•Okada riders, traders, beggars   take over Lagos roads

By Perpetua Egesimba

They are ubiquitous. From one end of the state to another, you find them, all day long. Some even operate in the dead of the night, against the law.  They have broken many limbs and heads even as many have been sent to their early graves.

In Lagos, commercial motorcycle (Okada) riders are kings of the road. They ride roughshod over other road users. They operate even at prohibited areas, without a care in the world. They behave as if they are on a suicide mission, looking for who to maim or kill.  One can even say that security agents are overwhelmed, so they just watch as lawlessness becomes a way of life.

The law

Under the Lagos State Traffic Laws, motorcycles and tricycles are prohibited from operating on major highways in the state, including the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Apapa-Oshodi expressway, Oworonshoki – Ikorodu, Lagos-Abeokuta expressway and Babangida Boulevard Way. Others are the Lekki – Epe Expressway, Funsho Williams Avenue, Agege Motor Road and Eti-Osa-Lekki Coastal Road. The law states that the violation of route by commercial vehicles will
attract N20, 000.00 while riding on motorcycle without crash helmet will attract a fine of N20, 000.00 or three years imprisonment or both, for the rider and the passenger.
However, the laws exist on paper or so it seems. Today, Lagos is more or less a lawless area, as the laws are obeyed in breach.  Most often, you are left wondering if some Lagos residents have any value for their lives or they have appointment with death.

Indeed, Okada men have virtually taken over Lagos roads. From the Island to the Mainland, it is the same story. From the highways to the streets, you see recklessness in human form. In fact, it could be said that Okada men are waging war against the state.

The Oshodi – Apapa Expressway is one of the notorious Okada ‘parks’ in Lagos.  They park in their numbers in the middle of the major bus stops. What they do at the Second Rainbow bus stop and on top of Mile 2 bridge, in particular, is really worrisome.  Because they park in the middle of the road, they create traffic bottlenecks all over the city. And no one seems to care.

Why traders risk their lives on highways

Last week, Daily Sun went round Lagos to find out why people prefer to trade on the highway and heard from the horses’ mouth.
According to Jeremiah Segun, a trader, who sells ladies wears in the middle of the road at First Gate, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, most of them are victims of demolished shops by the authorities. Acknowledging that trading on a highway was a dangerous venture, he argued that they have no choice as people struggling to survive. He also said that he preferred risking it on the highway than renting a shop, as there are chances that one day, he will wake up to discover that his shop has been demolished by the state government.

He said: “Everyone knows that it is very risky selling things in this kind of environment. However, even if you have the opportunity of renting a shop in this state now, the guarantee is not there because it can be demolished at anytime by the government. So, I would say that I still prefer selling here because there is no fear of demolishing my shop. If they chase us away from here, I will relocate to another place. It’s as simple as that. 
“Most people you see risking their lives selling things on this road are victims of demolished shops. I have rented shop twice in Oshodi and they were demolished. That is why I ended up managing this roadside and praying to God for safety, guidance and protection.
“So, as per the risky aspect of it, God is in charge. Most of us here do not wish to be here because of the danger involved but we hope that tomorrow will be better, that we will have money to relocate to a better and comfortable place.”
Asked if he is making more money now than when he was in a shop he said he cannot compare the two as he doesn’t have to pay for shop along the highway.
According to him, he makes between N 1000 to N2000 daily and on a good day he makes more.

Still at First Gate, another trader that sells roasted corn and who occupies the yet to be opened BRT lane along the Lagos- Badagry- Expressway explained that not everybody can do business on an expressway because it involves carefulness.
Madam Margret, as she identified herself, said: “I am here because I cannot afford to rent a shop and that is applicable to majority of us here. We know that we are not meant to be here because it is dangerous. What if a car has break failure? We know all that but we have no choice, it is a way to survive.

“I am extra careful. I try as much as possible to watch the vehicles when they are passing. I am always on the alert. Not that we are really making much money but at least, what we are making is helping us and our families.
“ However, nobody is here on a permanent basis. We know that one day we will surely have a better place to stay. You see, Lagos state government forced some of us to risk our lives selling on the highways. It is not our wish to endanger our lives. You have a shop where you sell and one day, it is bulldozed by the state. What do you do? Stay at home and wait for hunger to kill you and your children?”
Ugochukwu Okeke, who sells ladies bags right under the pedestrian bridge at Cele bus stop, along the Apapa – Oshodi expressway, said that they are there because people coming down from the pedestrian bridge and those crossing the road end up buying things from them. He said that most of his customers are people just coming back from work and have no time or strength to go inside the market to do proper shopping.
Of course, the state has recorded incidents of vehicles running into traders at bus stops yet they are not deterred.

Beggars are also on the prowl in the city. They have virtually taken over Iya Iba. They sit on the median and mess up the environment. 

Crossing to death

On highways, we see, often right under a pedestrian bridge, deviant pedestrians dashing across the highways even while carrying luggage or with babies strapped on their back. In the same vein, many of the walkways in the state have been hijacked by traders, displaying their wares. To this end, pedestrians are compelled to struggle with vehicles for right of way.

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At Cele bus stop, among other places with footbridges, you see people dashing across the highway. At busy periods, the deviant pedestrians impede the traffic as drivers try to avoid running into them.
Some of them, particularly young men, actually walk across the road leisurely while sagging their trousers.

One of the lawbreakers told Daily Sun: “I know it is not safe crossing an expressway like this one. Sometimes, people lose their lives while crossing expressways but the fact is the bridge is always overcrowded. The only thing there is that it is only God that protects and guides. You wake up in the morning you pray to God to give you your daily bread and keep you safe.”

For another pedestrian who gave his name as Egwu, there are a lot of reasons why he prefers to cross the expressway to using the footbridge.

The main reason, for him, is acrophobia. Maintaining that he is afraid of heights, he added that some of the bridges are in a state of disrepair.

“I am not too strong. I have rheumatism. In fact, I cannot walk a long distance. So, I cannot climb the bridge. I know it is dangerous crossing the highway but there is no other option for me. I always make sure that I look and wait patiently for vehicles to pass before crossing the road,” Egwu volunteered.

Many people have lost their lives while dashing across the road even where footbridges exist.

To be sure, the Lagos State Government is making efforts to compel residents to use the footbridge. In Ojota, for example, the road is barricaded to prevent people from killing themselves, as it were.

LASTMA, Task Force react

Olaniyi, a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official at Ikeja explained that they have stopped arresting Okada men riding against traffic. He also narrated their experiences trying to arrest traders displaying their wares on walkways.
He said: “The problem is that the public is not helping matters. And if you arrest them, the government will say that we have been told not to arrest them. For over a year now, the government does not allow us to arrest them except the taskforce officials. If you go round strategic locations, you will see them mount their van arresting suspects. As for the Okada riders on the highways, what they do is that they will go and pack in the middle of the highway so that immediately they spot you or notice that you are coming for them, they take off because they know that you cannot chase them and you cannot risk your life by crossing the highway hurriedly to chase them. So, most of them ride against traffic or go one way as it is generally called.”

Olatunde, a taskforce official at Ile Zik, Agege Motor Road remarked that almost all the uniform men understand the problem that they have when it comes to Okada riders, traders and pedestrians.  According to him, it is difficult for them to go to the highway and start chasing Okada riders about.
Hear him: “You will see some of them carrying two passengers on a bike and riding against traffic. How do you want to get them arrested? By the time you want to chase them, they might be knocked down by another vehicle and you start hearing things like taskforce has killed human being because they want to collect money from him or her.
“They have abandoned the use of crash helmet. Just go to Second Rainbow and you will see them constituting nuisance, risking their lives and that of other road users. It is easy for the government to make the law but how to execute the law is the problem. Most times, we cannot work effectively without the use of policemen. How do you intend to arrest an Okada rider carrying two passengers and literally flying even against traffic? If a vehicle knocks him down you will see the crowd saying all manner of things. So, this thing needs not to be done by taskforce only.”

According to him, the government should mandate and involve all the uniform officials like Federal Road Safety Corps, Police, Taskforce and even the military because of the mentality of some Lagosians who are bent on breaking the laws. He said some of the challenges they face are also caused by some uniform men as some traffic offenders do it with the help of uniform men.

“For instance, they carry them in their buses and bikes and when a policeman sees another policeman in such a vehicle, he cannot arrest him. So, to curtail or eradicate abuse of road regulations by traders, Okada riders and others, there needs to be a joint operation.

“Go to Ilasa, Ijesha, Festac, Apapa and Mile 2 and Victoria Island you will see them on the highways. There is supposed to be a joint operation throughout Lagos state. Only taskforce cannot do the work. And the thing is that they are risking their lives. They ride without helmet. Dispatch riders carry passengers with their box which is not supposed to be so.
“It is true that traders have taken over walkways, it happens almost everywhere in Lagos. For instance, petitions have flooded our office concerning the Oshodi situation and we are working vigorously there. So, if people can bring in their petitions to the chairman taskforce, reporting what is going on in some highways and walkways, it would be a lot easier for us. We cannot do everything in a day and we cannot know everything”.
He added that most times when they arrest traders on pedestrian bridge or walkways and want to take them to court people will gather and start calling them names.

“You will hear, Oga you are wicked, leave them. Is it because you want to collect money? They will be abusing you. They forget that we charge them to court; maybe it is
because people are very angry. So we have to do things in a good way and use our discretion. We are working vigorously day and night,” Olatunde said. He urged Lagosians and Nigerians as well to stop gambling with their lives and stop putting their lives in unnecessary risk and danger.

Investigation revealed that most of the Okada riders are from a section of the country and they are always spoiling for war. A banker who simply gave his name as Okon said: “The truth of the matter is that LASTMA is overwhelmed. They cannot confront the Okada riders because most of them are armed and if you provoke them they can kill you and run away because they do not have fixed addresses.

“Moreover, they are not afraid of death; they are ready to do anything at any time.  A friend of mine challenged them one day for parking in the middle of the road at Maza Maza and they broke his windscreen. They are behaving as if they have an agenda other than looking for survival.”