BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

VIOLATORS of the new traffic law in Lagos State may be in for a tougher time as the General Officer Commanding  81 Division of the Nigeria Army in Lagos, Major General Kenneth Minimah, has promised that the military would not only conform but would also assist in enforcing the law.

In recent time, there has been clampdown on commercial motorcyclists, popularly called “Okada,” as many of their bikes seized were crushed, sealing any hope of retrieval.

Over 3,000 seized motorcycles in the last two months had been destroyed by men of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences, headed by Superintendent of Police, SUPOL, Bayo Sulaimon.

Last week, a photo journalist with The Nation Newspapers, attached to State House, was accosted at the intersection of Governor’s Road, Alausa while on his personal bike on his way to the office after the close of work by men of the special taskforce.

All entreaties to the armed policemen fell on deaf ears as they insisted that the bike must be confiscated as the route is one of the restricted areas in the road traffic law. All efforts to get the bike released as at press time were unsuccessful.

A similar fate befell a dispatch rider of National Mirror Newspapers, whose bike was impounded over violation of the traffic law.

Ditto to two dispatch riders working with the office of Chief of Staff, COS, to Governor Babatunde Fashola. According to the enforcers, “‘the law is no respecter of class, status, group; everyone is subject to the law.”

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (right), discussing with General Officer Commanding 81 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Kenneth Minimah during an interactive session with heads of Army formations and senior Army officers on the new Lagos Road Traffic Law at the 81 Division Nigerian Army, Auditorium, Onikan, Lagos.

Speaking after listening to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state, at an interactive session with senior Army officers and heads of army formations in Lagos on the new Road Traffic law at the 81 Division Auditorium, Onikan, Minimah, said there was no reason the new traffic law should not work.

He asserted that the military formations would go beyond obeying the law and take part in enforcing it since it was a legitimate law of the state that had passed through the necessary processes before becoming law.

Addressing the gathering, Fashola, noted that everyone must realize that roads are shared assets and that everyone is expected to play their individual roles in managing the usage.

Noting that road mishaps were bound to happen, the governor  stressed that most accidents happen because  people do not measure the consequences of some of the actions they take on the road in terms of observing the rules.

He urged the senior army officers and heads of army formations to be part of a concerted effort to promote a culture of safety and healthy commuting on the roads.

The Governor recalled that as a youngster, he took public buses on trips round the state, noting that many of the military officers present would hesitate to allow their children to ride in such public buses now for safety reasons.

He said in several democracies worldwide, the Military had been responsible for fashioning democracy citing the example of George Washington, who was formerly a soldier before becoming an elected President.

Fashola said even in Nigeria, the Military gave the nation its present democracy and stressed that there was need to have a sustained partnership to keep the democratic experience going as it could only happen in a situation where the rule of law prevailed.

Speaking on Okada, Fashola said several people had lost their lives, limbs, arms or become maimed through the reckless activities of Okada operators.

He said what the new traffic law prescribed was that okada should not ply the major highways like Lagos Badagry Expressway, Third Mainland Bridge, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road and selected roads and bridges in the state.

Since okada and vehicles are mechanized devices and not toys, the operators are required to go to driving schools for proper certification before they could be allowed to use such vehicles to convey passengers.

The new law, according to Fashola allows government to set alcohol threshold for drivers so that they can take the people to their various destinations safely.

Prominent among those who were present at the interactive session were Commissioner for Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa; General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Engr Babatunde Edu; Senior Special Assistant on Security to the Governor, Major Tunde Panox; Chief of Staff in the 81 Division, Brigadier General Ebenezer Oyefolu; Commanding officers, Directors in various army formations, principal staff officers and other senior army officers.