Wealth to Waste

The Lagos State Government has concluded plans to commence the crushing and recycling of over 4,000 impounded commercial motorcycles popularly called okada, in line with the provisions of the State Traffic Law 2012, which prohibits their movement on certain restricted routes around the metropolis. According to the State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, the recent clampdown on okada was due to the government’s resolve to address the security concerns posed by their operations, saying that criminals often use okada to commit crimes and get away. There are two opposing views con--- cerning this action. The first is that okada operations are a major form of employment in Lagos and other states, providing income and livelihoods for thousands of resident-riders and their dependants. The other side of the coin is that the wayward and criminal attitudes of many commercial riders of these machines have often times put the lives of the passengers and others at risk, through accidents and as victims of robberies, car-jacking and phone snatching among others.

Ironically, Lagos state, which is a pioneer of the waste-to-wealth scheme, is now converting the okadas, which help generate wealth, to waste through the crushing process, to serve as a deterrent to errant okada riders and criminals. Even though the final products of the crushing and recycling process are not known yet, in this case, the law must be obeyed. It is expected that this move will also generate revenue through fines and sanctions. However, all those police and military personnel who ride okadas on same prohibited routes should also forfeit their bikes and be equally sanctioned at the mobile courts. A tough ask but no one is above the law and that should be the case in Lagos... not so?