Lagos State Government yesterday announced the ban of Okada Motorbike operation in Lagos State from 7pm to 6am. This according to The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake is to curtail the wave of crime in Lagos. What do you think? is this the right move?. Lagosians let's hear your comments.

I wonder what other means of transportation lagosians will use during the night. is it the rickety commuters vehicle?

There was a earlier thread about Okadas and there you can see how close the issue is to the heart of every Nigerian - good or bad, black or white. Sometimes too, some people get so emotional as if the rest of us against Okada riders have no compassion for another man´s means of livelihood. Look, in any situation, we consider ALL the pros and cons and take the best stand for the MAJORITY, which in ordinary parlance is referred to as "the common good".

Now, considering this common good, it is clear to any discerning person that "Okadas", as useful as they have become, portend more evil than good. Pay a quick visit to Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital; Witness the countless daily brushes of Okada against cars and humans and the amount of venom it generates, and then consider the issue of "On-bike" snatchers and robbers, etc, etc, then one will conclude that for the sake of common good, Okadas as a means of transport should be banned, day AND night.

Granted that they exist to fill a gap created by government ineptitude at providing need services and infrastructure, agreed, then let´s address those service needs, get rid of the menace of Okadas, bear with the temporary inconveniences and we will all be better off for it.

when I left Nigeria, there was traffic congestion and no okada, but we still get from point a to b with minimal accident, now what we have is an epidemic, and not until one of the politicians kids or president kid is harm or subjected to the same kind of accident cause by Okada, nothing will be done, this manace has to be stopped, stop okada now government please and provide transportation for my people.

For everythin that has an advantage there is a disadvantage except God. Okada has in recent time in Lagos been a means of easy,quick access to some areas which ordinarily busses cannot access. They have also been of great help to ppl who work late and need to get home at odd hours because busses arent available at such hours.

In anoda vein they are utilised by robbers to rob homes because they r easier means of quick escape. Cities like onitsha,enugu,aba have had such experiences and they had to ban okadas frm running the streets at certain times of the day(even port-harcourt recently did so).
I believe the use of okadas need to be checked to a great degree due to its being utilised by robbers.

Oga Odeku, I will beg to differ with u on this one?

Granted there are 2 sides to a coin, I equate okada to the mexicans in the US - if there were no okada to take pple to "uncharte regions" of naija's poor road infrastructure, the economy could collapse

All that needs to be done is perhaps a way of identifying them, maybe having them register. I know, I know, pple cd subvert the system, but it would be a start. Govt doesnt need to step in even. If the pple stopped riding them, perhaps the smart ones wd figure out a way to appeal to their clientele. As long as naijans have the "I sabi say e dey dangerous now, but how I go do? I no get choice" attitude, okadas will remain the way they are.

Seriously, its like and infestation theere are too many Okada, and as for okada been a means to get to inaccessible place, how were people gether there before okada, abi mi Nigerian people are becoming lazy like the Americans, that cant do without elevator and cell phones? there are good and bad with any operation, but in this case, the okada operators are ruthless and all they care for is getting to the destination as quick and fast as possible. This attitude need to be change.

It seems the Honorable commissioner has forgotten that Okada's can still be used for crime as long as the rider and passenger can prove that they are on a private trip/ride instead of a commercial one. The Nigerian police on checkpoint duty will be the only ones to benefit from this "law".

As crazy as it sounds, when I am there, I prefer taking Okada over sitting in b/w pple, some of which are so sweaty and dirty that upon exiting the cab, u smell like the combined scents of crayfish, okpoloko and that of a person who may not have bathed for days LOL

Y do I take public trans in naija some of u may ask? cos I like it After driving in my own a/c'd car, windows up, music playing, etc, I feel boxed in. I just wanna b one "with nature", u know what i mean?

Bottomline, dangerous or not, it should be up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to ride Okada, not the government. When I get on one, I have made the conscious decision to do so and assume the risk of being robbed or killed. B4 Okada? I would imagine the roads back then could accomodate all the cars at the time and pple didnt decide to deviate from the city plan (where there was one) and build houses in every nook and cranny. Besides, back then some pple could actually afford a car of their own or not be too lazy to go to wherever on foot.

Give the okada man a break jo Some or many may be bad, but for the most part, they just wanna put food in their familyz plates

I dey behind you 100% the points you made were okay. There is nobody who would ordinarily want to ride an okada if he/she had a better means of income and anoda thing is dat there are still some of them who are law-abiding as well as decent.

The fact that it is used for robbery does not take away its usefulness to the average lagosian. all that is needed is to put some very necessary checks on the activities of the operators.

Again you would agree that the lagos of today and that of some years past (70's)is not the same. The spate of traffic jams,bad/flooded roads is a dilenma most ppl want to avoid either when you are heading to work or going home. Until we reach that el-dorado in the transportation network within lagos,the usefulness of okadas cannot be over-emphasised.

Was it banned for a period of time or forever coz we still need motorcycles, sometimes you may not get a bus and you really need to go somewhere

Pls bring sanity back to Lagos, Ban okada!