BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
The National President of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle, Tricycle Owners, Riders, Repairers Association of Nigeria, Samsudeen Apelogun, has pleaded with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reconsider the ban on the operations of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada.
According to Apelogun, the ban on commercial motorcycles in some areas in the state, which is now 16 weeks, has now rendered members in the state hopeless and hungry.
Sanwo-Olu, announced the total ban on the operations of commercial motorcycles in some local government areas in the state with effect from June 1, 2022.
Later on in August, 2022, the government further extended the ban to four other more local government areas, with effect from September 1, 2022.
Apelogun therefore urged the government not to ‘throw the baby away with the bath water’, adding that most of the members in the affected areas were now begging to eat because they could no longer feed their families.
Apelogun said, “The primary objective of the government is to protect lives and property of every citizen and make sure their well-being is so paramount to them, not sending 40 million Nigerians to the labour market that is already saturated.
“The ban is counter-productive as cutting the head will never be the cure of a headache. The idle hand is the devil’s workshop. The government needs to consider the lives of these okada riders. They cannot abandon them without any means of livelihood.
“Okada riders need micro-loans to be able to care for these people who have become unemployed now. Government needs to take care of them, not just to collect what they use to fend for themselves and their families,” he stated.
