Commercial motorcyclists in Lagos State have resumed their operations on the major road around Ojodu Berger Area, defying a ban imposed by the state government.
According to The PUNCH, this move has caused disruptions in the area, particularly on Alhaji Kosoko Street, which has effectively been transformed into a makeshift park for motorcycle riders.
In an interview with residents and road users of the area on Wednesday, it was observed that a substantial portion of Alhaji Kosoko Street was occupied by these defiant “Okada” riders, who seem undeterred by the ban.
A concerned resident, Ojo Bakare, expressed his discontent with the ongoing activities of these motorcycle riders.
According to him, the situation raises questions about the enforcement of the ban and the challenges it poses to local residents and commuters.
Bakare said, “The state task force and LASTMA often disperse these bike men and some of them get arrested, but this has not been able to stop them. The government should provide a park for them, so people will go there to board motorcycles, with this, the road would no longer be congested.
Another resident who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Where they were supposed to use as a park, they were asked to vacate the place, so they do not have anywhere to stay than the place and that is the cause of the problem we are facing. They should find another place for them.”
Another resident described the activities of the okada riders as disturbing.
“They are disturbing us and LASTMA men tried their best to send them away, but they refused to leave.
“There is no available land space that the government can allocate to them for their transportation business,” he said.
A pedestrian identified as Gillian, said, “They cause nuisance on the road, some of them will just park their bikes anyhow and dominate the road. Road agencies should be deployed on the road to ensure orderliness.”
The Director of Public Affairs for the Lagos State Taskforce, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, responded to inquiries regarding the situation. He confirmed that the ban on Okada operations is in effect throughout the state.
However, he acknowledged that enforcing the ban in the specific area around Ojodu Berger has proven challenging due to its proximity to Ogun State. This proximity presents a unique enforcement challenge for the authorities.
He said, “Ojodu is a border town, so some okada riders are using the neighbouring state as camouflage whenever we want to arrest them. This has been hindering our work in that area because we would not want to overstep our boundaries.
“We will try as much as possible to develop another strategy, we will surely work on the congestion.”
