Desmond Mgboh, Kano
There is a popular saying in Kano State today, which in English means: “The fear of KAROTA is the beginning of wisdom.” Every resident or road user in the ancient city, be it a car owner or a tricycle owner, knows this dictum by heart and tries as much as possible to abide by its wisdom.
KAROTA, an acronym for Kano State Road Transport Agency was established by the previous administration of Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso with a mandate to sanitise the traffic mess in the state.
Those who should know recalled that the concept was beautiful at the point of conception. The agency was imagined as a cast of yellow dressed set of smart officers, friendly to the road users in enforcing traffic regulations.
Soon after its establishment however, the agency took a different turn, and sadly for the worse. It transformed to something else as its officers became an offensive gang that crushed traffic offenders with force. Many of them, young men in their prime, approached the Kano society with an iron fist.
As at date, officers of the agency have been responsible for so many fracas in the state capital. From Yankura to Bata and from Club Road to Kano Club, they are faulting drivers, sometimes very wrongly, and are asking them to part with their hard earned money.
But the Kano society is beginning to resist them. They are questioning the government as to why it should allow such a system to flourish. And because they are not getting answers, some are beginning to fight back.
Two weeks ago, along Sani Marshal Road in the Bompai area, a riot was avoided by the whiskers after an innocent motorcyclist was killed by an alleged traffic defaulter, who was struggling for the control of his wheel with an officer of KAROTA.
On that fateful Saturday, according to the spokesman of the police, Abdullahi Haruna, the police received a report of the fracas and rushed to the scene. He told Daily Sun that they tried in vain to save the life of the victim of the accident, who happened to be a staff of the the Kano State Sports Council.
He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the vehicle took a flight and crushed the deceased after the KAROTA officer and the vehicle owner had struggled to gain its control. The suspects in the case were arrested adding that the case has been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigation, he stated.
But this is just a tip of the iceberg. Last Tuesday, officers of the agency were again involved in another street fight with commuters in another part of the metropolitan area. In this instance, some truck drivers, angered by the smashing of the windscreen of the vehicle of one of their own, blocked the popular Ibrahim Taiwo Road for three hours.
The blockage affected all the routes leading to Singer Market and Kantin Kwari Market and disrupted activities for as long as the trouble lasted.
Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad, the victim of the confrontation, recounted his experience: “I was arrested by officers of KAROTA, who asked me to remove the additional headlamps from my truck but I told them I couldn’t remove them instantly.
They ordered me to park, but before I could obey, one of them asked me to let him drive the truck, which I refused. He, therefore, insulted me and another officer hit me on the head with a bamboo stick.”
A yet another altercation involving these officers took place on Saturday, September 24, 2019, along France Road, Sabon Gari. In the ensuing fight, the driver lost the control of his car as one of the traffic officers forced his way to enter his automobile.
An eyewitness recalled that it was in this process that the driver knocked down a passer-by before ramming his car into two other vehicles. The situation again would lead to breach of public peace.
Nobody is spared when it comes to these officers. Nowhere is a hiding place in the state. A medical doctor, Ibiks Tamuna, was recently rough-handled by officers of the agency along the France Road, in Sabon Garri. He told Daily Sun that it was a very painful and frantic moment:
“I was initially flagged off to go, only for some of them to stop me from proceeding. I obeyed the last order, but to my amazement, two of them walked over and forced their way into my car.
“They forcefully entered through the back door, accused me of blocking the lane against other cars going to the right. I tried to explain that I was stopped by their order colleagues but they would not hear of that. ”
“I was ready to be taken to their headquarters because I was sure I had done no wrong, but they wanted something else. That option certainly was not the reason they arrested me.
“In a swift of a second, one of the officers jumped out of the car and went to the back and made away with my plate number. He took it and left the scene entirely”.
“I had to approach the mobile police officer who had watched the untidy drama from afar. I had to appeal to his judgement. He was satisfied that I did not do any wrong. He had to call them severally night, before they resurfaced with my plate number. It is this sad. It is clear that these traffic officers have been established to intimidate and exploit innocent Nigerians.”
The highhandedness of these officers in a democracy is amazing and is a regular occurrence in the state capital. In the name of enforcing traffic regulations, the rights of many Nigerians are carelessly violated a daily basis.
“It is worse with we, women. Don’t forget that they carry clubs about like hunters. Some of them are unusually high on something. When they enter your car from the back door, as a lady, you will almost urinate out of fear,” said a woman, who has had a bad experience in the hands of these officers.
Many victims, upon their arrests are driven quietly to the corners of the street-junctions and “forced” to cough out bribe ranging from N500, N1000 and to even N2000 or more. Many victims pay the bribe to avoid being taken to the headquarters of the agency, which would mean paying more in terms of official fine and wasting the whole working day appealing for their mercy.
A top government official traced their uncivil manners to their backgrounds. He argued that the agency is one of the institutions that absorb political aides of politicians in power: “A few of them were boys, some say thugs of politicians. One letter here, a phone call there and they are recruited as officers.” She added that it would take a lot of reorientation for these characters to deal with the public in a civilised manner.
He appealed to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to revisit the agency and make some relevant adjustments as the behaviour of some of these officers is a dent on the fight against corruption.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the agency, Alhaji Abubakar Kofar Naisa, told Daily Sun that some of the allegations levelled against their officers were untrue. He said the effective management of traffic by their officers has reduced traffic irresponsibility by 75 per cent, adding that majority of road users are happy with them.
He noted that contrary to the opinion of some people; these officers were duly trained to discharge their official assignment effectively. He added that each morning before they embark on their assignments, they are equally mentored on the need to be civil but firm:
“The agency does not impose a fine on offenders and is not a revenue generating office as many claimed. When offenders are arrested, they are sent to a mobile court, which tries them and imposes the fine they pay. We are committed to serving the state diligently and efficiently.”