Less than forty-eight hours into the New Year, precisely on the 2nd of January 2024, the governor of Lagos State had to stop his convoy and order the arrest of commercial motorcycle (Okada) riders who were driving against the flow of traffic (one-way) on Lagos-Badagry Expressway. A Lance Corporal, who was one of the law breakers apprehended, boldly announced to the governor that he was a soldier.
The riders had rebelliously occupied the lane of the convoy. God forbid (our usual parlance), if any of them had panicked, lost control of his bike and either died or sustained serious injuries, the story around town would have been “Pandemonium as Sanwo-Olu convoy killed Okada Rider”.
Protesters, genuine and hired and those with personal objectives pretending to be social crusaders, would have surfaced on the highways and occupied government houses and offices with screaming banners and shouts of “Justice for Okada Rider”, “Okada Riders are Human Beings”, Let Okada Riders Live and they deserve life not death” among others.
That not being the situation, narratives suggesting that Sanwo-Olu was out to rubbish and embarrass the army surfaced on various media outlets, especially social media. Awkwardly, such narratives tend to suggest that security operatives are above the law of the country.
It is a testament to how low we have sunk as a nation that the governor of over twenty-five million people was being vilified for apprehending a Lance Corporal, the lowest rank in the army.
In a viral video, a soldier, defending his colleague, called civilians bastards. I doubt if that is their orientation. I doubt if men of the Nigeria Army are trained with public funds to disrespect civilians. But then, a soldier said no governor can arrest a soldier in front of his barrack. How on earth do you situate this?
The said soldier in the viral video went on to say that soldiers are only responsible to their senior officers, saying that no governor has control over federal agents. Such absurdity! If that is the true mentality of the army in our country, then trouble looms!
One “Tiktok” content producer, putting on a UN Peacekeepers’ badge upside down on a camouflage, pretending to be an officer of the Nigerian Army, practically threw caution to the wind, calling the governor unprintable names.
Given the antecedent of the army in Nigeria, if the Lance Corporal had died in that incident, his colleagues would have trooped out to cause mayhem, thereby causing pointless public disorder. History backs this up, as the “unknown soldiers” episode is still fresh in our memories.
Recently, a viral video showed soldiers randomly attacking LASTMA personnel in support of one of them who was engaged in a brawl with a LASTMA official at Oshodi a day before. The uproar that resulted from the blatant action created needless tension, with many along the area running for dear life.
Over time, the leadership of the army seems to have inadvertently condoned unruly behaviours of some of its officers, as no evidence has shown that any of them has been apprehended. The Corporal who insulted Gov Sanwo-Olu is said to be in custody. Will that be the end of the matter? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
It is shameful and disgusting that security personnel in the country erroneously act as if they are above the law. More annoying is the fact that they seem to always get away with it.
This brazen act of lawlessness must stop. Security personnel don’t have any privilege under the law that supports their lawless acts. It is a mentality that has been carried over from the dark days of military dictatorship. It must stop. Why should a security operative refuse to pay for transport fare just because he’s putting on a military or police uniform? Why should a security personnel think he can drive through BRT dedicated lanes without being reprimanded?
Come to think of it, why are laws enacted and enforced? It is for public order and sanity. After the governor’s encounter along Badagry Expressway, three persons on two commercial motorcycles were crushed to death at Barracks Bus Stop along the same Lagos-Badagry Expressway, while riding on ‘one-way’.
I am still waiting to hear from those who thought it was wrong of the governor to have prevented those on obvious suicide mission from suffering a wicked fate.
Subsequent governments in the state have tried severally to sanitise the transportation sector. The main goal is to protect lives and properties, which is partly responsible for the regulation of Okada as a means of transportation in the state.
This is the same reason why riders and passengers were urged to always wear helmets. In-spite of this and coupled with several stakeholders fora held on the need to maintain laws and order on the road, many still remain adamant.
Rather than join hands with the government on the noble cause, many emergency activists chose to whip up undue sentiment about how Okada riders would be thrown out of job, thus escalating insecurity.
According to reports, public hospitals record more cases of Okada-related emergencies. In the first quarter of 2023, 1,712 accidents were reportedly recorded in Lagos, with about 45 percent (767 precisely) traceable to Okada related crashes. Shockingly, about 54 percent of the victims are between the ages of 30 and 39. The implication of this is that the lives of our productive folks are being needlessly cut-short.
Insecurity fueled by using Okada as get away vehicles are still very much with us. At several fora, stakeholders have in unison advocated and endorsed a total ban on this mode of transportation. The government in its wisdom had thought it wise to phase it out gradually to prevent a sudden shock.
Where partial successes have been achieved, security has improved and shuttle buses, especially Korope has filled the vacuum left by the outlawing of Okada on designated routes. Accidents have also reduced drastically on such routes.
The state government, in my view, should consider implementing a blanket ban on this mode of transportation. It is too unregulated, fatal and dangerous to be accepted as a regular mode of transportation in budding smart-cities like Lagos.
If Kano and Rivers States among others could outrightly outlaw Okada, Lagos State will cope and cope better. The string of lawlessness daily witnessed from the confrontation between commercial motorcyclists and law enforcement agencies, no doubt, requires urgent action.
Every well-meaning Lagosian must support the government in its bid to take stringent measures on the use of Okada as a means of public transportation. We cannot achieve the ‘Greater Lagos’ of our collective aspiration in an unruly atmosphere.
Ogundeji is Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
