By Adekunle Adekoya

ONCE again, I have to use this medium to address an issue that I’m sure is of paramount importance to a lot of people, especially those who have reason to come into Lagos for one thing or the other and return to base. Needless to say, those who live and work in Lagos are the ones that feel directly the impact of any disruption in the city’s transportation system.

At issue is a strike notice given by a body, the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, last Friday. In a statement, the body threatened that its members will withdraw their services for seven days, starting Monday October 31, in protest against what the body calls “excessive extortion and harassment of drivers”.

Because the strike notice was issued last Friday, it is possible that a lot of us missed it; and emerging from the weekend to see petrol queues resurfacing, it is forgivable if the threat by the drivers’ body escaped attention, or did not get the attention it deserves. But I think that the state government and especially its organs in charge of public transportation ought to take a deep look at the grouse of the drivers, wade in, and see how to intervene on the side of the majority — ordinary Nigerians.

Besides, the ordinary Nigerian, economically reduced and diminished on all frontiers by the most inept administration in our history, does not need yet another disruption in the effort to make ends meet, especially as the year races towards its end with the spectre of a currency change looming.

Let me present, in part, JDWAN’s grouses as contained in a statement signed by its National Leader, Chairman, Secretary and Assistant Secretary; Akintade Abiodun, Opeyemi Suleiman, Ajimatanarareje Feyisayo, and Taofeek Hassan respectively.

They demanded as follows:

1.No to charging drivers three passengers money (sic) after loading in parks or garages, we are demanding it should be one passenger’s money per bus.

2. We demand that only Lagos State Government ticket should be the only ticket in Lagos, others e.g Lagos State parks & garages management, Lagos State care taker committee are not acceptable to all drivers in Lagos State.

3. We kick against paying motor park thugs at every bus stop. All illegal money paid after we leave the garages and parks should be abolished immediately.

4.Harassment by law enforcement agencies & intimidation with guns, Cutlass, broken bottles security agents must end immediately. They collaborate and hire thugs to attack and extort us every day without violating any law.

 5.We have lesser bus-stops for commercial vehicles. Most bust stops in Lagos are strictly assigned officially to brt buses only and we get arrested for dropping off passengers at existing bus stops which are known to commuters as official bus stops for decades. We demand that the Lagos State government should provide official bus stops in each community to avoid incessant arrests and stress for commuters who complain of having to trek several kilometres back to their bus stops.

The body of drivers added that “failure to adhere to these demands will only attract more protest and total boycott. JDWAN is resolute in pursuing justice by all legitimate and peaceful means available.”

The statement also noted thus: “Lagos drivers also pay for entertainment, security, unit chairman’s food and many other ridiculous levy (sic) with threat of violence at any slight refusal by the drivers.

“This is the exact case of the popular parlance on exploitation of labourers: “baboon dey work and monkey dey chop”. Lagos commercial drivers work like elephants and eat like ants while the urchins under the aegis of motor park workers take a large chunk of our earnings. We can hardly fulfil our contractual obligations with our business partners, feed our family or afford maintenance or repair of our vehicles.”

Well, I have always had the feeling that something will have to give, sooner or later, when the Lagos Parks & Garages Authority, a creation of the state government started operation. Roadblocks started emerging on our roads within the city, with agents of the authority stopping vehicles, mostly trucks and demanding money from them.

What cannot be understood is when roads, including expressways, became parks and garages. First, they started with container trucks, included tankers, and now, they have added trucks carrying carbonated soft drinks. Gradually, they’ll get to SUVs, and then, cars. By that time, we would all have gotten to where we don’t want to be by inaction.

Despite the fact that this is election season and our leaders are busy with getting elected or re-elected, I really do hope that those concerned are monitoring their dockets, and will take the necessary action to avoid another disruption as we all try to make sense of the economy. TGIF!