LAGOS STATE GOV. FLAGS OFF CAMPAIGN ON OKADA

…AS AN ORDER ON OKADA TAKES OFF

The Lagos State Government yesterday launched a 21-day campaign to enlighten commercial motorcycle (Okada) operators and other stakeholders on the need to ensure the observance of law and order in the Transport Sector.
The campaign, aimed at sanitizing commercial motorcycle operation I the State, will run till the end of this month and involves the use of mobile billboards, flyers, talk-shows and stakeholders’ meetings at motor-parks in the major Nigerian Languages and pidgin-English, as well as radio and television jingles and advertorials.
As the enforcement of the rules and regulations commences on September 1, 2010, Okada operators are enjoined not to operate in the State without a valid Rider’s License, proper registration and a standard crash helmet and being road worthy.
Also, the messages will discourage Okada riders from carrying more than one passenger at a time, pregnant women or women carrying children on their backs, school age or underage children, or any child less than 18 years of age operating Okada in the State.
Riding against traffic, on kerbs, median or road set-backs and violation of traffic light signals are other prohibitions apart from road signage where Okada operation are prohibited.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, told Government House Correspondents that the Law and Order campaign has to do with the regulation of the activities of Okada riders in the State.
Bamidele, who spoke in company of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, declared, “As a Government that has developed a zero tolerance to every form of disobedience of our law and order, we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the campaign covers every aspect of our lives as a State since public transportation is a major aspect and with Okada operation as an integral part of public transportation”.
According to the Commissioner, “As we have already stated, both in Law and in theory, motorcycles or Okada, as they are called, are not meant to be part of the public transportation of Lagos State. So, essentially, those who operate them and those who ride them as passengers, are actually not covered under the law and, sadly enough, it has become a major reality in our hands that we cannot pretend that they are not in existence; so we are trying to make the best out of an otherwise bad situation; because in an ideal situation we should not be having people transported on Okada at this age”.
The Commissioner noted that the State Government had consistently strived towards modernizing public transportation in the State, adding, “You know of BRT, you know of LAGBUS, you know about other transport systems and, of course, you know about the steps being taken by the Government to ensure that the rail system works and also in trying to ensure that the water transportation system is in the State”.
The Commissioner declared, “As we confront issues of public transportation both in respect to transportation by air, rail, water and by road, we have to manage the activities of Okada riders to see how best to protect lives and property in the process”, adding that Government has decided to be proactive in ensuring that both the Okada riders and the general public are familiar with its thinking and its philosophy in that regard.
Bamidele disclosed that the road show would take law enforcement officials round major parts of the city of Lagos by mobile billboards vehicles operated by WOW Mobile Billboard Company led by Mr. Tokunbo Odebunmi adding that the essence is for the members of the public to appreciate the resolve of Government to enlist the support of members of the public to join the campaign to save lives by ensuring compliance.
In his own remarks, the Special Adviser on Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, reiterated that the campaign was essentially to enlighten the general public on the need to save lives by ensuring compliance with traffic rules and regulations as they apply to Okada riders in the State.
Opeifa said the Government was in agreement with the leadership of the Okada Riders’ Association on the enlightenment drive for their members in this regard.
Appealing to members of the media to assist in the campaign, the Special Adviser said that, in carrying out the campaign, Government was not making any new laws but concern about minimizing unavoidable deaths on the roads.
Also present at the occasion were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. J.O. Coker, Chairman of the State chapter of the Association of Okada Riders of Nigeria, Comrade Ade Ikuesan, the Secretary, Comrade Elvis Mordi, officials of LATSMA and other top Government functionaries.

source:http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/index.php?page=news&nid=597

OKADA TRANSPORTATION IN LAGOS MEGACITY

THE BIG QUESTION?

SHOULD OKADA (motorcycle) BE BAN IN LAGOS STATE IN THE QUEST OF BUILDING A MEGACITY?

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The public transportation challenge may not be peculiar to Lagos alone, as London with many years of organised rail and public transportation experience stills falls short in some regards, perhaps in a different and envious manner compared to the Lagos and Nigerian capital cities’ examples. Daily media reports in the U.K of ‘tube commuters miseries and woes’, ‘chaotic train timetable disruptions’ e.t.c suggest that the City of London and the U.K government still struggle to meet the transportation needs of an ever growing population.

For many Lagosians, riding daily on okada is an unavoidable part of their daily routine as only the ‘kings of the road’ have the daredevil DNA to waltz, dash, slide, ride and manoeuvre their way through the thick Lagos traffic. Their door to door service offering and cost effectiveness also sets them apart from other public means of transportation. This comes at huge costs though. A visit to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos and other hospitals in Lagos will reveal sad stories of young lives cut short, or maimed for life by the carelessness and sometimes overzealousness of the okada riders who obey only one law, that of the urban jungle which ‘accords’ them right of way in every traffic situation. For Lagos okada riders, patience is a relic word, now extinct like the dinosaurs.

There are reports that some state governments such as Cross River state, Imo state and the FCT administration have since banned commercial motorcycles in their state capitals. Perhaps, Lagos presents a peculiar challenge thus making wholesale ban of the okada impossible without the government adequately providing for easily available and other cost effective alternatives. The Fashola administration should be praised for its various strides in the area of improving public transportation through the provision of BRT buses and other initiatives but such efforts seem like drops in the ocean when juxtaposed against the millions of commuters that require public transport services to their places of economic activities every day in Lagos.

In Lagos, as in other cities, okada rides are for the rich, and the not-so-rich including school children who have now resorted to doing balancing acts seated 4 or 5 on an okada on a daily basis to and from school, a heart wrenching sight to behold. Okada rides are no respecter of persons and are not a determinant of one’s socio-economic status. Professionals, ‘big boys’ and ‘big girls’ alike have since joined the okada revolution. For many, the okada has become a ‘life saver’ helping them to keep vital appointments. A friend once took an okada from Funsho Williams Avenue to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport when it became clear to him that continued stay in his car which was stuck in the evening traffic would have meant missing his scheduled flight to London.

If you live and work in the Victoria Island area of Lagos, you may have discovered that the fastest means of moving around on the island is with okada, else you risk coming late for meetings and appointments. What many professionals working on the Island do, including yours truly is to park your vehicle at either Mega Plaza for a fee or in any other location and then flag down an okada to take you to your destination on the Island. A few survival tips may suffice here if you intend to arrive alive with your bones intact.

As a rule, I am always conscious of the person driving the okada I am about to hop on. I tend to favour mature okada riders who appear to have families; my thinking is that they will be more careful. The ones to run away from are those ones that look barely in their teens. Ride with them at your own peril, this is not helped by their very poor grasp of ‘Pidgin English’, with such CV, expecting them to read, understand and obey traffic signs becomes a tall order. It is important to adopt a master-servant role during the ride, and this is for a reason. Having been variously bashed, bruised, brushed and crushed by crazy Lagos drivers, your typical okada rider is an accident waiting to happen; their mentality has since turned to that of a victim hence the band of brotherhood they exhibit each time a fellow rider gets into an altercation with a car driver.

It is important that you attempt to control the mind of the okada rider even before you settle on his worn seat. How do you do this? You tell him clearly where you want him to take you to and agree fares upfront; ask him again to be sure he understands. Next natural thing for him is to zoom off with you in tow, but that’s where the control begins. It is actually within your powers to tame his ‘madness’ by telling him that you don’t want him to drive you to early death. You will be surprised that they will respond and slow down a bit, follow this up with an instruction to please not exploit every opening on the road as it is your head that may get crushed by the trailer. You also don’t want to climb on an okada that the driver has already twisted the handle as this makes balancing during manoeuvres more difficult.

Riding in a Lagos okada is like riding a crazy horse, even at that, crazy horses can be tamed, even if momentarily. Chances are that the okada rider will yield to you (he needs the money), if not, it is still within your rights to ask to be let off; afterall it is your life at stake. Remember that okadas are like trains, if you miss one, you can catch the next.

While we hope for better and improved public transportation system in all our cities, we will continue to patronise okada riders which are much hated but needed at the same time. Perhaps a programme of public education on basic traffic laws, health and safety etc for commercial motorcyclists in Lagos and other cities may be an interim measure to curb the risks that okada riders pose, for the average motorist who must now worry about not knocking the lawless okada rider down, and the wider society in general.

Written by: Uche Nworah

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