Two months after the Lagos State
Government commenced the
enforcement of its new traffic law
restricting the operation of
commercial motorcycles, a.k.a. okada,
on 475 roads in the metropolis, it is still business as usual for the riders
as they continue to ply the restricted
roads. P.M.NEWS investigations
revealed that after the initial
bravado by the state
government to enforce the
law which led to the seizure of
about 3,000 motorcycles belonging to offenders, law
enforcement officials
appeared tired and this has
emboldened the riders to
continue plying the restricted
routes. A close monitoring of the 475
restricted routes by P.M.NEWS
revealed that some okada
riders were still plying the routes. These recalcitrant riders can be seen
on Oba Ogunji Road, Acme Road,
Ikorodu Road, Lagos-Abeokuta
Expressway, Oshodi-Apapa
Expressway, Lagos -Badagry
Expressway, Herbert Macaulay Way and other restricted routes. The activities of these disobedient
riders are more pronounced at Pen
Cinema, Agege, Acme Road, Lagos-
Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos-
Ikorodu Road Lekki-Epe Eexpressway. At Pen Cinema, Agege, the riders now
operate with impunity by parking on
the median near the Women
Development Centre, in the morning
and late evening to pick passengers.
Policemen at the nearby Pen Cinema, it was gathered, always send
policemen to the area to apprehend
them but the cops end up extorting
money from the riders. At Mobil Road, Oke-Ira, Ogba, a large
number of okada riders operated on
the restricted road unchallenged. On Iju Road, Agege, the story is the
same. Okada riders operate on the
prohibited route and constitute
nuisance as usual in deviance of the
law. Likewise at Fagba and Abule
Egba areas, okada riders operate with impunity. They also ply the ever-busy Agege
Motor Road as the police and
government officials seem to have
gone to sleep. It was on this road
that Governor Babatunde Fashola
personally arrested a police officer riding on okada last week. On Acme Road, Ogba, the law seems to
be ineffective as a large number of
okada riders ply the prohibited route
throughout the day. The same
scenario was observed along Akilo
and Agidingbi roads. On Ekoro Road, Abule Egba, okada
riders are making a lot of money by
plying the prohibited route. Also in
Command, Ipaja the motorcyclists
operate as there is no law barring
them from the route. On Lekki-Epe expressway, okada
riders are having a field day as they
operate unchallenged. The same
situation was observed at Victoria
Island and some areas in Ikoyi. Investigations also revealed that
majority of the motorcycle riders
found in restricted areas of the state
are security officials who now use
the opportunity of the ban to make
brisk money by using their uniforms to flout the law. As a result, some of the riders who
had earlier abandoned the business
are gradually returning while many of
them make friends with policemen,
soldiers and officials of the Lagos
State Road Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to evade arrest. “When they seized my first okada, few
days after they began the
implementation of the traffic law, I
waited to know what next to do. But I
realised that the thing to do is to
have a policeman as a friend. So I bought one of the seized
motorcycles from a policeman at N15,
000 and went back to the business. “Though it is risky to ride okada in
Lagos now, those of us who have the
courage still make our money,”
Okechukwu Ani, an Igbo man residing
in Agege, said, adding that anytime he
was caught, he always sought the assitance of his police friend. Another rider, Sunday Emo, who picks
passengers from Pen Cinema to the
Secretariat, said it was risky but that
the riders are now very careful. “It is now a case of the cat and
mouse relationship. We know that if
we are arrested, our okada is seized
and we may be prosecuted, but now,
we are more careful than before. “These days, as we ride, we ask our
colleagues the situation of the roads.
We no longer wait to pick passengers
in secretariat. Once we get there, the
passenger, who must have paid us
before reaching the place, jumps down and we move on,” he said. Some of the riders also told P.M. NEWS
that they decided to engage in the
risky venture because they have no
alternatives. “Of course, the law was passed
despite our efforts to persuade the
government against it, but what is the
same government doing to cushion
the effects of the restriction on our
lives?” asked Victor Akinwunmi, a rider who still plies the Lagos-Abeokuta
Expressway. Chairman, Okada Riders Union, Ikeja
branch, Mr Olukayode Amadi advised
government to deploy a taskforce on
all restricted routes to stop okada
riders from plying them and leave
riders to ply the inner roads. “If the government should deploy the
taskforce on all prohibited routes,
okada riders will be forced to use the
inner streets and the police should
not arrest our men in the streets that
we are not banned from plying,” he said. Commenting on the flouting of the
law by okada riders, PPRO, Lagos
State Police Command, Ngozi Braide
lamented that okada riders did not
want to comply with the traffic law.
She accused them of being hostile to policemen trying to enforce the law.
“When we try to arrest them, they will
start blackmailing us. We will try our
best to ensure that okada riders
obey the law,” she stated. Reacting to the development, Lagos
State Commissioner for Information
and Strategy, Aderemi Ibirogba said
the law was still on course and that
government was ever ready to ensure
its success. He said government was not helpless in enforcing the law. Ibirogba stated that the mere fact
that some okada riders flouted the
law did not mean that it was not
working, adding that several okada
riders had left the prohibited routes. “If somebody is trying to make the
last minute rush and dodge, it cannot
be used to gauge the law. The law has
planted the right thing to do in the
minds of Lagosians and everybody is
now aware of the existence of the law. The law has awaken the
consciousness of all of us that we
don’t take things for granted. “Even those who are trying to evade
and dodge law enforcement officers
in breaking the law, know the law
exists. They are operating illegally. We
are all law enforcers and we have to
take a decision not to break the law,” he said. The commissioner stated that
government would try as much as
possible to ensure that okada riders
were not allowed to ply the
restricted routes, adding that with
time, 100 per cent compliance would be achieved.
www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/12/07/toothless-traffic-law-okada-riders-defy-fashola/

So if a few people disobey a law, it means the law is toothless... Right??

Misleading title...

GARRI (x7):
So if a few people disobey a law, it means the law is toothless... Right??

Misleading title...

I mean, since most governments around the world outlawed murder, human beings have been dying through natural causes and accidents.

Duduknight:

I mean, since most governments around the world outlawed murder, human beings have been dying through natural causes and accidents.

I was about to say the same thing. Armed robbery is illegal, but we still have armed robbers in Nigeria.

Well is true that is not only lagos that
band okada, but before you prepere
to stop fihgting yuo should first of all
stop heating each other’s mouth to
avoid fight.for example imo state gov
did not stop them like that. he issure them keke at the rate of 200.000.then
for those that is taking their
responsibilities in okada here in lagos
what is your help and advice for
them.think if you are the one how will
you feel if government should stop you from that your working place
now without conditon how will you
fell?

GARRI (x7):
So if a few people disobey a law, it means the law is toothless... Right??

Misleading title...

The government has to be consistent in it's efforts to enforce the okada ban. The okadas are coming back one after the other and before you know it, it's back to square one. The same thing happened with when it was made compulsory for drivers to use seat belts.

Afam is right but should try and suggest what other alternative should be done.

Lagos should be decongested and further influx of ex-bike riders looking for alternatives should be discouraged. There is always a price for takin a step.

Eko o ni baje.