Olawale Oluwo, a former Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources at the Lagos State Government, has outlined why the Lagos State Government was incorrect to ban commercial motorcycle operations (Okada) in six local governments of the state.
Firstly, Oluwo said on Daily Digest with Jimi Disu, that all roads were built with government money that belongs to everyone. He said this makes it wrong to ban a particular mode of transportation.
Moreover, the Ex-Commissioner said the government should have banned Okada only on major roads and allowed them to ply neighbourhood roads, if maintaining order were a factor in the ban.
This would make it easier for the masses that depend on Okada to get home from work rather than wait for unavailable buses, he argued.
"Why should people commute from their places of work, get to the bus stop and still wait another hour to get a bus when there is Okada that can take them there in five minutes?”
Oluwo also said security as another determining factor in banning Okadas is "illogical".
According to him, "you can as well ban vehicles because armed robbers use vehicles too”.
Lastly, he called for a holistic approach to the Okada issue in Lagos State.
"If there is a security issue, let’s review, strategise and put resources behind it."
In addition, the former Lagos Commissioner said that if Lagos had moved faster with its smart city project, cameras would monitor Okada movements and help punish those who flout the rules.
