In what appeared like an opinion poll conducted by The Guardian on March 26, 2019 with the above title, some drivers of the yellow buses on Lagos roads, popularly called Danfo, expressed objection to the proposed phasing out of the buses and introduction of more comfortable small and big luxury buses by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. In their view, the efforts and money being sunk into the transportation sector as part of the overall ambitious plan to make Lagos a truly mega city will not be worth it after all as it will not work.
From the views expressed, it is certain these drivers are not up to speed on the proposed plans for the transport sector and have, obviously, not plied Lagos roads in a while. Otherwise, their views, fears and reservations have been answered either in the media or physically through driving around the roads in Lagos. And before someone will say the drivers may not have access to the media, it is pertinent to mention that these plans have been enunciated on platforms where the drivers have access to and have full understanding of the language in use on daily basis. The Traffic Radio, indigenous language programmes on radio and television, local dialect newspapers and others have been running programmes and stories on this issue.
Anyone who has been on Lagos roads in the last one year plus would have noticed that the Lagos State Government has been deliberate in the plan for the transport sector through road expansion, creation of lay-by and ensuring maintenance and tarring. Let us look at just a few.
The bridge in Abule Egba, which is at over 90 per cent completion stage, is part of the plan to ensure the expansion of roads. For many of those who have wondered if the traffic between Iyana-Oworo and Ketu inward the old toll gate can ever be resolved, shock would have been the word with the slight expansion of the road at the usual critical traffic point that heads into Alapere area in the axis. Also for those who are used to Berger, it is certain not many could fathom there could be such a big space to create a huge bus park and foot bridge that even right now before completion and commissioning has eased the traffic in that area notorious for its crazy traffic. The massive investment in the construction of roads from Epe to Ikorodu, Epe to Victoria Island, bridges in Abule Egba, Berger, Lekki and other areas are also facts that cannot be ignored in attending to the fears of these drivers.
So, in terms of fears that the roads available in the state will not take the big buses to be introduced, that should be thrown into the thrash can. More over, in a city like London that does not even have the kind of space Lagos has, the ingenuity of the planners of the city has done a lot to sanitize the transport sector. That is what Governor Ambode is aiming for. No mega city in the true sense of the word has the kind of transportation system the drivers in the opinion poll conducted by The Guardian want.
On the affordability of the buses to be introduced, it was obvious from the views of the drivers that they have not paid attention to the facts and figures that have been put in the public space. Governor Ambode has outlined a plan to raise N100 billion bond for the purchase of these vehicles. As part of the plan, the Governor said the N29 billion to be received by the state from the refund of the Paris and London Clubs loan refund, would not be spent. Already, part of it had been received and saved. President Muhammadu Buhari only a fortnight ago directed the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Finance to release the second tranche. Governor Ambode said he will add N1 billion to it to make it N30 billion. It is from this bond of N100 billion that small and high capacity buses would be bought and made available for the project. It does not require the drivers sourcing for huge funds. More so, on their Danfo, they are not losing a kobo either. The government will be buying it off them. So where is the fear about affordability?
My biggest hunch is that these drivers want the old order retained at all cost. The old order that sees them violating traffic and driving rules at all cost. Indeed, what Lagos needs a now is a complete re-orientation of both private and commercial vehicles drivers in order to return sanity to the roads. Huge man hours spent in traffic will go if we accept this new proposal by the State Government and drivers adhere strictly to driving rules.
Since the launch of the campaign by our group, For a Better Lagos, the kind of response that has followed in terms of calls, contributions to the various social media platforms and the happenings around has shown that the majority of Lagosians want to opt out of the present crazy system that has led to the loss of lives and injuring a a lot of people on the road. One of the latest was the Danfo driver who rammed into bread sellers at the Ajegunle end of the state when approaching the old toll gate at Sango Ota in Ogun State.
Our plea is for you to follow this discussions and help to enlighten those who are yet to understand the benefits to be derived from the new scheme. Please follow: “Lagos Danfo and Okada” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to make your own contributions to this debate. There are also the Hash Tags: #StopLagosDanfoandOkada, #LagosDanfoandOkadaMustGo. After all, so many of us have been outside of this country and have seen how things are done. The lot falls on us and the media to guide this process through so as not to truncate a laudable proposal.
. Emerole, the Secretary of For a Better Lagos, writes from Lagos.
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