Tricycles, popularly called Keke
Marwa in Lagos, are fast becoming a veritable means of transporation in
the Federal Capital Territory, writes Olusola Fabiyi
In India, tricycles play some key roles
in transportation of people and goods. In fact, that is the country
where they are manufactured.
But in what could be termed ‘borrowed
idea,’ a former military governor of Lagos State, Mohammed Marwa, who
was then a colonel, introduced the three-legged machine to compliment
the transportation system.
Being the pioneer and the initiator of the new form of transportation, Lagosians named the tricycle after him.
Before his assumption of office as the
administrator, Nigerians were not used to tricycles. The closest avenue
some of them might have come across it was probably in Indian movies.
But having studied the transportation bedlam in the ‘Centre of
Excellence’, Marwa, who retired as a Brigadier-General, decided to do
something about it.
It was a revolution that was not known
even outside the state. Patiently, people waited and watched to see if
the programme would succeed. A lot of sensitisation was done and Lagosians embraced it. Today, Keke Marwa is a popular means of transportation in the state.
That revolution is fast spreading like
the proverbial harmattan bush fire. In Abuja, the Federal Capital
Territory, its residents are now getting familiar with tricycles. But
unlike in Lagos, it is known as Keke NAPEP here. NAPEP, which
stands for the National Poverty Eradication Programme, was introduced by
the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was aimed at
providing jobs for the teeming jobless youths roaming the streets of the
country in search of white-collar jobs.
Then that objective was not met as
residents shunned the tricycles and opted for motorcycles. The reason
for this was simple. It was cheaper to purchase the latter.
Mr. Mohammed Isa, a mechanic in Kurudu,
one of the satellite towns in the city, says the desire of most of the
youths to use motorcycles instead of the tricycles was responsible.
He said, “Purchasing a motorcycle is
cheaper than buying a tricycle. While a standard motorcycle costs about
N80,000, you may need up to N250,000 to get the tricycle. Also, except
there is rain, most commuters prefer motorcycles because they are fast
and have the ability to manoeuvre their ways even in a very serious
traffic.
“Moreover, they would take you to your
doorsteps unlike the tricycles that would only stop you on the road,
just like the normal taxis or (Araba) commercial buses.”
What Isa did not add is the incessant
accidents that are associated with motorcycles. Not only that. A
majority of the motorcycles on Abuja roads are not registered while the
cyclists are not trained.
These might have prompted the former
minister in charge of the territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to wield the
sledge hammer by banning them from the metropolis.
The decision, which was not taken
seriously by the operators and the general public, however, became
effective with the assistance of law enforcement agents, who were not
only seizing motorcycles seen on the roads, but were also destroying
them.
That forced the operators to beat a
retreat. While some of them moved their operations out of Abuja, others
restricted their work schedule to the satellite towns.
Some even relocated to their villages.
Others sold their motorcycles, looked for extra money to add to the
proceeds and purchased commercial buses. Mr. Obinna Iloh was one of
them.
He said, “It was not easy when we were
driven out of the town to the villages. I have a wife, who is
unemployed, and two sisters, who are in school. I needed to feed them.
Yet, I didn’t want to go into crime.
“What I did was to go to my hometown in
Anambra State, spoke with my mother, who helped me to get the money she
was saving with a credit society she belongs to at home.
“I added the money to the one I got from
the sale of my motorcycle, plus the little I saved. I was able to buy
one Mitsubishi bus. With that, I bounced back to life.”
It was a business that thrived when it
lasted. But suddenly, government again came with another policy that
shocked the operators and the residents. While the policy of banning the
motorcycles from the metropolis was hailed and appreciated, it was with
mixed feelings that they received the plan by the regime of the current
Minister of the FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed, when it announced that
commercial buses would be stopped from operating within the metropolis.
The first day the government planned to
enforce the directive, it was met with stiff resistance by the
commercial bus drivers. Many residents also cried for help as they were
stranded at the major bus stops. In fact, drivers of commercial buses
became violent as they destroyed the luxury buses, which replaced their
buses.
A majority of the luxury buses are from
those the administration got from the Federal Government to cushion the
effect of the increase in petroleum price.
Although government bowed to pressure
and postponed its implementation then, it is in full swing now. No
green-painted commercial bus is allowed in the metropolis again. The
result of this is the phenomenal increase in the number of tricycles in
the city.
Tricycles have not only become an
alternative means of transportation that is popularly accepted by the
common man in Abuja, even the middle class is also embracing it. From
Utako to Asokoro;Garki to Karu; from Nyanyan to Kurudu, the
green-painted tricycles are a delight to see as they manoeuvre the
roads. Each of them carries only three passengers.
Their relatively low fares they charge,
compared to taxis, make them the preferred choice of many commuters.
While many taxis charge a minimum of N200 per drop, tricycles still
collect as little as N50 per passenger.
Even the operators are happy with what
comes into their pocket each day. Though they claim they are happy the
way they are restricted from plying some routes, they nevertheless
express gratitude to the government “for allowing us to operate without
molestation.”
One of the operators at Garki Market,
Mallam Inuwa Mohammed, who was an okada rider before, said, “I’m happy
with what is happening to me now. When I was riding a motorcycle, police
and civil defence operatives, including vehicle inspection officers,
used to harass us. They would ambush us; collect our money for no
reason. They would say we should go and get helmets. When we did, they
would say it was fake. They would seize it. They must collect roja
(money) from us. But now, nobody disturbs us. The only problem we are
encountering is the issue of routes, as we are not allowed to ply some
major routes.”
If that is the only dilemma Mohammed and
his friends are facing, it may be protracted. This is because officials
of the Transport Department of the FCT say the authority is not in a
hurry to add more routes to the ones already allotted to them. A member
of staff, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity,
said government was still studying the activities of the operators
before deciding on what to do.
“We are monitoring their activities. We
want to know what they are doing with the routes allocated to them.
Besides, we are also looking at the security and social implication of
giving them more routes,” the officials said.
Even with the limited routes, commuters are cheerful commuting in Keke Marwa, especially now that the rains are here.
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