Some senior leaders of the Hausa community in Lagos State have called on Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reverse the ban on Okada operations in six local government areas of the State.
The leaders who made this appeal in an interview with reporters on Wednesday claimed that Okada riders who come from northern Nigeria contribute significantly to the voting population of Lagos and should not be economically incapacitated.
Africa Today News, New York had earlier reported that Sanwo-Olu had on Wednesday announced a ban the operations of commercial motorcycle riders in six Local Governments and nine Local Government Development Areas in the state.
The affected councils are Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Apapa.
The governor said, ‘We will not sit back and watch criminally-minded people use that mode of transportation (motorcycles) to perpetrate crimes and criminality in Lagos. Lives are being lost on a daily basis, preventable accidents are happening every day and the riders are not respecting any of our traffic laws.
‘The situation has led to a complete breakdown of law and order. This ban has come to stay and we will not tolerate any weakness in enforcement.’
But the Seriki of Obalende, Saliu Waziri, told newsmen that the government should rethink its decision.
Waziri said the government should instead get the data of Okada riders in Lagos to fish out any intruder or criminally-minded fellows.
He said, ‘This issue has taken us a long time and we have been trying to put our members on the line. I want to advise the government to rethink its decision because Lagos can’t operate without bikes because of traffic. Government should register Okada riders in each local government to know those working in any local government. By so doing, the government would know who to pick when any issue arises.
“Some of our members stay here in Lagos and vote during elections. That should count for something because we contribute to votes during elections. The government should change the system of Okada riders not stopping them.”
Waziri, however, ruled out the possibility of taking any legal action against the state government.
The Seriki Hausa of Ajah, Ibrahim Ngoma, agreed with his Obalende counterpart that the government should consider the voting population of Hausa Okada riders in Lagos.
Also, another leader of the Hausa community in Lagos, Iliyasu Kira, in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, pleaded with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to reverse the ban.
According to the Seriki Hausa in Shasha in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, the voting population of the Hausa Okada riders in Lagos is not something the government want to joke with.
Meanwhile, the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria, said the ban does not affect its members.