Proposed ban on okada

But for civility, I ought to have said that Nigeria is in the hands of wicked, complicit and merciless leaders. I will explain. The successful attack by Muslim fundamentalists (Boko-Haram and ISWAP) on Kuje prisons is a dirty slap on our defense systems. Simple “perimeter fencing” of Kuje prisons could have foiled the attack. (Note: “perimeter fencing”, in military terms, cannot be explained here for security reasons). We have police and Air Force helicopter gunboats and yet the dastardly operation was alleged to have lasted for over two and half hours. Incredible! I weep for Nigeria!!

Talk about rapid response. Where is patriotism in all of this? And to think the APC is still mouthing “vote for competence?”  Where were they for the past seven years that things have run amok? They have access to Mr. President and meet minds with him. The APC government has failed woefully and they want us to vote them in, come 2023? Were they gagged for the past seven years? Oh! See how we deceive ourselves! Killing a fly (okada riders) with a sledge hammer while the real scorpions (Boko Haram and ISWAP) are left to roam our forests freely. We were advised to wait until 2023 to kick out any under-performing government, but alas, money sent on errands has done the damage, and failed politicians occupy the headlines, today. For PDP, they have lost relevance, for their inability to implement the 2014-CONFAB reports.

Many unemployed graduates have taken to okada business as a last resort. Now our clueless leaders want to take the last morsel of meal from the mouths of the helpless hungry masses. It will be the height of wickedness if it happens. A recent encounter of mine with a university graduate okada rider in the Ijede area of Ikorodu-Lagos, is worthy of mention. I flagged him down from the black-gate area of Ijede to Abule-Eko bus stop in the same vicinity. He charged N200 and I protested. He said to me in impeccable English that he bought a litre of petrol for N300. He had no choice but to buy. We got into a conversation and told me he had an aged father who sold his property to fund his university education and his aged mother, two kids in school  and his wife to fend for, at home. Imagine banning okada nationwide, and this family with thousands of others thrown into unimaginable misery and hunger, then, the government will be pouring petrol on a fire that is burning a helpless majority.

For the records, the minor parties are poorly prepared for the serious responsibility of ruling a complex country like Nigeria. Maybe they have a hidden agenda for deciding to do it alone without strong structures on ground to support their ambitions. According to the Holy Scriptures, “…except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit…” A word is enough for the wise. Workers, whose take-home pay have been reduced by the rising prices of foodstuff and commodities, could lead a popular protest by protesting the conditions of their lives. Therefore, the government should not take the resilience of the ordinary Nigerians for granted by banning okada from the streets nationwide.

• Jimoh writes in from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

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