The Okada Ban

Also published in Daily Trust 

The dramatic escalation of assassinations, armed robberies and other serious crimes by some unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen is gradually overshadowing the conventional traffic safety concern associated with the use of motorcycle for commercial transportation purpose commonly known as akada or achaba.

Unfortunately, it is becoming quite usual to understand that an individual has been trailed and gunned down by some unknown motorcyclists, or that some people at a joint have been showered with bullets in a drive-by shooting by some people riding on motorcycles. The relatively easy mobility provided by motorcycle, which has among other things endeared it to the people, is increasingly being exploited by criminals to commit their heinous acts, manoeuver around and simply vanish into thin air.

This worsening phenomenon underscores the need for reviewing the merits and demerits of the use of motorcycle particularly for commercial transportation purpose in Nigeria. And while some few states have already banned it, the debate it has stirred up on the justifiability or otherwise of its ban continues unabated, with both proponents and opponents presenting quite reasonable arguments to prove their cases.

Meanwhile, due to the lack of sufficient alternatives, millions of people have already come to terms with the risk of patronizing okada riders despite the loss of lives, limbs and other injuries they cause on a daily basis. Moreover, the worsening economic condition and the persistent shrinking of the already scarce opportunities for more befitting jobs in the country continue to produce more okada riders on Nigeria’s roads, thereby exacerbating the country’s already chaotic traffic condition. In Kano state for instance, the messy atmosphere they have created has unfortunately come to greatly dominate the first mental image that pops up in mind whenever one imagines the traffic condition in the state’s metropolitan in particular.

  

Nevertheless, okada riding has grown into a very vibrant sector that plays a significant role in driving the country’s micro economy by providing “job opportunities” to an increasing number of Nigerians. Apart from those who take on it as their first experience in earning a living, okada riding business provides the much needed immediate fallback to those who unexpectedly lose their jobs or go out of business as a result of bankruptcy for instance. In short, okada riding, petty business and hustling symbolize the essence of the continuation of the struggle for survival to which the vast majority of Nigerians have been condemned.

Incidentally, official figures put the number of registered okada riders in Kano (i.e. yan achaba) at over one million, while I believe the unregistered ones could be even more than that in view of our poor culture of record taking and maintenance on one hand and the alarming rate at which the number of newcomers into the business is going up, on the other. And under the prevailing harsh economic condition, a typical achaba man supports not less than two people on the average, who depend on him for their sustenance, in addition to those who depend on its services to move around in their own daily struggle for survival, which collectively make the number of people depending on this precarious business several millions of course.

Moreover, there are many other people who acquire motorcycles for personal use or for both commercial and personal use. Interestingly enough, many people use their motorcycles during the daytime to go to their works and other personal errands only to disguise in the night and transform into okada riders in order to supplement their meagre income to survive under the worsening economic condition in the country. For this category of part-time okada riders, the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on motorcyclists in some states has deprived them of the supplementary income they generate in the night.

Therefore in as much as there is need to bring okada riding phenomenon to an end, it is quite imperative to approach it as realistically as possible by considering all relevant factors from all aspects of the issue and its possible socio-economic implications.  Admittedly, this requires not only resolute political will but also a creative approach in enforcing the ban in such a way that it does not backfire or turn counterproductive in any way.

In other words, being a phenomenon that spontaneously resulted from the dramatic economic decline that had hit the country, okada riding can only be addressed through a realistic, comprehensive and sustainable strategy that addresses the immediate, short and long term implications of the ban. This necessarily requires a radical turnaround of the country’s economy to provide real alternative and sustainable job opportunities to the teeming unemployed all over the country. Without this, any attempt to ban okada riding particularly in some states has the potential of triggering a massive violent reaction and more organized crimes in the country.

By the way, I am not being that naïve to expect the state governments to provide all these okada riders with jobs; instead the governments should –in addition to the resolute enforcement of the ban- focus also on raising their awareness and encouraging them to explore their individual potential, harness them and exploit them in more befitting and sustainable jobs. This is because, realistically speaking, no amount of government pressure can check the phenomenon of okada riding business in the country.

After all, the sustainability of the ban imposed by the FCT administration and some few state governments in some areas of their respective metropolitans, which though have recorded various levels of success, remains vulnerable in view of the doubt that the governments may not maintain the momentum of its enforcement on the ground over time.

Such a comprehensive approach is therefore the only sustainable way to check okada riding menace in the country, so as to avoid any possible backlash from the affected people. After all, an average okada rider already feels short-changed and abandoned, which explains the fury he radiates that makes him easily provoked by any slight wrong mistakenly done to him particularly by a motorist especially if the motorist happens to drive a good-looking vehicle, because the okada rider regards him as one of those who have subjected him to such misery by plundering and mismanaging the country’s resources. He therefore pours his anger in the form of unprintable insults on any unlucky motorist for any silly reason. I am sure many motorists have tales to tell about their encounters with achaba riders on the streets.