afam4eva:
As if i knew the activists were Igbos. These people should go their village if they can't stay in Lagos. Nonsense!

seanet01: The law has come to stay, anybody dissatisfied can go back to his village

ebosed:

you are very foolish for this statement. Do you know the pain we -lagosians- go through each time we travel by road to other states because such foolish and insensitive statement people like you make? Other states now detest any Lagos registered vehicle especially within their local governments. The Ban against Okada is welcome to maybe 70% of us, others have the rights to air their views - that's what make the process - DEMOCRATIC. Are you saying Lagosians should also leave and go to other states? I know your frustration, while others are discovering and developing themselves to be successful you there envying their achievements and hoping that when they go back to there "village" you can possess their properties - BIG FOOL. I am a lagosian who have live more than 16years of my life in other states of the federation, I have not seen a senseless statement like this one you made except among the BOKO HARAMs of the north. What makes you different from them? Your Ideas are same - PERIOD

Baby mama:

I thought someone told us the Okada men were Igbos,northerners and foreigners
I read them ask people to go back to their places
How come it is Yorubas leading the protests
This tells us the opinion of the tribalist Yorubas on nairaland does not determine the general Yoruba opinion

delors: When you have a headache...is cutting off the head the solution? No! Be informed people...those saying the ban is a welcome development are being myopic...extremely myopic. Lagos is not London, not Toronto, not Tokyo, not Durban...every mega city is unique and different. in China, autorickshaw is being used as a inter-street transit, same in Japan. In Toronto, street cars (train on streets) are used as inter-street transit because of the population. Now, a project to build underground and overhead interstreet trains are nearly completed. in Venice, because of the water streets, boats are used as interstreet transits. Okadas are used in Lagos because of Lagos' peculiar transport system.

Banning okada in Lagos is a lazy way out of the transport system in Lagos. There are better ways to deal with the transport system. Tell me, has banning okada eased transport in Lagos? Traffic gridlock at Eko bridge, at Barracks en route Ojuelegba, at Iyana Iba enroute Okoko, at Obalende, at Ijaye? No! I think, contrary to pubic opinion, the Lagos state government took the easy way out of the problem creating more problems for the masses. Ina place where job is hard to come by, u forcfully snatched jobs from people in thousands...many okada riders are graduates conditioned by the situation of the country, many supply families with food and necessities with the okada business.

A responsive government would do a comprehensie cost benefit analysis of such a situation before embarking on such...Lagos is no man's land. If anything, the Benins (Edos) are the legitimate owners but it is now everybody's land...Fashola doesnt sound like a Lagos name (should be from Osun), so all those saying people should go back to theri villages should put on their thinking caps. If everybody went to their villages from Lagos, then Lagos would become an isolated geographical expression.

In other countries, when there is a business where government makes revenue from, or it illegal but people tend to still do it, the government devise a means to legalise it and make more revenue from it. In Canada, bribing politicians or policy makers to influence policies is called 'lobbying', and in 2006, the government created the Department of Lobbying meant to ensure that lobbying activities are done within the scope of the law...and the government makes profit from it. Same with alcohol consumption, if u must drink, u must tender ur ID to show u r 18+...not banning the sale of alcohol, or the act of 'lobbying'...banning OKADA IN LAGS IS A WEAK, MYOPIC, UNINFORMED, ARCHAIC, UNFAIR, policy and should be protested. (Thanks to Dr. Fashina, aka Jingo, for leading the protest this time. e knows whassap)

pro01:

Apart from the issue of tribe, the opinion of the hermits, couch potatoes, pompous middle class 'haves', detached elites, and misguided 'diasporans' are worth less than used condoms. Some of us retain the common touch at all costs, regardless of God's modest blessings, and we remain in the streets so that we never lose touch with reality - no matter what.

Fashola is so desperate in his elitist agenda that he mandates his goons to lobby bribe the press to propagate fake/minority opinions in support of the traffic law and okada ban (I know because I deal with journalists as part of my job). Millions of ordinary Lagosians suffer daily as a result of this policy, and you need to feel their anguish and hear their opinion (which is more important than whatever the internet fools that support this thing here have to say) to know just how unpopular the ACN government is currently among the masses in Lagos.

If democracy is about the majority (as typified by majority winning the votes in democratic elections), then you just have to wonder why the opinion of a minute, self-centred, detached minority should be more important than that of the majority of ordinary people, and constitute the basis for government policy/law in a matter as sensitive as this.

Okija_juju:


[b]You are a Lazy Juvenile delinquent!!

So what if you have lived in Lagos for 16years?! How does that affect the law banning Okadas?!! And to call Okada riding an achievement makes you an ignorant poverty striken church rat!! THE LAW HAS COME TO STAY!! AIR YOUR VIEWS ALL YOU WANT!! IF YOU CANT FIND ANOTHER LINE OF BUSINESS, GO BACK TO YOUR VILLAGE OR RELOCATE TO ANOTHER STATE!!..

The dude gave a straight comment, devoid of any malice or sentiments, you come out cursing and talking like a local fowl.. How much do you think OKADA riders make in a day that they will possess properties that anybody would want to covert?! You are a puppy!! And an Ekuke puppy for that matter.. Every state in the federation is banning this mode of transportation that has encouraged laziness (both amongst operators and users), killed and injured millions of Nigerians, is now the favourite mode of transportation for Thieves, robbers and criminals in general, is a big nuisance to society and has its operators as the number 1 slum dwellers in every city.

He said it; IF YOU CANT FIND ANOTHER BUSINESS OUTSIDE OKADA RIDING, PACK AND LEAVE LAGOS (and every other state in Nigeria where Okada has been banned). [size=18pt]Okadas are still allowed in many rural villages, they can go there and fulfill their Okada destiny[/size]. Next time you choose to call someone a fool, make sure that you atleast have something intelligent to say.. 16 years in Lagos and na Okada business you don dey do for over 16 years.. You are a NAMA!!

Infact, you are a factory fitted, genetically marked and divinely annointed M'oron.. [/b]

OMG
Fulfill Okada destiny
Hehehehehehehe

Bolushalom:
So are you saying that if the opinion of the majority is against progress, it should still stand? For God sake, this man policy is towards change. Nigerians continue to pray and fast for visa and even give testimonies when they get one, yet you don't want your own country to be as good as whr y'all r running to...it baffles me!

pro01:
"Progress" as defined by whom? The minority? Such arrogance on the part of the privileged minority is the basis for some of the thoughtless anti-people policies governments introduce.

Is your definition of "progress" objective or subjective? In any case, how is it progress to merely ban something that provides value to millions of people, without providing better alternatives?

From Molue to BRT buses - that is progress (although the BRT buses have since degenerated to Molues, in typical Nigerian fashion)
From analogue cellular phones to GSM technology - that is progress.
From unreliable post-paid meters to pre-paid meters - that is progress.

BUT. . .from Okadas to trekking - is that progress? Has the government introduced sufficient and affordable shuttle buses/mini-cabs for inner city, short-haul transportation? Have the structures been put in place to encourage private operators to provide these services? If the government claims that it is working towards these ends, does it make sense to first ban an existing problem-solver and then run from pillar to post in search of alternative solutions thereafter? What does the government expect millions of poor Lagosians to do in the interim? Trek in the sun and rain?

The fact is that these Okada guys provide a service that millions of people require; they fulfil an important need. If there were better alternatives for fulfilling this need, then of course okadas would die a natural death. The challenge for a sensible government is to work towards finding such alternatives first, rather than settle for the lazy option of banning okadas.

The best way of evaluating this issue for a more balanced understanding is to assume that you do not own a car and cannot afford the exorbitant taxi fares charged by Lagos cabs. If you evaluate this issue from the perspective of someone that does not need okadas, you would never understand it.

babapupa:

Is death, injury and lawlessness part of the services people need from okada.? Come back with this nonsense essay after losing a member of your family to okada and talk to us about your precious okada services.

pro01:

If you were not so daft, you would easily know that "death, accidents, and lawlessness" are also associated with vehicles, and even aircrafts and other means of transportation. Unfortunately, the blackout in your brain would never allow you see reason.

Hopefully, every member of your family (including you worthless maggot) would perish in a vehicle accident. Perhaps then, your representatives in LASG would seriously consider the option of banning vehicles too.

dederocs:
LAGOS IS A CITY,MEGA CITY-WE DO NOT WANT OKADA HERE

texazzpete:

You know, this is where the problem comes from...this mass, self-delusion that you're a 'great, mega-city'.

When you take a stroll through the streets of Ikotun, Ejigbo, Ajegunle et al, you'll see that largely, Lagos is one giant slum.

mega-city with less than 1000 doctors employed by the state to cater for nearly 17 million people. Mega city with an abysmal mass transit system! Mega-city with insane traffic jams that the Government cares nothing about solving...

Forget the Okada issue, anyone who goes beating his chest about Lagos being a 'mega-city' needs to be flogged with a very stout Koboko!