By Gbade Akanbi
It’s all over the news that the Federal government wants to bring about a nationwide ban on Okada (commercial motorcyclists).The matter appears to have been considered favourably by the House of Reps as well.
While the reason given by the Federal government sounds reasonable – security!, we need to ask the government what alternatives it has in place to cushion the effect of this nationwide ban.
It is not only important to draw the attention of the government to the side effects of this decision, it is equally important to come up with concrete plans to save this decision from terrible backlash.
No doubt, if this ban is effected, it will not only lead to joblessness among the youth, who are mainly involved in this business, but also lead to increased criminality due to loss of their means of livelihood. It is therefore important for the government to consider the following suggestions in this regard:
▪︎ Rather than put a blanket ban on Okada and Keke Napep (commercial tricyclists), the government simply needs to effectively monitor the activities of these people. For example, all the Okada divers and Keke operators should be compelled to be members of an association coordinated by an arm of the security outfit. Each of their vehicles should be placed on special digital trackers to monitor their movements.
▪︎ All of them must be compelled to have driving license, identity cards, and uniforms for the purpose of holding them accountable and for easy identification.
▪︎ They must have a definite starting and closing time in their operations.
▪︎ All of them must be compelled to have two guarantors whose details such as address, bank accounts, nature of job, and state of origin, among others, must be provided.
If all or more of these regulatory processes are put in place, it would not only bring sanity into the industry but also achieve the desired security in the country, as well as save commuters of unnecessary hardships due to a blanket ban.
▪︎ Akanbi, now an Abuja resident, sent this via WhatsApp.