Operations worsening insecurity in Abuja, residents lament
Seek return of mass transit system
RESIDENTS and commuters in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Abuja, have lamented lack of a proper transportation system. They said the unfortunate situation breeds the operations of private taxi cabs ( locally known as kabukabu and consequently worsen insecurity.
They noted that resurgence of the kabukabu transport system fuels kidnapping in the nooks and crannies of the capital city, adding that with a population of about 3.8 million people, Abuja needs an efficient public transport system that can carry up to 40 persons on each trip, and at affordable rates.
The residents called on the current administration to bring back the Bus Rapid Transit ( BRT), a. k. a El- Rufai buses, to cushion effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on commuters and curb the activities of robbery and kidnap syndicates.
A resident, Malachy Upele, lamented that criminals are leveraging the lack of an efficient mass transportation system and the current economic crunch to rob residents and commuters.
According to him, kidnappers and ‘ one- chance’ ( robbery) syndicates now make victims of unsuspecting passengers with ease.
“Given the increasing number of private car owners, who pick passengers to make extra cash and cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, and the helplessness of commuters due to lack of good alternatives, the activities of these syndicates have become a threat to residents in Abuja,” said Malachy.
He added: “This is compounded by inadequate street lights at most places in Abuja and the absence of closed- circuit television ( CCTV) cameras, thereby making it difficult to track and arrest the criminals.”
Another resident, Emmanuel Umeadi, recalled that in 2005, the then Minister of FCT, Mallam Nasir Ahmad el- Rufai, established the transport system called El- Rufai buses to curtail the menace of these syndicates.
According to him, the availability of these buses put an end to the activities of onechance operators and others who use private vehicles for kabukabu business. It also sanitised the city of rickety buses that ply major routes.
“Sadly, over time, these mass transit buses disappeared from the city centre. The Abuja
Urban Mass Transport Co. Ltd, located along Kubwa Expressway, which housed these buses became a dump site for bad and crashed vehicles,” he lamented.
Umeadi called for a return of the El- Rufai buses.
A passenger, Aisha Ibrahim, said she had learnt her lessons: she now boards vehicles at designated parks to avoid falling victim to one- chance syndicates.
She said: “I am a civil servant. Before, I used to patronise Kabukabu operators. But since this one- chance thing became rampant, I always board vehicles at recognised parks, despite the delay.”
Another passenger, Doshima Joy, advised ladies to avoid picking vehicles indiscriminately. According to her, it is better to be late to appointments than to become ‘ the late’.
She said: “Ladies are more at risk because, apart from being beaten and robbed, they can also be sexually abused. This is why we should be careful of the kind of places where we board vehicles. It is better to go through a registered park than die in the hands of those unscrupulous elements.”
Reacting, the acting chairman and head caretaker committee of Mpape Drivers Association, Festus Onyeze Elemmuo, blamed the increasing one- chance menace on the impatience of passengers. According to him, there are many parks where passengers can board vehicles legitimately, but they choose to flag down any car they see.
“These parks are in Mpape, Lugbe, Nyaya and Mararaba. We know all our members. Any vehicle in these places is registered. If you are not registered and come here to pick passengers, we will arrest you.
“Passengers who lost their properties at our motor parks always come back to collect them because we have an identity. That is not obtainable with those that pick passengers along the road,” Elemmuo said.
Also, a taxi driver, Abel
Uduak, said the union will soon start arresting drivers that use unpainted vehicles to check the menace.
“For drivers who refused to adhere to the directive to paint their vehicles with the Abuja green colour, we will start arresting them this February. Some drivers, who refused to paint their cars, claimed they are often denied access to hotels, estates, ministries, etc., once it is noticed that their vehicles are painted,” he said.
Uduak called on passengers to cooperate with the union and government’s directive to stop the one- chance menace by patronising vehicles only at designated parks.
Recall that many residents have been kidnapped, robbed, beaten to stupor, and even sexually assaulted. Some were even killed after boarding kabukabu cabs in Abuja.
One of such victims, Greatness Tolulope Olurunfemi, died last year after she was pushed out of a moving vehicle, along Maitama- Kubwa highway.