14th March, 2019
Some commuters in Lagos State said they resorted to boarding commercial motorcycles to save their jobs as traffic jam continued to bite harder on roads in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that gridlock along Iyana-Ipaja, Cement, Ikeja toward Oshodi have become a harrowing experience to motorists on daily basis.
Mr Oluwatosin Adeyanju, a banker, working in Ikeja, said he had resorted to boarding commercial motorcycle to avoid being sacked by his employer.
Adeyanju said that many of his colleagues had also formed the habit to prevent the usual late-coming to work as a result of early morning traffic.
“It is not an easy task coming from Alagbado to Ikeja on daily basis at the early hours of the day.
“Traffic here and there. Iyana-Ipaja to Ikeja is no-go area while Agege’s traffic stands still at times.
“So, the only alternative now to get to work on time is to get a bike to take you to your work on daily basis to avoid being sacked.
“Though there are many risks attached to boarding commercial motorcycles but we have to take the risk to preserve our jobs,’’ he said.
Mr Samuel Ogunmolu, a teacher in a private school in Ikeja, also told NAN that the early-hour traffic jam along Abule-Egba, Ile Epo-Iyana Ipaja corridors was unpleasant.
Ogunmolu said that he used to wake up by 4.30 a.m. until he negotiated with a commercial motorcyclist. who now dropped him at the school every day.
“Government needs to do something to curb the gridlock because so many people had lost their jobs as a result of late-coming to work.
“As you can see, the number of motorcycles on the highways keep increasing daily as a result of gridlock on the road, especially Iyana Ipaja-Ikeja along-Oshodi axis,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the Lagos State Task Force had ordered owners and operators of commercial ‘Gokada’ and ‘Maxokada’ to immediately comply with the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2012.
The Chairman of the Agency, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, gave the directive recently during enforcement operations on motorcyclists operating on restricted routes, including one-way around Ikeja, Ojota, and Maryland.
Egbeyemi had said that out of 115 motorcycles impounded during the enforcement operations, 22 were branded commercial ‘Gokada and Maxokada’.
He said that activities of the newly-branded commercial motorcycle operators was illegal and without any valid documentations from the state government.
Egbeyemi said that in accordance with the law, no commercial motorcyclist is allowed to operate around 475 restricted routes including highways and bridges across the state.
“The government enjoined members of the public to henceforth desist from patronising commercial motorcyclists on all restricted routes as passengers are as well liable for prosecution.
“It was an eye-sore seeing operators of these newly-branded commercial motorcycles `Gokada and Maxokada’ competing for right of way with motorists on highways and bridges across the state,’’ he said.
Egbeyemi said that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, had directed that 10 arrested riders be immediately charged to court for prosecution.