LAST week, it was war at the PWD area on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, Oshodi, when some Okada riders attacked some men of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), who impounded some motorcycles for violating the regulation forbidding Okada riders from plying the area. Dangerous weapons like cutlasses, broken bottles etc, were freely used by the Okada riders. At the end of the day, some LASTMA men were wounded. Many people wondered what could have been responsible for the face-off. Nigerian Tribune sought for answers. In its bid to ensure safety of lives of Lagosians using commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, as a means of transportation, the Lagos State government, in 2010, came out with a series of rules and regulations to guide the operations of the Okada riders in Lagos.The rules were made known to the Okada riders at a stakeholders' meeting held at the Lagos State Television grounds, Alausa, by the then Special Adviser to the state governor on Transportation, now Commissioner for Public Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa.The regulations were:1. No person shall operate a motorcycle (Okada) in Lagos State without a valid ride's licence.2. No person shall operate a motorcycle (Okada) without proper registration.3. All motorcycles must be road worthy and must have the two side mirrors fixed on them.4. No person shall operate a motorcycle without wearing a standard crash helmet with full head protection.5. In case of a passenger on a motorcycle (Okada), the owner or rider of such a motorcycle shall provide a standard crash helmet for the use of the passenger.6. No motorcycle (Okada) operator shall carry more than one passenger at a time.7. No motorcycle operator shall carry any load at any time.8. No under aged person (under 18 years old) under any circumstance, should ride a motorcycle (Okada) or be carried on a motorcycle (Okada).9. No stereo or any other musical instrument should be fixed on the motorcycle.10. No other horn except that of motorcycle should be fixed on it.11. No motorcycle (Okada) operator should operate beyond 8.00pm on Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Ikeja 10.00pm in other areas in the state.12. That an Okada operator must not carryi. Pregnant womenii. School age childreniii. Women with children on their backHowever, less than two years after rolling out the regulations, Okada riders in the state have yet to comply with the regulations. In fact, they are now operating without any caution. To make the matters worse, law enforcement agents saddled with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the regulations often look the other way or in some cases, they (law enforcement agents) often collect money from the riders.The Nigerian Tribune spoke with some of the riders, to know why they break traffic laws and regulations at will.Some of them who preferred to ply the expressway in negation of the regulations, gave reasons for this, explaining that they made more money from passengers on the expressways. 'You see, we make more money from passengers who ply the expressways. For instance, a trip from Oshodi to Sango Ota in Ogun State may cost N1,000 (One Thousand Naira), depending on the bargaining power of the passenger. Under the normal situation, a commercial bus will not take more than N150.00 (One Hundred Fifty Naira).' 'We make more money when we ply the express roads. You see, because of constant hold-ups on the highways and the fact that people are always in a hurry to keep one appointment or the other, they often prefer to our Okada to keep their appointments'.Another law which the riders often break is the law banning them from carrying two passengers on a bike. Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that most riders were in the habit of carrying two or three passengers in absolute negation of the state government regulation.On this, some riders who spoke to Nigerian Tribune said that the idea of carrying two or more passengers was meant to reduce transport fare. "For instance, the fare from Ipaja to Oshodi is about N300.00 (Three Hundred Naira) per one passenger, but if we carry two passengers, it will come to N150.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Naira) per one passenger," an operator said.Again, on the use of safety helmet, the riders complained that most passengers were not always willing to put it on their head.However, about two weeks ago the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola came had on Okada riders, charging law enforcement agents, like the Lagos State Transport Management Authority LASTMA, Police, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), Kick Against Indiscipline (KIA) and men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), to ensure total compliance with the state government regulations, banning Okada riders from plying highways of the state.The state government's action to ensure total compliance with the regulation was based on revelation that road accidents involving Okada riders were on the increase, hence the need to curtail the trend. 'It is the duty of the state government to ensure safety of lives and properties. The government will be failing in its responsibility, if nothing is done to curb the excesses of Okada riders. They operate as if there is no law or regulation guiding their operations'. Governor Fashola said, recently, while charging law enforcement agents to ensure compliance with road safety regulations.Since then, it has not been easy with Okada operators as some of them who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune complained of the high handedness of the law enforcement agents, since the commencement of the renewed efforts of the state government to ensure compliance.Speaking on the fracas that happened between the Okada riders and LASTMA officers, some riders told the Nigerian Tribune that the regulation was just an opportunity for police and other agencies to make money, as they now saw Okada riders as a gold mine.Nigerian Tribune investigations revealed that most okada riders now prefer to operate very early in the morning between 6.00 and 8.00 a.m and late in the evening between 7.00 p.m and 10.00 p.m, when the road would be free of law enforcement agencies.
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