FCT residents differ on Okada, Keke operators’ nuisance value

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), residents who don’t own cars are usually forced to embrace Okada and Keke NAPEP as the only means of transportation. However, as this has become a norm, TOPE SUNDAY and HUSSEIN ISAH wonder whether or not the Okada and Keke operators in the territory actually constitute a nuisance.

Commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada and tricycles represent the major system of transport for most residents of the FCT that do not own cars for an easy movement to the main roads, where they will board commercial cabs to their respective destinations.

Most residents in the suburbs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) depend on Okada riders for movement to the main roads, but in some cases they are at their mercy. Also, there have been reported cases of inconsistency in the inflated transport fares, bag-snatching and other criminal activities allegedly perpetrated by the operators.

While the agitations have been on for their disbandment, others are of the view that Okada and Keke as a means of transportation do more good than harm to the residents.

Abuja as ‘home to all’

Since Nigeria’s capital was moved to Abuja, it has been placing a role of ‘a home to all Nigerians.’ The city is, indeed, a home to many Nigerians because of its various opportunities and economic viabilities. Going by the various testimonies, many Nigerians and foreigners alike have reportedly turned Abuja to their place of economic survival.

The city, whose geography is defined by Aso Rock, a 400-metre (1,300 ft) monolith left by water erosion, experiences the influx of Nigerians on a daily basis. Though the rationale behind their action is not yet ascertained, their relocation might not be unconnected to struggle for survival. Also, further investigations revealed that some of them are either trooping to Abuja for either government pay job or to survive on their own.

Despite their influx into the city, the expensive nature of Abuja has forced some of them to relocate to the suburbs or villages around the city of Abuja.

‘Okada, Keke regulation way to go’

A resident of Kuje Area Council, Mr. Patrick Owoidoho, who spoke with Blueprint Weekend, is of the view that Keke and Okada operators constitute a nuisance in the area council, particularly in the metropolis, and called on the government to regulate their activities.

He said: “In Kuje metropolis itself under the Kuje Area Council, there are enough Okada and NAPEP operators. But often these people operate unmindful of other commuters. They not only constitute themselves into a nuisance because of their utter disregard for traffic laws or utter disregard for other commuters using whatever means of transportation, they are also people who do not care about the lives of others.

“So they drive indiscriminately. And at the slightest provocation, they gathered together to fight against others whether the person they were fighting was right or wrong. That is one side to that. The other side to it is that outside the Kuje metropolis, in other inner areas, they hardly ply those roads; they hardly go; and when they go, they go at an exorbitant fare. Therefore, if you are to dash to the city and are dependent on either the Okada, or Keke NAPEP, you will be in serious trouble because they will neither be there nor when they are there will they comply with normal traffic rules?

“Their fares are rather exorbitant; for example, for a distance of about maybe two or three kilometers, they charge you as much as N200. And if you’re not mobile, you are compelled to give them whatever they charge. So, the issue of being dependent on Okada in the metropolis is unpleasant.

“And in the interior part of this area council, where they are needed most, they are not available; this is a major problem. Sometimes we wonder if it would have been okay for the government to have completely banned them.

“If the local government could employ touts to extort road users, what prevents local governments, for example, from putting their taxis on the road? It could lead to generating a lot of revenue for them. But no area council seems to think in that direction. If they do that, it could be a means of generating revenue if it is properly managed.”

Also speaking, a cab driver, Mr. Okadigbo, who plies the popular Lugbe and Berger route, said though the two means of transportation are good for the residents, believes that the attitude of their operators are unfriendly.

Okadigbo told this medium that the government should monitor their activities and provide them with number plates to identify all the operators in the city. This, he said, would place them on the government’s check.

“The only thing I know about them is that their use for transportation is good, but the attitude of the people operating them is very bad. Why did I say that, government is not paying any attention to controlling them? Because they are mostly northerners, they are always ready to fight.

“Imagine, I told somebody to pass, a motorcyclist brought out a knife to attack me but people begged him. I beg him also because I came here to look for my daily bread not to fight. Government doesn’t give them number plates, and they don’t check them. There are more than one million Okada in Abuja, and none of them have plate numbers. The government is aware but ignores them. VIO can’t arrest Okada or Keke riders because they are afraid of them.

“But they arrest cab drivers, and charge them as much as money they desire. Okada and Keke as means of transportation are very much welcome, but they should be controlled. Banning them is not good because there are some nooks and crannies they ply that cars can’t access, and if cars go, they will charge a lot of money. Government should control them because they have chairmen in their various locations. So, if anything happens, they should arrest them,” he said.

Both for residents’ benefits

Speaking with our correspondents, an Abuja-based businessman, Yunusa Ibrahim, said Okada is helpful to the residents who cannot afford personal cars, and cautioned the government against banning them.

He said: “I have already spent two years and one month in Abuja, and Okada has been my major means of transportation from my house to the shop on a daily basis. Okada is helping people a lot. There was a day I heard that the government wanted to ban Okada in the FCT, and I asked, “If they banned Okada, how do we move around?

“In my own case, I close around 9:30pm every day, and then it was an Okada that would convey me home. I don’t have any problem with them. My take is that the government should not ban them in the FCT, so that our people will not suffer’’.

Collaborating Ibrahim, another resident of the city, Danlami Sam, said both Okada and Keke are helpful and economical, and urged the government to encourage the operators to have a stronger union that would regulate their activities.

“Keke NAPEP is very helpful and economical. The government should not ban them, rather, it should encourage them to get a very strong union. If the government bans it, what will happen to the people that are not mobile? Government had banned Okada, they should not ban Keke.

“I carry Keke for N50 to convey me home from the Bus stop, but how much will a cab man collect for a drop? The operators of Keke NAPEP are not using them to kill; they are using them to feed themselves and their families. If they ban them, they may force them into stealing. Yes, the government can resist them from gaining entrance into Maitama, Asokoro, and Garki, but they should allow them to operate in Jabi, and other places in the FCT.”