Insecurity: Lagos stakeholders settle for total ban of okada in the state

Stakeholders across endeavours in Lagos, on Tuesday, have resolved that the state government should go ahead to enforce a total ban on the operations of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada, in the state.

The stakeholders reached the resolution at the stakeholders’ forum themed: “Okada Ban: What Next,” which had representatives from the religious, and the traditional fronts, Community Development Associations (CDs) across the 57 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state; Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and Security heads, among others.

The forum was convened by the state government to review the ban placed on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, on June 1, 2022, in six local government areas, including Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Ikeja and nine LCDAs.

The forum was held to determine the status of the ban and establish the effectiveness of enforcement among other related issues, with the discussants and stakeholders also expected to establish the effects of the ban on road accidents, security and compliance by the Okada riders.

Stakeholders at the forum lamented how the careless modus operandi of the operators had led to losses of lives, injuries and irreparable damages, and further lamented that the consequences had slowed down socio-economic fortune as more young people were increasingly settling for the work against productively engaging in more honourable services.

They further lamented how the operations had constituted means of illegal migration and a facilitator of crimes, and, therefore, called for an overall ban of operations of Okada in the State, by extending the order to other LGAs and LCDAs

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Also, they demanded the deployment of cutting-edge technology for improved security architecture, as well as engagement with traditional and religious leaders for intelligence gathering.

The resolutions as contained in the communique signed by the stakeholders read:

“At the end of deliberations, stakeholders agreed that:

“The enforcement of the ban on Okada should be sustained to ensure that the gains of the ban are not reversed. The pockets of riders still found operating on forbidden routes, especially highways, should be arrested and made to face the consequences of their actions.

“The Lagos State Government should enforce a total ban on Okada to further improve safety and security in Lagos.

“That any Okada rider found flouting the law and attacking Law Enforcement Officers/Agencies should be prosecuted and made to face the full wrath of the law.

The military and the police should sustain their partnership with the State Government to ensure that their officers stop flouting the ban in the specified Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas.

“That cutting-edge technology (streetlights, CCTV, drones) be deployed to traffic incidents and enhance security across the State.

“That community, traditional and religious leaders should be more involved intelligence gathering and security of their domain across the State.”

The State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Fredrick Oladeinde, while reeling out statistics of records from the enforcement of the ban placed on the operations in six LGAs in June, disclosed that the anti-Okada operation in the last two months revealed crime and accident rates in the areas concerned within the period, reduced “astronomically by 86per cent and 63.7per cent respectively,” even as he noted that a total of 7,500 motorcycles were impounded and crushed accordingly.

“On average monthly, we used to record about 300-400 crashes and that has gone down to about 176 in June and July and it continues to go down, and that shows that with the ban on Okada, we are beginning to save lives, especially of the young people who are maimed in the process.

“It is important that we preserve the lives of our youths because they are the leaders of tomorrow and it’s important that people feel secure in our State,” Oladeinde said.

Environment Expert, Prof. Bamidele Badejo, who spoke at the event, said the Okada menace had destroyed economic and labour fabrics in the state, as, according to him, more young people who should have been engaged in crafts and agro-businesses, among other productive endeavours, had settled for operating Okada.

He called for increased development of infrastructure on other transportation systems such as rail and waterways; welfare, equipping and empowering security agencies to boost their morales; improvement on bad road corridors by “removing all contraventions and impediments illegally operating along the established right of ways.”

In his own remark, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said the stakeholders’ meeting was significant to get feedback from Lagosians for an inclusive government which the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu- led administration stands to uphold.

He said beyond the dangers of accidents associated with Okada, the security threats and implications associated with it had placed demands on the state government to take decisive actions.

“As you can see, Lagosians are calling for a total ban on Okada, not just because of all the dangers that Okada constitute, breaking of heads, smashing of limbs, and all manners of things that people have attached to Okada, but because of the security implications flying all around that the State Government must do something about it,” he said.

The commissioner mentioned that though people have leaned on the argument that Okada had been a source of livelihood to many, there were more opportunities for residents of the state to grab for ends meet.

“There are about 18 vocational centres where you can learn skills. When you learn skills in these centres, you are not just left to your own devising, you are given equipment to go and start a very good life, to go and start earning a living in a very decent manner. So, it is not a question that because people are going to lose their jobs Okadas should be allowed free reign over Lagos.

“The figures and facts that were presented today (Tuesday) have shown that having Okada all over the place is not something that is good for Lagosians and Lagosians have spoken: Whether you are a traditional ruler or ordinary Lagosian, we all have one voice and we can see that majority of the people who spoke here today (Tuesday) supported the ban on Okada,” Omotoso said.

He assured that the resolutions would be presented to Governor Sanwo-Olu for firm decisions in the best interest of Lagosians, having satisfied the demands of democracy and transparency through critical engagement.

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