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The governors of Oyo and Lagos states, Seyi Makinde and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, present us two examples in leadership. One is humanist in approach while the other is brash and crude. The two, though young, have different mindsets about government’s relationship with the people and managing challenging situations. While Makinde comes with empathy, Sanwo-Olu comes with the military mindset that seeks to kill a fly with a sledge hammer, rarely thinking through solutions.
There is no doubting the fact that Lagos is chaotic. The chaos in Lagos is seen in house constructions, road building and transport management. However, given that Lagos lacks space enough for new road construction, the challenge becomes one of managing existing roads and ensuring that traffic is less a nightmare. Recall that the cover headline of a Daily Times publication of Wednesday, March 27, 1976, read, “Lagos Traffic Defies Solution.” That is an indication that solving the problem of traffic congestion in Lagos is age-long, and involves critical thinking, one that is given to those who think outside the box. Unfortunately, Sanwo-Olu does not come across as someone who thinks outside the box. I will explain why.
In Oyo State, Makinde was frontally challenged with solving the problem of road congestion caused by street traders and hawkers in parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. His approach disarmed many. His response was rather one of leading thought. He had to think through the mix to suggest a more rational approach towards solving the problem. He did not rush at pronouncing a ban on street trading, as some would have him do. Rather, he reasoned through why they are on the road trading and causing traffic lockdown. His response was: “Street trading will not be eradicated overnight. Some of them are breadwinners, and that is their main source of income. Our position is, we can’t chase them off the street without an alternative. Dealing with the issue of street trading requires careful planning and implementation by the government. The ones removed from Ojoo were moved to the Akinyele Trailer Park. At Scout Camp, we reduced the rent for stalls and ordered installation of electricity, toilets, etc. We have to be careful we don’t take away their means of livelihood without offering alternatives.”
As things now stand, whatever solution Makinde comes up with is likely to work because he would have engaged those causative factors of the problem in finding a lasting solution. In making those pronouncements, Makinde teaches that the military-style action of banning this and that has never solved any problem, especially those that are caused by human needs. To solve such social problems, a leader needs to engage with those who cause the problem and work with them towards meaningful solutions. That’s the approach Makinde adopted in Oyo. In Lagos, Sanwo-Olu preferred military action. But, fact is, it has never worked.
Sanwo-Olu’s predecessors, Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, also banned commercial motorcycle operators plying some highways in Lagos State. Like Sanwo-Olu, they confined such transporters to specific roads but they failed. Their approach did not work. It is doubtful that Sanwo-Olu attempted a study of why Fashola and Ambode failed to rein in those operators. If he did, perhaps he would have sought a more engaging approach through which his administration and those operators would jointly solve the problem. That way, the commercial motorcycle operators would also own the solutions as coming from them. But since he refused, his solution will be observed in defiance thus making enforcers of the ‘law’ happy because they will go home every day with bulging pockets and enhanced family economy.
Part of the reason Sanwo-Olu’s ban will fail is the growing mistrust of government, especially whenever it comes up the option of a ban. Sometimes, it is seen as an attempt to feather the nest of a very strategic ally by creating avenues for personal enrichment. Recall that Ambode banned refuse collectors in Lagos only to introduce one in which he was alleged to have some equity interest. Secondly, Lagos has become the confluence point of Nigeria. Each year, thousands of Nigerians, chastised by rising poverty in the rural areas, empty into Lagos in search of what to do. Each year, also, governments and corporate organisations sack workers. Majority of those laid off either remain in Lagos or relocate to Lagos in search of the next option. With mouths to feed, these Nigerians take up the option of commercial motorcycle transportation and Keke. The effect is what Sanwo-Olu believes he can stop with a ban. He first has to ban Nigerians from relocating to Lagos.
To solve this problem, Sanwo-Olu must borrow Makinde’s thinking cap. He must think through the problem as a social concern needing engagement with the operators because, for many workers, Okada and Keke are now the most convenient modes of transport. It is such that even the BRT created by Fashola is no longer an answer to traffic congestion. Sanwo-Olu must accept that quick fixes don’t solve problems. They are not sustainable. Sustainable solutions are not imposed on a people. They emanate from the people themselves. Once the people take ownership, they are more likely to observe the options. As humans, they are rather more likely to resist, than accept, solutions forced on them.
Sanwo-Olu must come down to meet with Keke operators and convince them on why they need not be on the expressway. For instance, the speed of Keke slows down every vehicle coming behind. But the operators are also taxpayers. They pay tax, in different forms, to government and are entitled to the use of the road built with their tax. However, you can only make them see reason why the speed of their Keke does not make it convenient for them to be on the expressway. It is the same with Okada. It is now the fastest mode of transport within Lagos. It is so well accepted such that some investors had become more creative with the introduction of Gokada, etc. Unknown to Sanwo-Olu, many Nigerians who fly into Lagos prefer to order a Gokada, like they do Uber, to take them to the Island and even Ajah. That ban affects them too. It has also destroyed investments and jobs created by those who created Gokada and the like. I do not have the stats, but I believe that there are many other people creatively thinking of better ways to make the best out of motorcycle transportation in Lagos. They are now at odds with Sanwo-Olu’s action.
I am not advocating that Keke and Okada must be allowed in Lagos. No! I rather advocate that governments must begin to think outside the box by effectively engaging the people in managing change because any decision that does not emanate from the people is most likely to be resisted. And this is because of the growing distrust of government. As it is said, once beaten, twice shy.
In easing traffic in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu must seek to also make Lagos roads vehicle-worthy, not just pointing at Okada and Keke. Even if Lagos roads are cleared of Keke and Okada, potholes and craters will still slow traffic and cause congestion. So, common sense dictates that fixing roads and making them vehicle-worthy is the first best way to solve the problem of traffic congestion in Lagos, and in all other states. Sanwo-Olu may have introduced new buses to ease the burden of his ban on Okada, but, again, those buses will be slowed down by bad roads and misbehavior of commercial bus drivers. Those cause more traffic congestion on the road than Okada. Until you get NURTW to get its members to observe road rules, stop and pick passengers at only designated bus stops, you won’t achieve any success in the effort to make Lagos roads, and roads in other states, congestion-free. Sanwo-Olu must also cause a re-orientation of LASTMA officials to bring them home to the understanding that they are to enforce road rules and ensure traffic flows, not to reinforce their pockets and permit the misdemeanor of commercial bus drivers.
