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A former commissioner for Transportation in Lagos State, Lanre Razak, yesterday, called on motorcycles (okada) and tricycles (keke) operators, recently restricted on major highways and bridges in Lagos State to look for other means of livelihood.
He said the restriction is in the best interest of Lagosians and advised the affected riders to seek alternative means of livelihood.
Razak also commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for the measures taken to ameliorate hardship faced by commuters over the ban, adding that an integrated rail, road and water modes of transportation offers the best and lasting solution to the lingering gridlock experienced in parts of the state.
Razak, however, disagreed with opponents of the ban, including Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and a governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, Jimmy Agbaje, who faulted the ban.
On the contrary, he said the restriction has more benefits than demerits, insisting that since the primary responsibility of any government is to safeguard lives and property, the governor had no other choice than banning okada and keke operators from some major highways and bridges as allowing the status quo would have further exposed the people to grave danger and result in the death of hundreds of lives of passengers and riders as well as increased criminality in the state.
In an interview, Razak who regretted the huge human loss from accidents in the past said: “Riding okada is a very big risk and we should thank the governor for restricting okada from moving in very high risk areas.
