A few states have banned okada. Do you have any plans to do same?
I think it’s, for me, a class issue and I belong to the working class, so I cannot ban Okada. First, I believe that okada is a response to certain deficit in our intra-urban transportation system. From the 60s to the 70s to the 80s, we never had okada. I
f you ask a lady to take a ride on a motorbike it was like a taboo. Now it has became fashionable to have a woman and two children on top of a bike. It is not a culture choice. It is as a result of deficit in our intra-city transportation system.
If I must get rid of them, I should provide an alternative first. For me, the way to deal with it is to deal with the supply side. By this I mean, provide good city transportation, then people would have to choose among a taxi that is available, a comfortable and clean bus that is available, and an Okada.
People would now choose what will offer them more comfort. So, it is the result of certain weaknesses in our transportation system, and I think it can only be solved by dealing with those weaknesses. I cannot use state power to prohibit Okada. I am not sure of the legal status of doing that.
Number two, in Edo State, we probably have up to three to four thousand people who are riding bikes on commercial basis. If I must get rid of them, I must provide 4,000 jobs for those people. Therefore in Edo State, we will not ban Okada.
People have argued that they use motorbikes to commit crime, like armed robbery and kidnapping. Yes, there is evidence that people have used motobikes for kidnapping, armed robbery, and even assassination, but is it not also true that others have used four-wheel drive vehicles and SUVs to kidnap and rob? There is no evidence that this is a function of the number of four-wheel drive or SUV vehicles. People have used luxury cars, motorbikes, to commit crime. Some have committed crimes even walking on bare foot. Again, I do not believe that if you abolish Okada, crime will disappear. I think the issues are far more complicated.
I see it as a class issue. If you don't have the experience, you wouldn't understand what I am talking about. . . . I cannot blame the victims of a system. These guys are victims. On a good day if the world was perfect, nobody will opt for a motorbike. Go to the hospitals, a lot of our bike people are there, both the bike riders and some of their passengers. Too bad.
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