There is no doubt that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu government underrated the effects and attendant drawback of the ban on Okada and tricycle and the controversy it has generated in the past few days. And even though the ban was seen as not a bad idea, many have said the government should have put in place measures to ameliorate suffering people would go through.
But thanks to former governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who was pragmatic enough to envision how to solve the perennial traffic problem in the state, Sanwo-Olu was able to order some buses, from the hundreds bought by the former governor before he left office.
Hear Ambode when he was justifying the purchase of the buses early last year: “What has happened is that government has gone ahead to procure these buses using its funds and the buses are being owned by a government company called Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL).
“By the time you put these buses on the road, it will create jobs for drivers, engineers, technicians, and so on, thereby growing the economy of Lagos coming from the transport sector in addition to 100 bus stops being constructed simultaneously across the State with attendant positive impact on the economy. So, the idea is create jobs, grow the economy, make the city to be globally competitive and then make life comfortable for the people.”
Above were the exact words of Ambode, precisely on January 9, 2019.
Today, barely a year after, not many saw it coming that Ambode’s prognosis for redefining public transportation system in the State, which the phony House of Assembly, apparently acting the script of ‘oga at the top’ had called for his head, would be justified.
Besides, not only has the present administration converted 35 of the buses for the staff of the State Civil Service, the governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu this week announced that 65 of the high capacity buses will be rolled out as part of palliative measures to the ban of commercial motorcycles and tricycles in parts of the State, which presently is biting hard on commuters leaving many no other option but to trek long distances to their various destinations.
The ban has in no small way thrown the State into chaos with thousands of jobs lost, pockets of riots that has claimed lives as well as the potential security risks in the coming weeks and months. It has indeed become the biggest test of Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
It is, therefore, heartwarming that the government is finding solace in the buses it once dragged Ambode to court for.
Tagged the Bus Reform Initiative, Ambode’s plan was to inject 5,000 new buses to the public transport system, while other components such as modern bus terminals, bus depots, bus stops and segregated laybys were already springing up in strategic locations across the State.
The initiative, Ambode had said times without number was conceived to redefine public transportation in the State with the view to make the State globally competitive.
No prize guessing who is having the last laugh now.
Henry Tewogbade, a lawyer lives in Epe