By Moses Akaigwe
Stakeholders in the mobility industry have expressed their readiness for the future technological development in the sector even as they stated that with the right policies and technology in place, the sector is prepared for the time ahead.
The stakeholders who participated in the Africa Mobility Conference held recently in Lagos under the theme ‘Pathway to the Future of Mobility in Africa,’ emphasised the need for investors in the sector to collaborate with government agencies in order to contribute effectively to the future of the industry.
In his remarks, the Lagos Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Olusegun Ogungbemide, described the current state of mobility as very is dynamic, adding that the transportation sector is generally dynamic.
Ogungbemide said: “We are actually set for the future. Since we have a projection and plan towards it, definitely, we would achieve it. It is quite important and necessary at this time when we are thinking of the future; we know where we are now and we know where the world is already heading to. Some parts of the world are even there already. So, if we sit down without thinking of what the future would look like, we would continue to be stagnant.”
In her contribution, the Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, stressed the importance of keeping mobility-related issues on the front burner by trying to constantly discuss them in the interest of the people of Lagos. She also observed that discipline of Nigerians on the road is a very critical aspect of mobility that should not be de-emphasized.
Akinajo said: “We all complain, but we don’t want to be accountable for our actions. We all need to learn to be disciplined on the roads. For us the majority of the traffic jam we see is down to bad driving and bad behaviour of the people on the road. Once that is dealt with, every other thing will follow.”
On the role of LAMATA, the Managing Director said: “We are putting a lot of infrastructure and systems in place to enhance transportation. Mass transportation is the way forward for easy mobility. We are encouraging people to move from their private cars into public transportation. The rail systems will move hundreds of thousands of Nigerians on a daily basis. High capacity buses will do exactly the same, the waterways the same thing. So feel free to leave your cars behind and get on to the regulated bus or rail system.”
Chief Executive Officer, GIG Mobility, Enahoro Okhae, said the players in the industry are not the ones shaping the narrative in the industry, stressing that there is no intentional platform where the players in the mobility industry are collaborating with the government.
Okhae said: “Our idea is to bring people together like we have done together bringing the government sector together and begin to shape the narrative on how we plan for the future of mobility in Nigeria and Africa.
“The future is upon us. Now as a company, at GIGM, we are already stepping into the future. We are already doing things that people think cannot happen in Nigeria with our technology. For example, security, we are already beginning to use our technology to guide our own vehicles around security but we can’t do it alone. We have to begin to bring people together because it is a choice we have to make. People made choices to move the world forward, if we don’t start making this choice now, we would be a relic, we would not grow nor advance and that is the goal for this conference,” he said.
On his part Chief Executive Officer, Jet Motor Company, Joseph Osanipin, said every stakeholder is ready to work together for the success of mobility and to take it forward in Nigeria.
“If you don’t work together, sometimes you don’t know what is happening. You go on and create policies that may not have any good impact. Like I mentioned, there is a policy of standardisation and some people would just issue receipts because you must have gaseous emission receipts, which is just a pass, that’s not the purpose of that policy. The purpose of the policy is to have good vehicle.
