By Kayode Ojewale

INARGUABLY, one of the major challenges residents of Lagos are faced with is traffic congestion. And as the yuletide approaches with an attendant increase in vehicular movements, fears of commuters and road travellers have heightened as they dread the torture and agony of long travel time on Lagos roads coupled with the ongoing massive road repairs, maintenance and rehabilitation. The upgrade of some railway tracks in Lagos has also led to increased road travels.

Why We Must ‘Theme’ Up With Sanwo-Olu To Revive Lagos(Opens in a new browser tab)

Therefore, traffic managers and controllers in Lagos have more to do now than before to ensure free flow of traffic always.

However, the recent addition of 1,000 new traffic officers to the state traffic operating system is enough to make Lagosians heave a sigh of relief in the days ahead as more non-signalised and unmanned roads and junctions are expected to be covered by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, officers.

Apart from the indiscriminate dropping and picking up of passengers at undesignated bus stops being one of the causes of traffic congestion, the spate of lawlessness among commercial tricycle and motorcycle riders in Lagos appears to have taken a different dimension with their rising gut and total disregard for traffic laws and officers manning the roads.

Majority of commercial motorcycle and bike operators in Lagos are reckless, lawless and unruly. In fact, one may be tempted to conclude that they are exempted from obeying traffic laws the way they run red lights and speed past traffic controllers when other vehicles are waiting for instructions from traffic lights at signalised junctions or LASTMA officers on duty who manually control traffic.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Engr Olajide Oduyoye, while reacting to the death of two of his officers in November this year said: “It’s just extremely sad…It’s trying moment. We can come from different angles in order to deal with this but it’s just a sad moment. You cannot be in any organization like ours and be losing men without getting worried about what happens to the other officers that are supposed to go out there and do the work…We are not even in a war zone, but we seem to be losing officers as if we are at war.”

He explicitly stated that the killings of his men are not peculiar to a particular season of the year but attributed it to the wicked acts of people who are deliberately committing these crimes. He further said: “It is a crime because, when you deliberately try to run over an authorized traffic officer, you are not thinking about the season at all, you are just thinking about yourself.” The LASTMA chief said the first instinct that comes to the mind of a traffic offender when caught in the act is to escape by all means to avoid punishment.

As generally said, history is not always kind to those who don’t learn from it and as such, LASTMA, under the watch of Engr. Oduyoye, is taking draconian measures to prevent further attacks on its men and deal with ‘human vandals’ who take pleasure in perpetuating barbaric acts on traffic law enforcement officers who are statutorily carrying out their duties. “If you hit or kill or even injure any security officer or traffic management officer authorized by government on the road and you are caught, you will regret the action,” said the LASTMA boss.

He also added, “A situation where road users will now turn against any government official in order not to answer the consequences of breaking the law is unacceptable and would not be condoned henceforth.”

Lagos Blue line rail to be ready 2020 – Sanwo-Olu(Opens in a new browser tab)

The LASTMA boss also touched on the need to cover more unmanned areas in Lagos. According to him,“The ideal situation is for us to have a minimum of two officers at every intersection of every major road, because when you control the intersections, then you’re going a long way to managing traffic.” He added that his men cannot manage traffic situation without the cooperation of motorists. He, therefore, urged the motoring public to be law-abiding.

During the opening ceremony of the induction programme held for the newly recruited cadets of LASTMA, the general manager urged the new officers to always make civility their watchword when relating with members of the public. In his address, he said: “LASTMA officials are authorized officers whose actions are backed up by authority. Be civil and respectful to all motorists in your approach and dealings. The authority given you must not be abused. People flow with negativity faster than anything. If anyone disrespects you, just ignore and do your job. Work, talk and control traffic with authority.” He also harped on and cautioned against extortion and bribery.

The deployment of technology in monitoring traffic flow and apprehending offenders via the installation of traffic cameras at major road junctions is being looked into by LASTMA as one of the ways to effectively tackle traffic congestion. The continuous training and re-training of LASTMA officers will no doubt massively improve the operational efficiencies of the agency.

The time has come for the Lagos state traffic agency to beam its searchlight on traffic offenders by expediting action on the full enforcement of the existing traffic laws in the state. Traffic law violators should not only be made to face the full wrath of the law, their names, offences committed and the penalty given must be made available to the public via electronic and print media to serve as deterrent to other would-be offenders.

Not only will sanity return to Lagos roads if commercial tricycle operators become orderly and law-abiding, but also traffic congestion will ease to a large extent. It is also time the union leaders and heads of transport workers’ associations at the different levels devised means to tame and regulate the activities of their men by punishing any erring member.

Until the orientation of the motoring public changes and they see traffic law enforcement officers as those who are positioned to help them arrive their destinations safely and in good time, violent attacks on traffic officers might never end.

Our human nature is usually attracted to the familiar way of doing things. So we resist change in the process. Getting stuck to this familiar way of living indirectly makes progress elude us in the process. When certain traffic laws are made to guide or keep us in check as road users, we find it difficult to obey by embracing the change quickly. We resist and sometimes attack these traffic law enforcers because we assume they are mean and wicked.

FRSC Abia sector announces preparedness for Christmas operations(Opens in a new browser tab)

I urge Lagos State government as a matter of urgency to deploy arms-carrying security personnel (not traffic police officers who do not bear arms) to every junction or road intersection where LASTMA officers are found. These armed officers can tactically and professionally disarm or out-muscle anyone or group that attempts to harm unarmed traffic controllers on duty.

Vanguard