The recent ban on okada riders in the city of Lagos and the state in entirety has really created an uproar and deafening questions by people in all walks of life. It should be chronicled that the Lagos state government had earlier given a two weeks ultimatum before swinging into action on the 1st June 2022 . The rationale behind the drastic action is yet to be unravelled even though some reasons were given but all of these couldn’t hold water .
Without equivocation, Lagos is one of the largest business corridors in the whole of Africa. Housing a total of 15,388,000 person on a 3,345 square km , making it the most congested state in the whole of Nigeria.
Going by the theories in books on the effect of overcrowding ;social vices cannot be overemphasized .
There are over 50,000 bikes in Lagos which are primarily used for commercial purposes consequently, creating about 50,000 employment thus , reducing the rate of unemployment in the state .
Attributing the high rate of crime to bikers is a bias judgement and a miscarriage of reasoning.
Nefarious activities can be carried out by any means of transportation. The outright ban of okada has been a mission impossible over time in Lagos state .
Recall the Lagos traffic law 2012, Lagos state transport sector reform law 2018 which_ prohibits a biker to ply the major roads .
History has it that ,it is the style of the Lagos state govt to always place ban on okada riders at the instance of each administration.
In 2006 under the regime of Tinubu, Okada riders were banned between the hours of 7pm to 6am.
In 2012 Babatunde Raji Fashola placed an outright ban on the operations of okada in Ikeja axis .Oba Akran Avenue, Banks Anyhony way ,Issac John Street, Opebi link Bridge ,Adekule fajuyi to mention but a few.
In 2017 , Akinkunmi Amode banned okada operation on major high ways ,bridges and hundreds of routes .
The current administration is not exempted from what has become a tradition.
In 2020 Babajide Sanwolu prohibited the activities of okada in six local govt areas and nine lcds with effect from feb 1 2020 .
The govt also banned ‘okadas’ from plying 40 bridges and flyovers across the state . The height of it was when the govt placed a permanent ban on the organised bike agencies such as OPay , max ride, Gokada.
Regardless of all these sanctions over the years ,okada finds it way to all these prohibited areas and routes.
The transportation system in Lagos is getting better but the role of the okada cannot be overlooked. The flexible nature and it swiftness makes is the most appropriate means of transport in a busy metropolis like lagos.
With the help of Okada, many employees have been able to beat the long standing traffic of the state in recent times . Without mining words , the boons of okada are more than the banes.
Critically speaking, the following are perceived to be the boons of okada:
1. source of livelihood :many a Nigerian is jobless owing to the high rate of unemployment in the country.
Many unemployed persons has been able to cater for their families with the little proceeds from okada business; I had an opportuned moment to speak with one of the affected persons and he confided in me the situation in his family.
He explained that he has planned the tuitions of his children on the proceed he is expected to make from his okada with the little from his wife petty Business.
With the turn out of event ,the government has not only banned okada but had jeopardised the future of four bright minds . If their father can’t pay their tuition ,they tend to drop out and become street urchins thus , contributing to the vices the government is trying to eradicate
2. Source of Employment : Okada business is a legal business as it is also part of the mode of movement of transportation by road . It has taken thousands of people off the street and has kept them busy and productive.
Banning okada is synonymous with intentionally creating unemployment.
Why can’t the government put in place control measures as seyi Makinde (Governor of Oyo state ) rightly said , rather than the outright ban policy. Has the govt provided employment or alternatives for the bikers already? If no , then the move is miscalculated one tantamount to a deliberate act to put the poor citizens in abjection.
3. Source of revenue for the government,the seller ,the hirer and the rider: This point cannot be overemphasized.it is obvious to the blind and audible to the deaf . The government should find a way to regulate the activities of okada rather than the outright ban policy.
I make a call to the Lagos state govt to kindly rescind her decision. The government should be alleviating poverty not creating it for the Masses.
Babayemi Opeyemi Bsc, APM
