Okada menace, street trading, bullying in schools

The issues of Okada menace, street trading or hawking as well as bullying in schools took the centre stage in a discourse with some youths, a view to taming the monster caused by these matters. This is because the three continue to be societal problems with the attendant negative consequences that should not be allowed to fester.

Kicking off the discussion, a Superintendent Ademola Ijiehin of the Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has called for collaboration between members of the public and security operatives to curb the excesses of bike riders, popularly called Okada riders, to restore sanity in society, saying Nigerians should endeavour to report any Okada rider seen riding recklessly to the appropriate security agency for proper action to be taken.

SP Ijiehin agreed that motorcycle is a good means of transportation if people could abide by road traffic rules, saying there should be legislation with stipulated punishments for erring riders. He reiterated that Okada riders constituted a lot of menace by wreaking havoc, adding that Nigerians should be security conscious while boarding bikes.

“We need more hands to drastically reduce the menace to the barest minimum, if not totally eradicated for us to have a better and safe road. “Let us continually address all the irregularities that the riders are doing and riders union should continue to sensitise their people on the dangers involved in reckless riding. They (the riders) know the right thing to do, but they don’t want to do it until they are forced to or arrested. Some of them ride their bikes carelessly without considering motorists and other road users”, he stated further.

Closely related to the above is the call on governments at all levels to modify their strategies and adopt a more persuasive approach to stemming the tide of road side trading in the country that is gradually turning into another menace like Okada. According to the Assistant Director, Environmental Health Office, Abeokuta South Local Government, Sanitarian Olatokunbo Oladehinde, road side trading is a small scale trading that involves selling along the road, streets, flower pots and footpaths, thereby hindering vehicular and human movements, stressing that people engage in road side trading because of accessibility to travellers, saying that apart from road mishaps, it could also lead to traffic congestion, which raises vehicular emission that is detrimental to human health.

Also, a Senior Lecturer from the Federal College of Education (FCE), Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dr. Peluola Titiloye, said there are numerous factors accountable for road side trading, stressing that the index of poverty cannot be ruled out, as most road side traders find themselves in the business, all in a bid of surviving due to the problem of unemployment and underemployment ravaging the country. “Government exists to regulate activities in society and if there are activities of road side traders threatening public safety, the government cannot fold its arms, but should do something about the situation like the creation of alternatives by building satellite markets in the city, which will accommodate traders; and there should be synergy between environmental experts across all levels”, he added. They, therefore, called on Nigerians to ensure total compliance with government rules and regulations on road side trading and hawking so as to keep the environment serene and attractive to foreign investors.

In a similar vein, educationists have cautioned against the rising cases of bullying at schools, warning that there is the need to stem the tide without further delay. They described bullying as a repeated, antisocial behaviour and a situation where the perpetrator acts aggressively on a victim, either through verbal or physical means. They said there are different phases of bullying, adding that there is the physical aspect, which is more prominent in society; emotional bully, which causes damage to the psyche and emotional well-being of victims; verbal bully, which involves making slanderous statements about the victim; cyber bully, which involves negative use of the Internet; and gender bully. Joining the discourse, Prof. Comfort Onifade stated that there were very few people, who had not experienced one form of bullying or another, adding that to tame this, parents needed to make their home peaceful.

Also, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Adams said mothers should be observant to notice any changes in the behaviour of their children. “A child that has been doing well before, but you just discover that he/she suddenly changed; that child may be facing a form of bullying”, she stated. Meanwhile, the President, Safer Society Children Foundation, Comrade Kunle Sodipo, has admonished all to focus on being proactive rather than embarking on reactive activities that make it difficult to stem bullying.

“Teachers and lecturers are not magicians. The buck of the responsibility rests in the hands of parents and religious leaders. If we are to correct this, we should be serious about it”, he stated. What do we need to do to address the three problems identified above simply require government’s intervention and the zeal on the part of the people to do the right thing at the right time.