crisycent: On behalf of the governor and the good people of Edo state, I wish to welcome all displaced okada riders from Lagos state to Edo state. We are looking forward to a stiff competition between you and the locals hence reducing the price of transport drastically. However, remember that okada riders pay taxes in Edo state and we welcome your tax money. Once again, welcome to the ancient city of Benin.

360command:

What, am i reading clearly! is it not that city that has totally failed in transforming its ancient city in a well modernized ancient city? is it not that city where the ground is filled with red soils or red sands(dusty particles). Is it not that city where pot holes na b00by traps. Is it not that city, whenever it rains, the water(flood) occupies the ground floor of peoples homes even in the GRA premises.

nas 00: From the outset, it had been one of the targets of LASG to transform Lagos into a mega city and there's a time frame to it. In an ideal mega city, motor bike is not an option as a means of public transport. Compare Tokyo, Sidney, New York, Paris, Berlin etc.. Banning okada in some parts of Lag is understandably in line with achieving the laid out goal. Bear in mind the attendant merits of phasing out okada as a means of public transport.

Edo on the other hand must have her own targets too, which I am not really familiar with.

In view of this, I believe each governor is doing what is in their state's best interest, hopefully as a means to a better end. There is always to sides to a story.

We all must remember that for meaningful and lasting change, there must be:
1. An action plan/ blueprint for development
2. Leadership committed to the cause
3. Sacrifice, which in truth is mostly borne by the citizenry (okada riders in this case)
In the near future, Lagos is likely achieve her aims if LASG maintains commitment..
I don't stay in Lagos but I have witnessed, during my visits, the commendable positive changes in traffic law enforcement, environmet and aesthetics. I know there are yet lots of terrible roads needing rehab in lagos. Also, other problems such as power supply still need to be tackled. However, I think Fashola has taken one step in the right direction.

The onus is however on him to employ as much of the okada riders that are employable.

That said, I live in Edo State and the state of roads here is far worse than in Lagos (to say the least). Terrible roads persist even in Benin City.
I realise that a few roads here and there are being rehabilitated though, and maybe because Edo is a larger state, it is more difficult to appreciate work being done when considered as a whole entity.

Most parts of the state do not even have a functional intra-city taxi cab system E.g. Auchi, Igarra, Ibillo, Ekpoma, Sabongida-Ora etc
Only Benin has an intra-city system that conveys passengers from one place to another within it.

So, it is no surprise that Oshiomhole CANNOT ban okada for noow (except maybe on major roads in Benin-City). He was right in that regard.
But for the 'working class' reason he gave, I'd say he was just trying to score cheap political points. Oshiomhole get sweet mouth.

Paulmystery: I love that, you r indeed d peoples governor. I wish ur delta neighbour wil understand life like u do. U'v realy earnd my respect, Adams.

playcharles:
Mallam...okada was neva banned in lagos, they were only restricted in some major roads( out of 9000 roads, they were restricted to move only in 400 roads... Open ur dict and try to undastand the meaning of Banned and restriction

Sleek2: i can't believe some of the coments am seeing here..most of you are saying that the motorcycle riders are responsible for about 90% of Nigeria's road acidnt..let me ask,d millions of acidnts on the benin-abuja expres road was it caused by an okada?.
Secondly banning okada wil cause untold hardship to the masses..most people in nigeria are vry poor or live in areas dat are only acesible wit an okada,hw do u expct dose people 2cope?
Am not saying okada ban is bad,am just saying Nigeria is not ready for that step..gud evening

ABU GEORGE: you and some good people who have human feelings are sayin d truth here, u have today doesn't mean other wont have. D way we nigerians reason at times dat is why most of dis politician are causing pain and hardship to us, wen i reason some comment made by our fellow nigerian i wonder if dey are real nigeria, wat do nigeria have dat dey are banning okada, they are so many people out there dat have no jobs and dey are graduate.

aribisala0: To some extent it is a supply issue but Okada are very rarely used for long journeys.Quite often they are used for distances of 1km or less. Very few cities in the world have a transport system that can be available on demand to cover such journeys other than taxis which are not always affordable and so people either walk or cycle. Whether in London,New York or Delhi the trains never cover ALL routes and people have to queue and wait for buses which ,too do not cover all routes especially short distances. Now Okadas want to ply motorways carrying "passengers" in Lagos that is not acceptable. Lagos did not ban them outright and people should stop sentiments.

The other issue is safety.Okada riders often have no training,no licence,no insurance and are difficult to track down when things go wrong

Finally it is an Unemployment bubble particularly in Lagos. As with any bubble things seem rosy on the upside. We have an army of unemployed youth in our country and there seems to be no limit to how many okadas our system can absorb but is this really true? The bubble is exactly like this ; Large numbers of people migrating to Lagos with one mission to ride okada . Will there be no consequences for residents and should government respond? Especially when everyone knows many are not even Nigerian

Okada are very rarely used for long journeys.Quite often they are used for distances of 1km or less.

The other issue is safety.Okada riders often have no training,no licence,no insurance and are difficult to track down when things go wrong

Finally it is an Unemployment bubble particularly in Lagos. As with any bubble things seem rosy on the upside. We have an army of unemployed youth in our country and there seems to be no limit to how many okadas our system can absorb but is this really true? The bubble is exactly like this ; Large numbers of people migrating to Lagos with one mission to ride okada . Will there be no consequences for residents and should government respond? '

Especially when everyone knows many are not even Nigerian

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A state that can't deal with waste management and pot holes now wants to be like NYC, Tokyo and Sydney? Come on let's start with little things like cleaning gutters, creating flood and waste channels, fixing roads and pot holes. A state that gets flooded every time 1inch rain drops should not be comparing itself with NYC and co. Anyway in Naija, dreams and fantasies trump realities and hard work