Are Okada Riders Above The Law?

Daily, we see commercial motorcycle operators do what they want, breaking the law and behaving as if no laws guide their operation and we wonder if they are above the laws of the land. They carry more than the specified number of passengers, refuse to wear crash helmets and ride against traffic, yet nobody checks their excesses.  To cap it all, they also engage in armed robbery.

In Lagos, commercial motorcycle operators have become a law unto themselves and officials that ought to check them have continued to look on helplessly as they act with impunity.

The okada riders, as they are popularly called in Lagos, have become a menace and everyday they kill and maim innocent Lagosians while the government looks on helplessly, and with no checks in sight these dare devil riders would continue to terminate lives and become more lawless in their daily operations.

We know they have become a necessary evil as they complement the transportation sector but should we continue to tolerate the indiscipline of these criminals?

Nobody seems able to check the excesses of these gang of outlaws and the authorities have continued to make laws that these criminals flout.

The Lagos State government had considered a total ban but prevailing circumstances have not allowed this. Yet, we need to curb the excesses of these outlaws or they will continue to kill and maim innocent commuters who have no choice but to ride them.

If legislation fails, what do we do? Do we continue to look on as people get killed and traffic rules are treated with impunity? We believe the Lagos State government can curb this menace by legislation. We know that the state government had tried to curb the activities of the riders around Ikeja, the state capital and that the state has been challenged in court, but must we all lose loved ones because we are not bold enough to put laws in place to curb a menace that is detrimental to our collective well-being?

Must we because of politics allow people to die pointlessly? If we are ever going to curb this menace, the time is now. Heavens will not fall if government gets rid of okada in Lagos.  It has been done in other cities and states. But we are not asking that okada be banned, we only ask that their activities be regulated. Restricting their activities to some places, enforcing the use of crash helmets, discouraging them from carrying more than the specified number of persons and stopping them from using major highways would be the first steps in sanitising their activities. Already, they have challenged constituted authority and they are still doing so, and their number keeps rising daily. If laws can be made against trading on the streets, using children as hawkers, not keeping the environment clean and other sundry day-to-day activities, why can’t laws against okada riders be made and enforced?

Gradually, the walks ways and road junctions are being turned into okada parks, thus endangering pedestrians and other road users. Motorists are being attacked on the flimsiest of excuses and these criminals get away with it.

Not withstanding the case in court, it is expedient for the sake of lives that are lost daily, for the Lagos State authorities to take drastic action, if only to enforce the use of crash helmets and stop okada riding against traffic.

Other measures can be taken after the court ruling but something needs to be done now to prevent unnecessary deaths and injuries that commercial motorcycle operators cause in the state.

There are no laws preventing government from protecting the people from avoidable deaths. Very few households in Lagos State have not been affected, either directly or indirectly, by the reckless activities of okada riders. Let the government put sentiment apart and regulate okada activities now.