By Magnus Eze, Obi Okwe, Nsisong Morgan and Chimagoziwom Iwunamara
When the Federal Government increased the pump price of fuel from N86 per litre to N145, last year, the traditional ruler of Nawfia in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, had asked Nigerians to change their lifestyle. He asked them to start riding bicycles.
“Nigerians should be encouraged to start riding bicycles and bicycle allowances should be re-introduced, particularly for civil servants,” he stated.
The monarch’s recommendation has received the nod of the Federal Government as Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, last week disclosed that bicycles may soon be introduced as one of the means of transportation beginning with the city centre of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking to newsmen in Sokoto, at the just-concluded 15th National Council on Transportation (NCT) in the state, the minister said it was part of the resolutions taken by the council.
The new policy, according to him, is geared towards reducing the stress commuters go through, explaining that the choice of the FCT as the pilot edition of the project was because the city roads have the facilities required to operate efficient bicycle riding as means of transportation.
“We approved that we should do a pilot project on bicycle riding in FCT because it is the only state with facilities for bicycle riding. Other states would have to construct such facilities before it could be introduced there. The facilities are the ones that will protect them on the road because some motorists are not patient with them. If you check all the roads in Abuja there are lanes for bicycles. The introduction means that anybody who wants to go on bicycle can do so.
“You may ask why bicycle but don’t forget that it is there in China, in UK, Spain and many other countries. The benefit is that it is an investment first and secondly it will help in the exercise and thirdly it will reduce the number of passengers jostling for motor vehicles. It will be within the city, not outside the city,” he said.
Mixed reactions trail new policy
Expectedly, mixed reactions greeted the pronouncement.
A bicycle owner in Area 1, Garki; Jasper Nyam said: “I bought a bicycle before, used to ride it, but I stopped. With the new policy, I’m going back to riding bicycles. I need no fuel. Cycling doesn’t know traffic. There is not much maintenance to make, and I’ll still be able to go to anywhere I’m going to, but I won’t do long distances.”
Another respondent, who gave his name as Benson urged government to restrict bicycle operation to places outside the metropolis, like Dutse, Lugbe and Mpape; if it must be introduced “to avoid the likely problems.”
For Mrs Iho, a businesswoman, the idea must have come from a myopic mind. She said government should provide the bicycles for people in the rural areas not Abuja.
An entrepreneur at Area 3 shopping mall, Garki, Ugochukwu Udofor would not support the new policy, especially because of the risk factor and the Abuja hot weather.
Even as he said bicycle was not the solution to traffic gridlocks in parts of the FCT, he advised government to open up more roads, adding that riding bicycle should be for workouts not transportation in the nation’s capital.
A civil servant at the Federal Secretariat, Megcindy Odey, also expressed concern. “Are you serious? People who live in the outskirts of the city cannot ride bicycles to work; it is too far. And it is stressful. I cannot ride bicycle from Zuba to the federal secretariat every day. Has the minister checked the risk implication for people to ride bicycle in the early hours of the morning to work? Secondly, if that is implemented, the rate of accident will increase, taking into cognizance the recklessness of most drivers. Instead of introducing bicycle, the government should allow tricycle operators to ply every part of Abuja.”
But Musa Hafiz, a tailor, instead would want government to develop the rail system within the city and beyond to boost transportation in and out of the FCT.
“The best thing the government can do is to focus on the completion and smooth operation of the railway system because introducing the bicycle policy may not last. Or the government should regulate transport fare.”
As for Tunde Balogun, an electrician, the whole idea is laughable.
“People are finding it difficult to feed and government is talking about the introduction of bicycle. How many people can purchase bicycle in this hard time considering the high exchange rate? Government should focus on sometime more realistic and allow fictional approach to rest.”
This is not the first time government would contemplate introducing bicycle riding as a means of transport in the cities.
In 2001, the late Chief Ojo Maduekwe as minister of transport had advocated a greater use of bicycles in a bid to reduce gridlock on the roads.
He tried to live by example, so on Wednesday, July 18, 2001, while he was cycling to attend the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, two buses knocked him into a ditch.
That dealt a deadly blow on his advocacy for the use of bicycles.