With the ban on Okada in some major parts of lagos, we should expect an influx of some relocating riders into kwara state especially into the ilorin metropolis. Prior to the Lagos ban, they have been a nuisance on major streets like Taiwo, Unity, Murtala, Abdulaziz Atta, saw mill etc. You can’t change lanes or make a turning on any of these major streets without the risk of knocking down an Okada rider and no matter the traffic violation committed by them, the car driver must first take responsibility for the injured rider. You must immediately pickup the injured rider, and leave the scene of the accident for the nearest hospital in order to avoid mob action and possibly death in the hands of other Okada riders.
The more they grow in number, the more difficult it will get to control their activities. This is the time for the Kwara State ministry responsible for their activities to proactively put in place laws to control and possibly restrict their activities especially on major streets. They should be restricted to inner roads to reduce fatal traffic accidents.
Presently, a large number of Okada riders don’t have any form of identification. There are no means of verifying their knowledge of basic traffic rules before they hit the streets and start picking up passengers. It is therefore important to enforce their registration, drivers license and use of uniforms for proper identification incase of any incidents. Basic traffic rule tests should be conducted for them before licenses are issued, this will greatly reduce the unnecessary loss of lives from Okada accidents.
Other necessary actions include-: restriction of their activities to inner streets, creation of awareness of the need to avoid mob action whenever they are involved in accidents or arguments, limit their operational time especially at night, enforcement of insurance policy coverage on the riders since they are highly prone to accidents and mandating use of helmets for safety purposes.
This piece is not advocating for a total ban of Okada in Kwara State because they have their benefits but some forms of control must be put in place to check their activities.
Dr. Abdulraheem Malik
Kentucky, USA
