The Commissioner of Transportation in Lagos State, Mr Kayode Opeifa, has claimed that since the Lagos Traffic Law came into existence with the restriction of motorcycles-Okada- on major highways, accidents involving Okada has reduced by 95 per cent.
Mr Opeifa made this known on our weekend show Sunrise, where he also revealed that a reduction of 32 per cent has been recorded in the number of people committing traffic offence.
“We have recorded 32 per cent reduction in the rate at which people commit traffic offences” he stated, adding that “we have also recorded 35 per cent decrease in the reduction of accidents involving okada and other vehicles and 95 per cent reduction in just okada accidents.”
Confirming this development, the Zonal Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Ademola Lawal, stated that “the Lagos Traffic Law is helping to get safer roads with the restriction of okadas as drivers can now drive on Lagos roads without thinking that someone can destroy one’s side mirror.”
Capitalist law
Meanwhile a social activist, Mr Debo Adeshina, disagreed with the law saying it is part of a tyranny policy in Lagos, to victimise the poor.
He claimed the move by the state government to bring in more BRT buses is a ploy to reward their capitalist friends and ensure their huge returns at the expense of the poor.
The former Secretary General of the Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) argued that “the poor is the victim of every policy in Lagos” and this he described as a tyranny.
Mr Adeshina advised that the state government should have created a dedicated lane for the okada instead of banning them.
He also claimed that the state government has given a false perception that for every accident that occurs involving a motorcycle, the okada driver is at fault, whereas there are also careless drivers on Lagos roads.
