The deputy chairman of the Motorcycle Operators Association in Lagos State (MOALS), Alhaji Nurudeen Adedunmoye, speaks to SUBAIR MOHAMMED on the implications of the ban.
Recently, the Lagos State government extended ban on the operation of okada riders in the state to cover six more local government areas, what is your thought on this?
I don’t think the ban on our operation is necessary because okada riders are not the cause of the security challenges confronting Lagos State. With the ban, the Lagos state government has succeeded in achieving one thing and that is to inflict hardship on residents of the state. The government has succeeded in inflicting hardship on commuters who use okada daily to and from their work and businesses. It has inflicted increased poverty on residents whose daily income is tied to okada business.
For crying out loud, okada riders are not responsible for the series of armed robbery attacks and kidnapping and other security challenges being recorded in the state. It is therefore surprising to see the government lashing out at us to find solution to these challenges.
Have you ever heard okada being used to kidnap? Neither is it used for robbery. It is quite unfortunate that we are the scapegoats here. Many of our members are of noble birth. We are responsible parents who take on the business of motorcycling to fend for our families, and we abide by the rules and regulations.
What are the implications of the ban for your members and possibly on the state?
The implications are obvious and grave. For someone whose livelihood was taken away unexpectedly, there is nothing left for such person but to become idle and frustrated. And it is said that an idle hand is the devil’s instrument.
Of course, the ban has brought about increase in crime and criminalities. Since the ban, I don’t know if you have observed, able-bodied youths have been roaming the streets across the state. This wasn’t the case before the ban.
They were productively engaged but they are now jobless. Many of these boys were touts and cultists terrorising the state but they renounced their membership of cult groups and took up okada-riding business. They were useful to their immediate environments and their families but now that their livelihood has been taken away by the government, many of them have gone back to their old ways. They are not only here in Oshodi, they are everywhere, in Mushin, Bariga and many other parts of the state.
On a daily basis, Lagos State witnesses influx of people from different parts of the country with the aim of going into the okada business. They come from the north, south, east and west to engage in economic activities and this is dignifying.
But here is the government demonising okada riders and their legitimate means of living. Now that the government has imposed a ban on okada business, what becomes of the riders? While some of them have relocated to neighbouring states, many have gone into armed robbery and other crimes.
Many people perceive okada riders as a menace to the society. In what way do you think okada riders are contributing to the economy?
In many ways. There are hundreds of thousands of okada riders operating in Lagos State. They contribute to the economic growth of the state in many ways. There is a dictum that says time is money. With the traffic congestion on Lagos roads, okada aids movement and saves time and money.
Apart from this, we pay dues to the government and create jobs for vulcanisers and other vendors. With the ban, vulcanizers whose daily income revolves around inflating okada tyres are affected as they have no tyres to pump up. One of the vulcanisers in Oshodi recently relocated to Ijoko in Ogun State in search of another means of living.
Also, some weeks ago, I received some members of the Association of Vulcanizers in my office. They wanted to know what MOALS was doing to get the Lagos State government to reverse the ban because many of them rely on okada riding to augment their vulcanising business.
Hardly would you see a vulcaniser work on two car tyres in a day but can you count the number of okada tyres they work on daily. This goes to tell you the extent to which they are affected by the ban. Food sellers and grocers are not spared, too. Many of them have been forced out of business.
In Lagos State, there are large numbers of okada riders operating without any form of identification, which partly necessitated the ban. Why is there no proper record keeping for members of your association?
We have records of all our members operating in Lagos State. Our members are all registered with MOALS. And we don’t just register our members; we ask them for references. It is not an all-comers affair; all our members came through referrals with at least two guarantors, one of whom must be a leader from the community in case the rider is non-Yoruba.
We give them forms where they put their personal data in case of an accident or commission of a crime. The Lagos State government cited insecurity as one of the reasons for the ban but let us ask ourselves, who are those responsible for the insecurity? The answer is simple: the indigenes. The Yoruba residents in the state are behind the insecurity and kidnappings in Lagos State. They are responsible and not the northern okada riders.
Oshodi arguably has the highest number of Hausa okada riders in the state but in spite of this, Oshodi is peaceful. We have never recorded any clash or had report of an okada rider killing anyone. It has never happened and it won’t happen because okada riding activities are well coordinated and we know all the riders operating in the community.
The okada riders have families like doctors and engineers. They shouldn’t be looked down upon. It is no fault of theirs for engaging in transportation business. So, why should the state government deny them their means of living instead of regulating them?
Now that they have banmed okada business, many of the riders will definitely seek alternative livelihoods and would likely consider crime as an option.
The state government imposed the ban mainly to address insecurity and protect lives and property but they ended up causing more problems. Commuters are stranded without the government providing alternative means of transportation. The riders are jobless without the government providing jobs for them and they have more of security challenges to deal with.
Before the ban, people walked freely as late as 11.00 p.m. but that is not the case anymore. Once it is 9.00 p.m., people are cautious about their movement for fear of possible attack by hoodlums. Just a few days ago, a woman was robbed of her handbag and phone and the robbers fled and there was no okada on hand to chase after them.
The ban has given rise to robbery. There is no doubt about that because those among them that are idle and hungry would think of a way out.
How do you think the government can regulate okada riding business in the state?
It is simple. In Oshodi alone, there are over 2,000 okada riders, about 1,200 of whom are Hausa. The rest are Yoruba and Igbo and people of other tribes.
The solution to the challenges posed by okada riding is not farfetched. The government needs to introduce uniform for both the riders and the union officials. They should issue identification number to each of the riders to be imprinted on their uniforms and ID cards issued to them.
During the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, the rider’s card was introduced. The card was issued to all okada riders. All the information about the rider was on the card. So, it was not difficult to identify any erring okada rider.
But the rider’s card was stopped after Fashola’s administration. With the issuance of the rider’s card, okada-related crimes were reduced. If the intention of the government is to reduce influx of riders from other states, this can also be achieved. It is just for them not to issue them the rider’s card. Apart from this, it will serve as a source of revenue for the government.
Lagos State is flooded with okada riders but do you know that the bulk of these motorcycles are not registered in Lagos State? They are registered in Ogun State and most of the registration numbers are fakes.
The government needs to make registration mandatory in the state so that they will be able to monitor their activities and boost the state’s revenue.
Operation hours will also be fixed and enforced by the task force. We cannot live in a state that is not secure but the livelihoods of the residents must also not be denied.
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