‘Easier said than done’ is one of the common sayings in describing the
paradox in man’s decisions. And indeed, that is the truth as I came to discover
after I became a renegade in my decision to stop taking the commercial motor bikes
commonly-known as ‘okada’ and ‘achaba’ in Nigeria as a means of
transportation.
My decision then emanated
from a near-fatal experience I had while commuting on a motor bike. The incident involved a trailer and 2
motorbikes including the one I was on. No life was lost, but the bike rider
lost his legs in that accident as he had to be pulled free from underneath the
trailer which had him trapped underneath. Although I miraculously escaped
unhurt, I swore that I would never be caught on an okada, no matter the severity of the traffic jam (which has always
been my reason for it).
However, during the period
of the strike declared by labour in protest of the removal of oil subsidy which
led to an increase in the price of petrol in January 2012, I had no alternative
but to use the help of a motor-bike to get to my office because driving a car
at such a period on the streets of Lagos was not safe; moreover, the buses were
off the streets as from 7am.
And there it was, easier
said than done. I already jumped on the bike before I realized I just broke
what looked like an oath at the time I made the decision to never use the
services of an okada again. The
convenience and timeliness of using an okada
is something every business that uses the traffic gutted roads in Lagos desire.
Okada can manoeuvre
and drive on even footpaths while cars are grappling for space on the roads.
This convenience okadas offer can
only be neaten by the mobile phone companies in terms of speed.
However, all these come at
a price. The National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi and several other hospitals
in Nigeria usually play host to victims of accidents involving okada riders and passengers on a daily
basis. And the accidents are usually fatal. Many have lost their limbs and
others their lives as a result of accidents involving okada. I used to think that I must have been very careful because I
usually tell every okada rider who
drives me to be ‘very careful’. I
hope that did not elicit laugher from you because I thought that has been my
saving grace knowing too well that speed kills, forgetting the fact that okada has just two wheels amidst the
variable factor of the roads which are not in good shape in many parts of the
metropolis and also very importantly, that many of the riders drive under the
influence of alcohol which they say they use in ‘shining the eyes’.
An Okada ride is,
therefore, a terrible risk. However, the okada
phenomenon cannot be wished away from the streets of Lagos as has been
severally suggested by various individuals and groups. Many factors have
explained this to us all and the reasons are glaring, in spite of the harm that
comes with this mode of transportation which was alien to Nigerian society in
the early 80s.
Derived from Okada Air, a local Nigerian Airline
which was the most-frequently used in the country at one time, the term okada was later adopted as a nickname
for motor- bike transporters because they could move between the intense
traffic of Lagos and take you to your destination in time, just as Okada Air did. This coinage of the name
for a motor-bike from an airline made the name okada stick for commercial motor-cycles.
Although many people have
forgotten – or perhaps do not even know – that there was anything like Okada Airlines, the popularity of this
mode of transportation increased especially with the economic intricacies at the
time. Jobless Nigerian youths took to it as a means of surviving the biting
hardship in the land, and gradually, it became one of the chief modes of
transport in Nigeria and, by far the most common form of informal transport
system in the country.
Okadas
are also able to plot a route where no car has gone before, especially in
villages, and remote outskirts in urban cities like Lagos. It is reasonably
priced for the common man and very flexible. Above all okada is readily on hand: one can hardly wait too long for an okada to come around, even in the
remotest villages they come into sight at given intervals. For these reasons okada became quickly adored and did not
take long to silence its detractors. Soon the reservations that accompanied its
early beginnings were dissolved into an acceptance of quantifiable risks that
accompany all transportation. The recognition and widespread acceptance of okada has rapidly risen in recent years.
The educated and uneducated, young and old, male and female all use okada to get to their destinations.
Okadas
are customized to fit the peculiarities of present-day Nigerian society where
the teeming population require movement from one place to another for business
and pleasure. The present-day society is deficient in terms of adequate transport.
Okadas have become a phenomenon of
Nigerian cities because of their low cost of purchase and fuel efficiency.
During a seminar organized
by the newspaper, Business Hallmark and
titled, Road Safety & Challenges Of National
Socio - Economic Development on the 13th of September 2011 in
Lagos, Mr. Osita Chidoka, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal
Road Safety Commission, FRSC, admitted that though okadas posed untold dangers on our roads, the present transport situation
in Nigeria meant that there was no way okadas
could be banned from Nigerian roads at the present time. He noted that the
challenges of transportation, apart from the availability of vehicles, include
the maintenance of roads which he said was a big burden on the government.
Indeed good roads enhance
swift and good transportation. Of the many arguments against okada as a means of transportation is
that the vast majority of okada
riders do not pay attention to road signs and other motorists – a point which
they say is the major cause of motorcycle accidents, in addition to the fact that
most of the riders are unlicensed and untrained. In some parts of Nigeria, okada riders make their commercial debut
after a few hours of training sessions. Also, many of the riders are usually under
the influence of alcohol which can be easily obtained at the various bus stops.
Furthermore, okadas are also seen as
veritable tools for armed robbery operations across the country, a reason for
the recent restriction that has been placed on the riding of okada in various parts of the country.
For example, the Lagos state government recently banned okadas on major roads of the metropolis as a result of the high rate of road accident and traffic jams which have been traced to the menace of Okada riders.
Furthermore, the high rate of robbery perpetrated in the environs by robbers on motorcycles is another point the state government has accepted as a consideration to the ban on Okada. However, the restriction of okada on the roads as from 10pm in Lagos still holds.
The odds against okada, as scary as they are, are
apparently not enough to stop Nigerians from patronizing them. The advantages
seemingly outweigh the obvious disadvantages. What do you think?
