Okada Ban Enforcement Commences Wednesday
By Abolaji Adebayo
Come Wednesday, June 1, 2022, the Lagos State Government would commence the enforcement of the ban on commercial motorcycles operation popularly known as Okada in six Local Government Areas and their nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
The growing menace and nuisance constituted by Okada, made the state government imposed a fresh ban to curtail the unruly activities of the riders.
However, there have been different reactions and views on the government order enforcing the ban.
Okada, viewed to be the easiest transportation system due to its ability to penetrate nooks and crannies of communities, has also been seen as the most dangerous means through which various crimes are committed especially in Lagos.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a total ban on Okada on all highways across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) and nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of the State. The Governor directed security operatives to enforce the proscription order across the listed councils.
The affected councils are Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa.
The total ban order extends to all LCDAs under the listed councils.
The governor has insisted that the June 1 enforcement date would not be reversed, warning all Okada operators in the marked areas to desist from plying the roads.
The fresh Okada ban followed the February 2020 restriction placed on the activities of the commercial motorcycles.
Sanwo-Olu said the government took the decision in line with the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 to immediately address the chaos and menace created by operations of Okada in the listed areas.
Sanwo-Olu told the police to enforce the order without compromise, sternly warning that the state government would not condone any security formation that relaxes the new ban in its jurisdiction.
He said: “After critical review of our restriction on Okada activities in the first six Local Government Areas where we restricted them on February 1, 2020, we have seen that the menace has not abated. We are now directing a total ban on Okada activities across the highways and bridges within these six Local Government and their Local Council Development Areas, effective from June 1, 2022.
“This is a phased ban we are embarking on this period, and we expect that within the short while when this ban will be enforced, Okada riders in other places where their activities are yet to be banned can find something else to do.
“We have given the notice now and we expect all commercial motorcycles plying the routes in the listed councils and areas to vacate the highways before enforcement begins. The enforcement will be total.”
Sanwo-Olu advised residents patronizing Okada riders on highways to embrace the alternative transport schemes already provided by the government to plan their journey. He said the government had provided Last Mile Buses, medium-capacity and high-capacity buses in the affected areas for the convenience of commuters.
He said the state government had been ramping up construction work on its two rail line projects to further increase the choices of commuting for residents.
He said: “We have provided Last Mile buses in the affected areas; they are working and effective. We also have medium-capacity buses and high-capacity buses working in these areas. Before the end of the year, we are also bringing the rail along these corridors with their terminals. We have provided jetties as well to provide alternatives.”
Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, has, therefore, directed his men to ensure complete enforcement of the governor’s order in the listed councils and areas.
Reacting to the ban, the Lagos State Arewa Community (LASACOMM) said it agreed with the order and directed its members to comply with the provisions of the laws of Lagos State, particularly the recent ban on activities of commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada, and appealed to the government to re-strategize on its security measure to allow the good ones and fish out the bad ones posing menace to the community.
A communiqué by its Secretary General, Musa Saleh, said: “The restriction of commercial motorcycle (Okada) operators in some local governments in Lagos State is not a new law. It has been in existence for over 10 years.
“We resolved unanimously that all our members must comply with the provisions of the laws of Lagos State.
“We are law abiding and we will always continue to intimate on all our members to continue to be law abiding and operate only within the ambits of the law.
The group promised to support all measures taken by the government in its efforts towards protecting lives and prosperity of all residents while condemning in totality the activities of all criminal elements, “who are mostly foreigners from Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon and other neighbouring countries, who have infiltrated the ranks of those genuine riders and thereby perpetrating all forms of crime in Lagos State and constitute serious threats to lives and property of residents.
“We are calling on the security agencies to identify and arrest all those criminal elements masquerading as Okada riders.
“We are also tasking the Nigeria Immigration Service to step up its actions along the border lines in checking the influx of those foreign elements coming into the country without genuine intention.
The group charged the government to have adequate data on every Okada rider to be able to fix out the bad elements among them.
Also reacting, the Oniru of Iru Land, Oba Abdulwasiu Lawal Abisogun II, said the criminal minded among the Okada riders might attack the community, alerting the residents of Lekki on possible attacks by commercial motorcyclist following the enforcement of the ban.
The Chairman, Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders’ Association, Mr James Emadoye, said that the community is in total fear because of the number of the Okada riders in the community.
One of the riders, who spoke to our correspondent, said many of them would be jobless, noting that not all of them are criminals.
He implored the government to device strategies to fish out the bad ones among them rather than banning their activities outright.
As a graduate, he said he ventured into Okada riding when he could not secure a white collar job.
“Before, I started to ride okada, I had done many things to survive. I wrote applications for jobs, upgraded my certificates, still I couldn’t get a job to feed my family. It was even my friend that introduced me to where I was able to get the motorcycle through a hire purchase.
“Now they want to take it away from us without giving us anything. How does the governor want us to survive, does he want us to become criminals and they want us to leave the road, to where?”
Another rider, Anthony Owoade said: “Many of us are law abiding and we obey all the traffic laws and other laws. There is no basis for the ban of our operation. There are criminals in all sectors even among the bus drivers. Should government ban bus operation because some of them are criminals?
“The best way in any system is to deploy the relevant technology to nab the criminals among us. Another thing is for the government to build a data base for everyone. I want to ask, does the government have the data of number of bus drivers in Lagos let alone of the Okada riders? Are there no criminals among the Okada riders in other communities where the operation is not banned?
“To me, banning Okada operation may not solve the issue, it will further worsen it and will breed more criminals in the system.”
A social commentator, Adekunle Adepoju doubted the sustainability of the ban order.
He noted that the order has being in place for a long time since the administration of former Governor Raji Fashola but has not been sustained.
He said the enforcement were not in existence for long any time it was introduced by the government.
He also suggested that the government need to strategies another means in addition to the ban order to curb insecurity brought to the society through the operation of Okada riders.
