I was going through the DJ switch thread in which she condemned the Lagos State Government for auctioning cars of those that drive one way:-

https://www.nairaland.com/6372248/thief-dj-switch-slams-lagos

On that thread, a lot of people are abusing her, and it just shows why Nigeria is mostly the way it is, that even now, we continue to support things that don't make sense.

I am a serious advocate of LAW and ORDER, check my topics on nairaland, but even I would not support the IMMEDIATE auctioning of peoples vehicles for traffic offenses.

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See, here's the thing about Nigeria.

We are NEVER consistent in anything, most especially in maintaining LAW and ORDER!

For example, instead of enforcing driving laws 24/7/265, we don't enforce anything and let chaos reign for 99% of the time. Then that 1% of the time that we want to enforce the law, we enact penalties sooooo HARSH, because we want to make up for that 99% time that we were not doing anything. It's like a student in school that knows he/she has an exam in 2 weeks. They have the choice of preparing a LITTLE per day, or waiting till the day before and cramming in MASSIVE amounts of information in one night.

Let me tell you the truth, if we had police officers that PATROLED (very important here, you can't have officers at only checkpoints or standing, or sleeping in their car), and enforced driving laws every minute, you would not even see that many drivers doing extreme and obviously wrong things like driving ONE-WAY.

Doing this, you get to keep the fines reasonable, since you are ALWAYS ENFORCING THE LAW.

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Now lets talk about ERRORS, yes ERRORS...

No system or individual is devoid of errors, so you are guaranteed to make some driving errors in you driving lifetime.

What happens when you make an error of driving one way, because you didn't know the street you are on doesn't permit that.

Should the outcome of your single error on that day result in the loss of your vehicle?



Fines should be reasonable, and ONE-WAY drivers should definitely get larger and harsher fines, but auctioning a car immediately is just INHUMANE!

To me Lagos State government are not doing enough. If I have my way one way driver should be treated as coupist and send to gallow with no any option of fine or jail term.

If you know what one way has caused many families, you won't be here advocating for them.

A very good friend of mine was knocked down to death by one way driver on the 29th December 2009 and the guy passed away on the 31st of same year leaving behind a son, wife, father and mother.

Only Ambulance carrying someone in critical condition should be permitted to follow one and not even the one carrying dead body.

One way driving

A average Nigerian has this mentality that he can get away with anything, last last if Dem catch me na fine I go pay. Last 2 weeks some cars were auction off and now the same thing, someone after hearing such news will still drive one way.
Strong law can't stop crimes, but they can reduce it. Malaysia law on drugs is death, but yet people still carry drugs there.

madridguy:
To me Lagos State government are not doing enough. If I have my way one way driver should be treated as coupist and send to gallow with no any option of fine or jail term.

If you know what one way has caused many families, you won't be here advocating for them.

A very good friend of mine was knocked down to death by one way driver on the 29th December 2009 and the guy passed away on the 31st of same year leaving behind a son, wife, father and mother.

Only Ambulance carrying someone in critical condition should be permitted to follow one and not even the one carrying dead body.

One way driving

I am not advocating for them to break the law, I am advocating for consistent enforcement of driving rules, which if done, would not require draconian penalties and would promote LAW and Order in society, preventing things like what happened to your good friend from happening in the first place.

Anybody, any driver, that knocks down a pedestrian on a sidewalk whether one way or not, should face criminal charges.

May his soul rest in peace, amen.

tutudesz:
A average Nigerian has this mentality that he can get away with anything, last last if Dem catch me na fine I go pay. Last 2 weeks some cars were auction off and now the same thing, someone after hearing such news will still drive one way.
Strong law can't stop crimes, but they can reduce it. Malaysia law on drugs is death, but yet people still carry drugs there.

You said the average Nigerian feels like they can get away with anything...

Have you asked yourself why that is?

Seriously, think deep...

Don't you think it's because laws are HARDLY EVER ENFORCED in Nigeria? Or is it because peoples cars were not being auctioned? Be honest with your soul.

When I drive in Dallas, I am always on the look out for police, cause I can get stopped for something as "SIMPLE" as driving on the lane marking, which NO NIGERIAN IN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN STOPPED FOR IN NIGERIA.

Please think, open your mind, I will strive as well to always keep an open mind. Thank you!

As usual, people can't yet see the govt on all level are desperate for money, they are coming for your pockets soon enough, keep cheering them on,

In all honesty, Nigeria has never really had good adminstration.

I opened a thread asking people if they know what it means to get "Pulled Over" by police, and I'm not talking about check points or "STOP STOP STOP!!", or hitting your car with a stick...

If not for Hollywood movies, how many Nigerians would know that when police sirens are behind you, it means to pull over?

In fact, how many police squad cars put on sirens for the purpose of pulling people over and not to drive aggressively through traffic jams?


To go from a society that doesn't even have police squad cars that pull people over, to, auctioning peoples cars, just reeks of disorganization and of course we all know that Nigeria is a disorganized society.


Imagine a 21st century leader, that spends part of his/her first year in office, sensitizing drivers and police officers on what it means to get PULLED OVER

Go and protest about it and stop bugging us

helinues:
Go and protest about it and stop bugging us

No room for intellectual discourse?

VaselineCrew:


No room for intellectual discourse?

If you can't carry placard about this, then stop bugging us.

Hian

VaselineCrew:


You said the average Nigerian feels like they can get away with anything...

Have you asked yourself why that is?

Seriously, think deep...

Don't you think it's because laws are HARDLY EVER ENFORCED in Nigeria? Or is it because peoples cars were not being auctioned? Be honest with your soul.

When I drive in Dallas, I am always on the look out for police, cause I can get stopped for something as "SIMPLE" as driving on the lane marking, which NO NIGERIAN IN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN STOPPED FOR IN NIGERIA.

Please think, open your mind, I will strive as well to always keep an open mind. Thank you!

Yeah are hardly enforced here agreed, but the Lagos law state that you may either be fined, jail or your car auctioned off.
We have to start somewhere, because lawlessness is the second name of Nigerians.
America has a lay down law and punishment for breaking those law, so need of begging the police.

tutudesz:

Yeah are hardly enforced here agreed, but the Lagos law state that you may either be fined, jail or your car auctioned off.
We have to start somewhere, because lawlessness is the second name of Nigerians.
America has a lay down law and punishment for breaking those law, so need of begging the police.

Where do we draw the line though on appropriate punishment?

Let's take an extreme example, would death be a befitting punishment for traffic offenses?

Seems too severe right? Obviously!

What I'm trying to say is that auctioning peoples vehicles is also severe... and we do not need to be that severe if we had consistent law enforcement. It's that simple!

People tend to beg more in Nigeria even for minor traffic offenses, as opposed to the U.S like you stated (people still beg in the U.S but definitely not like Nigeria that they will lay down and take off their clothes, lol), because in the U.S, the penalties are appropriate for the offenses, for the most part. Additionally, you are simply issued a ticket for minor traffic offenses and allowed to go about your day, as opposed to here in Nigeria, where the police can waste your whole day for a simple offense. Back in the day, you even had to follow them to their station and abandon all your days activities, no matter how important they were, for the simplest of traffic offenses.

Do you remember when you had to pay upwards of N50,000 fine for using your phone as you drive? Of course people in a poor nation would beg when issued such a huge fine for texting; A fine higher that was more than 150% of the country's minimum wage.