Okada riders return to Lagos roads two years after the ban

…Security agents turned a blind eye to enforcement as crimes related to Okada increased in Lagos

By Taoreed Abdullahi

About two years ago, the Lagos State Government announced a total ban on the operation of motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, in ten out of twenty local government areas, Local council development areas, and highways in the state.

The affected local government is Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Mushin, Apapa, Ikeja, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, and Eti-Osa local government areas, as well as some local council development areas under them including Ojodu, Onigbongbo, Lagos Island East, Yaba, Coker Aguda, Itire-Ikate, Eti-Osa West, Iru Victoria Island, Ikoyi-Obalende, Ikosi-Isheri, Agboyi-Ketu, Isolo, Ejigbo, Bariga, and Odi-Olowo LCDAs.

The ban has been a mixed feeling among Lagosians who take advantage of it to reach their destinations despite the dangers inherent in it.

Some of the reasons for the ban, according to the information, was to reduce crime rates that some individuals caught on to perpetrate their evil agenda.

Apart from the security challenges posed by the Okada, a lot of people have met untimely death as a result of fatal accidents, while many people found themselves at orthopedic centres, which eventually turned them into disabled or limbless persons. Considering the havoc and bad gangs who use motorcycles to engage in traffic and night robbery, the Lagos State bull by the horns to sanitize its state.

In August 2022, the immediate past commissioner of Transportation, Dr. Fredrick Oladeinde, announced the decision at a media briefing, giving a deadline of September as the enforcement date.

From hospitals across the state, the cases of okada-related accidents have drastically reduced.

What has the enforcement looked like, our findings indicated that commercial motorcycle operations have returned to almost all the affected local government areas, one would wonder why security agents look away whenever they get to a place where okada riders converged canvassing customers. At times, if you try to educate passengers, they seem to go against you as if you’re not saying the right thing.

For Example, the operation of Okada was never stopped in areas like Ladipo, Shogunle, Ogundele, Oja Oke, Afariogun, Seven and Eight, and other areas in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area. In Isolo, Ejigbo, and its environs, the situation remains the same, they operate inside the streets. Likewise, the okada operated unhindered in Oshodi under the bridge where okada operators come out on a broad day to call passengers heading to the Iyana Ipaja, Abule Egba, and the Tollgate area of Ogun state.

Some of the operators of these Okada on the highway, based on my findings, have shown that they belong to one security agent or another as some of them put on their uniforms while still operating.

The situation is the same at Obalende and its environs, where motorcycle riders will not hesitate to fear upon seeing security agents’ vehicles.

In other areas where Okada operations have been banned, the motorcycle operators have returned. They operate in odd hours such as early morning and later in the night. Who is profiting from their operations, who is collecting levies from them. Lagos State Government must rise to this so as not to be tagged toothless bull dog.

Despite the efforts of the Lagos State Taskforce ably led by Mr.Adetayo Akerele, since the assumption of office as the head, thousands of Motorcycles have been confiscated as was done during the tenure of his predecessor, Sola Jejeloye. Can we say that Okada riders are bigger than the law? “A gba omo adie lowo iku, oni won o je ki ohun loje lori akitan”, this is the case of Okada riders, government is trying to protect them from untimely death but they said they want to die. Did other law enforcement agents support the Lagos State Taskforce in assisting the government in enforcing the ban? This is the question begging for the answer. The police officers have turned the whole situation into an enterprise to make profit on the spot. Is the Lagos State Government relent in enforcing the law? No, it’s doing everything possible with the task force but the results are not achieved as expected. It’s just because of lack of collaboration in curb motorcycle operators in the affected areas.

However, the Lagos State Task Force must intensify efforts in preventing the full force of the okada riders in the metropolis to curb the cases of accidents, okada-related accidents, and other environmental challenges.

Other security agents, especially the police, should complement the drive of the Lagos State Government to sanitize the environment. The arrest of culprits must continue unabated to deter other persons who may want to venture into the Okada business. The security agents should not hesitate to arrest both the riders and the passengers to serve as a deterrent to other persons who patronize their service. Okada should be confiscated and crushed so that it would not find its way back to the roads.

The corruption tendency on the part of security officers must be checked. This is to prevent officers from sneaking out the confiscated motorcycles from the stores while awaiting crushing or take the most important parts of the bike and give room fir crushing only metals.. Proper monitoring must be put in place to ensure that all motorcycles arrested while enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations are accounted for.

Lagos State Government should collaborate with the Nigeria Army and other uniform agencies in educating their officers on the ban of okada in ten local government areas and its LCDAs.. This is to discourage uniform officers from using Okada as a means of transportation, which tempted some of them to use motorcycles for a commercial purpose on their way to their destinations. The head of security agencies should punish any erring officer caught making use of motorcycles as a means of earning a second income. There are lots of legitimate businesses to venture into apart from the risky nature of motorcycle operations on highways. The proactiveness and enforcement of discipline among officers and men of security agents would go a long way in preventing the return of the Okada motorcycle operation in the affected areas.

The stores and warehouses where Okada are being sold to the people in Lagos should be engaged and educated on the stance of government on their business.