Events of the past few days have strengthened popular beliefs and also refuelled worries that, in Lagos, there is a monster that is afoot, looking for human and material elements to destroy on the state’s largely difficult roads.
Nothing could be more bizarre than two separate incidents which happened within this period involving two commercial bus drivers in the state.
While one, identified as Aliu, set himself ablaze out of frustration; the other identified as Ibrahim Yusuf, allegedly stabbed and slit the throat of an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) called, Awotola Victor.
The two incidents, it was learnt, resulted from enforcement of road transport rules by officials of the state government during which the vehicles belonging to the two bus drivers were impounded.
Aliu died when operatives of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation impounded his bus along the Murtala Muhammed International Airport road. The operatives had a face-off with some of the drivers. At that point, Aliu poured petrol on himself and set himself ablaze. And in the immortal words of Soyinka: The man died.
Meanwhile, the stabbed LASTMA official was on duty with his colleagues when Yusuf’s mini-bus was impounded over willful obstruction. Yusuf was said to have disappeared from the scene only to reappear with a big knife and stabbed the official on the head and neck and escaped afterwards with the aid of the street urchins around the area.
Evidently, these are terrible incidents. But it is important to note that Aliu and Yusuf’s cases are not isolated ones on Lagos roads. A few weeks ago, on Lagos Island, hell was let loose when two rival road transport workers clashed, killing some and leaving many others with deep machete cuts.
Events like these are not normal in any sane human society not to talk of an otherwise sophisticated society like Lagos which prides itself as a pace setter and centre of excellence.
Generally, the major challenges in Lagos emanate from its suffocating environment and the human elements. The roads are at the core of these challenges which is why the story is basically the same whether you are talking about LASTMA officials or the non-state actors called ‘Agberos’ who are as crude and deadly as they are vicious in both actions and attitudes.
Aliu who set himself ablaze has been described as “a frustrated commercial bus driver.” That is quite telling and we hope the state government should look beyond an Aliu that is now dead to see the many other Alius out there on our roads, seeking for a living with a measure of desperation.
Though both Aliu and Yusuf went to the extreme with their actions, those actions also suggest that a lot more people out there are moving about with bottled up anger and frustration over the excesses of overzealous government operatives.
We concede here that Lagos in its wisdom has put in place, laws in virtually every aspect of existence—traffic law, rental law, environmental protection laws, etc. But of these many laws, none is as grossly abused in the process of enforcement as the traffic law where the enforcers, notably LASTMA officials, see the law as a passport for beating motorists to shape and, in some cases, for extortion.
The monster on Lagos road, therefore, exists in human form and the state government should see today as the most auspicious time to cage it before it does more damage. An average motorist leaves his house every day, unsure of the fate he will suffer in the hands of government operatives.
Sometimes, he comes back home, thousands of naira poorer. At other times, he comes back without his vehicle. And in a most extreme instance as seen above, life could even be involved. All these are sources of frustration and disaffection. They also trigger ill-feeling.
For commercial bus drivers, it is worse. For many of them, their efforts most times are invested in settling levies starting from the ludicrous to the sublime. According to them, besides the N800 which they pay officially to the state government, there are other levies which come in various shapes and sizes, running into thousands of naira on a daily basis.
All these anomalies belie the claim of Lagos to a premier status in Nigeria. They also work against the state’s march towards becoming a 21st Century economy and a Smart City. Moreover, they have a pulling-down-effect which the state can ill-afford at this time.
Read also: Adventures on a Sunday morning road journey in Lagos
Therefore, it is important for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his formidable team to return to the drawing board This is with a view to reviewing the state’s traffic laws and in the process redefine and refine the functions of its traffic managers so that the roads can be safe again for the overtly hapless citizens of the state.
We are of the view that no economy, whether of 19th or 21st Century grows and supports its citizens when the environment is not safe. In the same vein, there is no smart city anywhere in the world where traffic managers are pains in the neck of motorists, while touts virtually run a parallel government, collecting unofficial revenue that is many times bigger than the state’s annual GDP.
We strongly believe that the time is now to save Lagos road from itself. And to do so, the state government should not just make traffic laws, but also ensure that the laws are enforced appropriately. Traffic lights which are already on many roads but dysfunctional should be made to work and, above all, the ubiquitous and vicious touts should be checked and made to operate within the ambit of the law.
To do these is to facilitate into existence laudable features like: a smart city and a 21st Century economy where there will be dignity of labour and refined behaviour whose end will be the preservation and sanctity of human life.
