate through
Surulere, which is also not predictable,” Dotun Adefarasin, a clearing
agent, lamented.
With the worsening traffic jam on the Apapa road comes hundreds of okada
riders to lessen (and also ironically compound) the pains of those who
ply it regularly. What other motorists have done in the past months is
to learn to tolerate okadas that move in droves on the busy way. Yet, they expect the riders to be more discrete in choosing where to park.
Our correspondent observed on Monday that they (okada
riders) have converted some parts of the highway in Mile 2 to a park,
not minding threats from fast-moving vehicles. Also, there are
indiscriminately-located parks on every kilometre between Cele and
Tincan Island for okada riders who also freely violate helmet, passenger limit and other traffic laws.
One of the riders, Ahmed Musa, a native
of Yobe State, explained that some of his colleagues shuttled between
Mile 2 and Apapa till midnight during which they doubled the fare,
increasing from N500 to N1000. He boasted that nobody could stop okada on Apapa road. His argument is that people will always patronise the motorcyclists as long as the road construction lasts.
Cornelius Akuri, an Ijesha, Lagos-based
real estate broker, predicted that more and more jobless youths would
continue to add to what he called the okada nuisance on the
road especially as commuters were ready to pay exorbitant charges – as
much as 400 per cent above the fare charged by commercial buses – to be
ferried to Apapa in minutes.
“With properly-constructed road and
stoppage of indiscriminate parking of trucks, it is possible to stop
motorcyclists. Otherwise, I don’t see how anybody can discourage people
from patronising them. It is a simple economic principle: when there is
no market, they will find something else to do. The last time I drove on
the road, I spent five hours whereas I could have spent less than 20
minutes if I took an okada,” he explained.
At the popular Mile 2 Bus Stop, there is
no discrimination in the classes of people who seek solution in the
commercial bikes daily as the gridlock continues. The young and the
elderly, the rich and the poor as well as pregnant women take to okadas as they meander their ways to and fro the seaport town.
Residents of Ejigbo, a bustling community
whose link road has been taken over by the same menace, also attributed
the popularity of the transport system to traffic congestion. Like
other parts of Lagos where commercial motorcyclists have become such
indispensable pests, many Ejigbo residents spend much more commuting but
are able to save several hours that those who opt for commercial
vehicles waste in traffic jams.
“I love to drive or, at least, take a
cab. But the roads are terribly bad, causing unnecessary congestion
almost on every spot. I am sure many more people will quit okada
for a more descent mode if the traffic congestion reduces,” noted Ndu
Nweke, a financial/investment consultant whose office is at Ilupeju.
Okada riders who ply the
Lagos-Badagry Expressway said they had also become very important to the
people in the area due to the gridlock caused by the ongoing
construction work on the axis. One of them said officials of the Lagos
State Transport Management Agency and other traffic controllers
initially insisted on full implementation of the law on the route but
lowered their resistance as gridlock worsened.
With the exception of lkeja, Lagos
Island, Lekki and Victoria Island, the sanity that enveloped various
parts of the city, following the traffic law that debarred okada from specific roads and streets, might have expired. In the Lagos Mainland, the nuisance caused by the riders is fully back.
On the Island, where the implementation
is believed to be most successful, a number of operators have also
started testing the enforcer’s resistance. Some of them have started
picking commuters from Falomo to different streets within old Ikoyi.
Last Saturday, two of the operators said
they were in the business on a part-time basis. A source, which has
monitored the trend for some time, said more cyclists joined the rebels
at nights. He said some had even started shuttling between Ikoyi and
Oworonshoki during late hours.”
Another source claimed that most of the okadas operating there (Falomo), are operated by military and police officers.
The source said, “If their colleagues don’t arrest them, who will? That is the privilege they abuse.”
Sources noticed a similar “abuse” by
security officers living around the Murtala Mohammed Airport. It was
gathered that most of the okadas that ply Ajao Estate and the airport are run on esprit de coup arrangement.
Our correspondent gathered that the
motorcycles were either operated by officials of the Nigerian security
agencies, particularly the police, or owned by them.
In reference to the rise of the menace,
the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr.
Lateef Raji, recently said there were no plans to reverse the law,
which, he said, was in public interest.
Also, last Monday, LATMA’s Public
Relations Officer, Bola Ajao, said she could not comment on the issue,
insisting the Nigerian Police Force was responsible for the
implementation of the law.
The Lagos Police Public Relations
Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, however, told our correspondent that the force
had not relaxed the enforcement. He warned against violation, saying the
police would continue to clamp down on those who violated the law.
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