I cannot imagine what is happening today in Abuja. I’ll confirm to you that I went through the DSS report — 44 reports were given before the attack on Kuje.”
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These were the words with which Idris Wase, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, advanced his argument in support of the total ban of motorcycles across the country as proposed by the Federal Government, as he weighed in once again on the worsening security crisis in the country.
He spoke against the backdrop of an attempt by Abubakar Yallemen a member of the Green Chambers from Jigawa State, to counter the FG’s move on okada, one of the measures, being proposed after attack on Kuje Prison recently.
Advancing his submission on the heels of the invasion of Kuje Prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on July 5 by terrorists who identified themselves as members of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) on July 5, Wase said he recognised the hardship Nigerians would face as a result, but argued that since the lawmakers hade elected to support government measures to end the security crisis in Nigeria, they must offer such supports all the way.
“For most of us — 90 percent of my community if not 99 percent — this is the only means of transportation. We appreciate his motion and sensibility, but in line with our principle to help in curbing the incessant insecurity in our country, we have to cooperate with the government.
“I want to say so. I want to confirm to you — 44. I read through all the reports and it all has to do with this. There is no community that one attack or the other will happen that you will not have intel, and this is part of the intel that they had given as to what is exactly going to happen. So, we have to cooperate with the government.”
Yallemen had said the proposed ban on motorcycle operations “will render millions of Nigerians jobless, which could be catastrophic for a nation grappling with high unemployment and poverty rates”.
According to him, the ban “will inflict untold hardships on the generality of Nigerians as it is a common means of transportation among the citizenry, and may provide the terrorists with a pool of desperate youths to recruit”.
He, however, stepped down the motion after Wase advised that the ban is aimed at tackling insecurity.
