Why The Government Should Ban Trailers Before Okadas In Lagos

I have always been an advocate for the banning of Okadas and Kekes because they are not safe public means of transportation. In normal climes, overtaking happens on the drivers side of the vehicle in Nigeria, Kekes and Okadas will come at you from all directions, including against traffic! They don’t obey traffic rules, and they would never stop at the red lights. It makes driving in Lagos very tiring and hazardous.

The Lagos state government has now banned Kekes and Okads in Lagos. The government sighted accidents and security risks attached with these means of transportation. The government also claims that Kekes and Okadas are not part of the “mega city blueprint”.

The ban effectively shuts down the businesses of companies such as Gokada, Maxng, etc. But these businesses applied for and got licenses to operate in Lagos by the same Lagos state government that is now saying it isn’t part of their blue print. Even the current Governor, Sanwo Olu, encouraged them at his speech at “The Platform”

Why did the government approve for them to do business only to pull the rug right from underneath them? Moreover, If you are going to put a lot of people out of jobs at a time when the economy is hard already, you have to have alternative jobs to replace the ones you are taking away.

The Governor praised the likes of Gokada, who are branded and using a platform that works for them. He talked about knowing who these riders are, harmonizing them and ensuring no one is disenfranchised. Then this happened:

While it is a welcome idea to ban Okadas and Kekes, the government has gone about it the wrong way. The first thing to do would have been to inform people in advance and give them a 6 months to 1 year transition period. Then the government should have used that period to provide alternative means of transportation so people are not left stranded.

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Moreover, there are more dangerous vehicles out there than Okadas and Kekes; specifically, trailers and tankers. These modes of transportation on our highway are even more dangerous than Kekes and okadas combined.

We have seen a lot of tankers on the road with some worn out tires. Tankers tilting to one side looking like it would fall at any given time. We drive on a road stuck in traffic with tankers loaded with combustible fuel. These are the vehicles the government should be making a priority to get off the roads.

We have seen countless accidents that happen on our roads due to a trailer falling on the car next to it or fire from a tanker carrying fuel that took lots of lives. You can read about them here, here and here . When people attempt to overtake trailers, they do it with their heart in their mouth, yet our government has not seen it fit to do anything about it. Or are trailers part of the mega city blue print?

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In the event these kind of accidents happen, we pray that no life is lost, because a family that loses a breadwinner is set for suffer not just the loss of a loved one, but the loss of the family’s main source of income; a double jeopardy.

The only way to mitigate these losses is to have comprehensive car insurance. For any personal accidental injury while travelling in or getting into or out of your car, the insurance company will pay for

• Death
• Permanent and total loss of sight in one or both eyes
• loss of permanent and total loss, of use of one or more limbs at or above the elbow or knee

The insurance company would also pay for your medical bills and your legal representation up to a limit.

No one prays for this to be their portion but it can happen to anyone at any time. You really should think hard about getting that comprehensive car insurance to protect yourself and your loved ones. While we pray that the government will do something soon about this daily threats we face with these tankers.

Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to plead with the Governor of Lagos state, to revisit the Keke and Okada ban, or “restriction”. Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.

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