Abuja is reported to be boiling with a violent clash looming between the Igbo and Hausa tribes . This is as a result of the public beating and lunching of a barber Ikechukwu Anigbo by commercial motorcycle riders popularly known as okada in Apo area of the Federal Capital by the Hausas.
Ikechukwu was lynched after having an arguement with an okada man who conveyed him. Ikechukwu it was alledged refused to pay the addition #10 that the okada man demanded , insisting his fare was #50 and not #60. This did not go down well with the okada man who branded Ikechukwu a thief, raised false alarm and hence through the help of his brothers beat and lynched the young man.
This is not the first time okada riders are becoming a menace to the society as this was the same thing that happened in far away Lagos two weeks . The Lagos incident took place at Agiliti in Mile 12 area after an okada rider disobeyed traffic laws and plied a one way drive road. In the process he knocked a lady after much pleading by some people to take the lady to hospital for medical treatment he refused and went the scene of the incident with the lady left to die. This act did not go down well with the Yoruba community who are their host and who who took laws into their hands and went in search of the Hausas, killing the ones they saw and setting them ablaze. As a result more than 12 deaths have been reported in Mile 12 and the Mile 12 market closed down for the moment .
One could go on and on to narrate the anarchy these commercial motorcycle riders have caused in the country , rather this is no time for that. This is time to do something to avert another future bloodbath by this same people. It is a general knowledge that apart from these anarchy the okada rider cause, they are mostly the chief main cause of accident in Nigerian cities . While vehicles are also involved in road accidents, it cannot be compared with the frequency of the okada and also it's fatality rate as it is hardly possible to survive a motorcycle accident in this part of the world. The townships were this mode of transportation is banned have known relative peace but that cannot be said for the areas where okada remains the main mode of transportation .
Therefore what should be done is the total scrapping of okada with tricycles and buses replacing them . Government must act and provide alternative modes of transportation as this isn't the case in developed countries . Also the okada riders must be enlightened and re-orientated to understand better on what their job requires. There should be a data of all okada riders in each area and every information about them noted. One cannot just wake up and turn a commercial okada driver without supplying useful information and going through a rigorous trainning to test both their driving skills but also mental senses. This is because most of the okada rider are illiterates and can hardly even express themselves in English Language which is the official language in the country . Programmes should be designed for them to be educated and then every information about them noted for the opportunity to crack down on them when the need arises. Also police should swing into action and bring the perpetrators of this (Ikechukwu Anigbo) act to book .
In summary something had to be done to remedy the situation and that time is now, arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators isn't just enough . Nigerians need to be pro-active and not reactive . We need to act before events unfold. This will go a long way to save many sad stories like this from reoccurring . This is not about a tribal issue even though it looks like one, it's about making sure lives and properties are protected and the Nigerian transportation sector more stabilised.
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