By Tunde Abatan
It is high time those who have the ears of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, tell him that Enough is Enough of the menace of commercial motorcycles otherwise known as Okada in Lagos state.
The people of Lagos voted for him to guarantee their safety, which the menace of local and foreign okada riders have made nonsense of. From Fagba where majority of them who are from the Northern parts of the country are to Ikorodu,Ikeja, Agege, Ajegunle,Mile 12,the okada riders have constituted the biggest nuisance to governance as they behave as if they are above the law.
Let Governor Sanwo-Olu stop playing political correctness. If arbitrary riding of Okada is punishable in Kano,there is no reason why people of Lagos must accept the burden posed by lawless Nigerian and foreign okada who have reduced transportation in Lagos to a nightmare.
Why has it become difficult for Lagos to place a total ban on Okada if states in the North where this characters come from have placed an outright ban on their activities?.
Why must Lagos carry the burden of lawlessness and unemployment created by other states all in the name of being their brother’s keeper.?
If Lagos must throw it’s doors open to other Nigerians definitely such Nigerians are not lawless and unidentified souls who take laws into their hands killings and maiming with impunity because they have to earn a living .
They do this at the expense of law abiding citizens.
Since Lagos has embarked on several transportation options to ease the movement of the people,it is also incumbent on regulating the type of jobs unknown aliens must do if they must reside in Lagos.
Governance of a mega city like Lagos should ni be reduced to playing politics as doing such will make ‘Boko Haram’ of Okada riders who have over time become a constant source of pain,anguish and embarrassment to the citizens and by extension the government.
If Lagos can be bold enough by placing an outright ban on Okada in Ikoyi,Victoria Island,it should not be afraid to do same in the Mainland to allow sanity to prevail and also guarantee life and property as the unidentifiable okada riders have become a security risk to law abiding citizens.
Five months ago,the Lagos state government, through its Task Force on Environment clear Fagba area of the shanties along the rail line but today, those shanties inhabitated by unknown souls from outside the state and country are back in full force.
Their presence is reinforced by the hundreds of lawless unidentified okada riders who rode and reign with impunity in the full glare of law enforcement agents,who are obviously helpless to contain them.
The okada riders have constituted a scourge to the residents of this area and other parts of Lagos as seizures by law enforcement agents have not succeeded in deterring them in the areas mentioned above and the who state in general.
Lagos has no reason to be in search of policies to rid the shanties in Fagba, Agege of undesirable elements who have been identified as being responsible for the violence,arson and killings that greeted these location during the EndSars protest.
If Lagos is in search of one,they should contact Kano,Rivers ,Delta states which has similar status with Lagos but have put them in permanent check.
The time for Governor Sanwoolu to act is now nit when the state have become ungovernable as a result of activities of this lawless souls who have constituted a law unto themselves and make life miserable for commuters,car owners, and other law abiding citizens.
Time to Solve the Okada menace in Lagos is now.Thevstate has never been in short of Men of ideas who can Reason and proffer solution to a serious problem of governance.
Enough is Enough!
