Kano, the center of commerce in northern Nigeria and Nigeria at large, to some extent now is in dilemma whereby thousands of tricylists or Keke Napep operators have embarked on an indefinite strike due to the compulsory levy imposed by the state government that isn’t in favour of the tricylists and Kano people in general.
Most of the tricylists complained about the issue lamenting that the levy is not favourable to them. They have appealed to the Kano state government on several occasions to remove it but to no avail. The situation has pushed them to the wall resulting to an indefinite strike.
Is indeed very rare in a community like ours where a non-governmental body will embark on an indefinite strike action. The strike is seriously affecting Kano residents negatively especially students and the low income earners in the state; it is a matter of shock to every Kano residents considering the nature of the town.
Evidently, transportation is an important aspect of human life especially now that the world is a global village. A lot of activities are said to be carried out with the aid of transportation without which the whole society will be on its knees.
Kano as a business hub is now experiencing a very big problem due the indefinite strike embarked upon by the tricylists. A lot of students can no longer attend schools, visitors, marketers, among other businesses, are shutdown as a result.
Kano being the largest city in northern Nigeria can never do without transportation, transportation within Kano and its environs is a matter of concern; this is because of its congested in nature.
The people depend largely on transportation as a means survival for both the elite and the low income earners. Not only them as even the state government gets a good chunk of the state’s revenue from transportation because the state attracts business men and women from different states of the federation.
However, there are taxes imposed on every truck or car that’s conveying items from Kano to other states. Therefore, my point of concern here is, how do these tricylists cope with the situation as a means of survival to them? Is Kano state government okay with the situation even though students and local government workers cannot report to schools and offices on time?
The fate of Kano residents is at stake from the commencement of the strike to date because a lot of business men and women are counting their losses; the town has dried up and is becoming more ugly as a result of the strike action.
Finally, the more the strike continues, the more loss both the people and government will count, therefore, there is need for the government and the tricylists to negotiate and suspend the strike for the betterment of all.
Ado Garba,
Department Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri
