‘What Lagos government should have done to okada, keke riders’
Agroup known as Concerned Lagosians has faulted the Lagos State government’s ban on the operations of commercial tricycle and motorcycle in some parts of the state, describing it as “insensitive.”
The coordinator of the group, Babatunde Joseph, said in a statement yesterday that the reasons the government gave for the ban were “invalid.”
The group warned that the decision would worsen the unemployment situation in the state and the country at large and advised that rather than banning ‘keke’ and ‘okada’, as commercial tricycles and motorcycles are respectively called locally, the government should have empowered the riders with training and other enlightenment campaigns to enhance their efficiency and intelligence.
“Taking away their livelihoods in this abrupt manner is dangerous and implicitly creates an incubation of potential criminals. The ban should be reversed immediately lest we all become victims of hordes of unemployed youths who may be forced into unsavoury activities to survive,” the statement added.
He maintained that the state’s argument that ‘okada’ and ‘keke’ were being used to commit crimes “does not cut it”, noting that thousands of commuters were stranded on Saturday because of inadequate transportation system in a widening metropolis.”
The statement concluded, “The okada and the keke Marwa riders fill this lacuna. Now commuters must trek endlessly in the sun to get to their various destinations. This is not right.”