It is a little over a month ago that the ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles popularly known as okada within the city centre of the Federal Capital Territory, was imposed. Despite the hardship that has been experienced by a large number of commuters in the wake of the ban, many have borne it with equanimity largely because of the menace that okada riders constituted when they used to provide the bulk of transportation in the city.
Four weeks since they have been consigned to the periphery of the Territory, the general consensus is that the city is better off without them, the severe difficulties being encountered by commuters notwithstanding. Since the ban, traffic flows more smoothly, accidents are rarer, the city is neater and the police authorities have even reported that the crime rate in the FCT has declined significantly. Even in the face of the great difficulty some commuters are experiencing, many prefer to bear with some trekking to regretting the exit of okada which they remember only too well to be risky and very dangerous. While this generally rosy picture is being painted about the departure of the okada, it must be noted that while they were on the scene, they were a sort of necessary evil; they filled a void and served very useful purpose and that their departure has created a new vacuum that needs to be urgently filled lest necessity compels them to stage a surreptitious comeback. For sure, there is an unintended side-effect to the ban on okada. Their exit has led to a severe shortage of available means of transport within the city and between the city and satellite towns.
The FCT buses and green cabs and the buses and taxis owned by private operators are grossly inadequate. This reality has an adverse effect on social and economic intercourse, which the authorities of the FCT should try to urgently address. Before the ban, the FCT Administration had given indication that it had made arrangement with four private operators to bring in about 450 long buses each to serve the city and environs and fill the vacuum to be created by the exit of the okada. In the face of the present severe shortage, there is urgent need to fast-track that arrangement to ameliorate the suffering of commuters. Even if eventually there are enough buses and taxis, there will still exist another challenge and it has to do with proper routing to ensure that major roads, expressways, streets as well as feeder roads and alleys are well served. The authorities should see to it that the means of transport are not only available but that they are deployed in a manner that while they are adequate along the major routes, they are not inadequate on the feeder roads which are supposed to serve the major arteries of the metropolis. We salute the courage of the FCT Administration in insisting that certain minimum standards must be maintained to make the city liveable. The dogged determination to make Abuja a city Nigerians can be truly proud of is appreciated by some of those who are even victims of its sanitising war. It is that sense of mutual understanding that can help to achieve the dream of making the city one of the most beautiful in the world.