LANRE ADEWOLE and BOLA BADMUS dig into factors that will shape the outcome of governorship election in Nigeria’s most populated state.
Garagara won ti poju. Won a ma se bi eni wipe Olorun ni won, nitori agbara ti gomina gbe wo won,” leader of a popular artisan community in Kosofe Local Government (identity of exact location concealed for fear of retribution) said angrily when Saturday Tribune sought his view on the factors that would determine next week’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State as new governors are elected in about 30 states.
Alhaji, as he is popularly known, was venting over Lagos State Task Force, whose activities have now become a hot-button subject among the electorate in the state.
Speaking in Yoruba language, Alhaji, who has over 130 people in different callings deferring to his unofficial leadership of the gathering, including young men, middle-aged veteran artisans and women running makeshift bukateria to cater to the culinary needs of the assemblage, simply wrote off the chances of the ruling party and the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in the election.
Save for another elder of the community, who agreed with the assessment and sentiment of his fellow leader but wished that the ruling party would retain the state in order not to further shame the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, practically all those on grounds during the conduct of a survey by Saturday Tribune, felt the ruling party no longer deserved their votes.
Alhaji couldn’t fathom why the state governor would empower the Task Force to be allegedly brutal in their relationship with the residents of the state. “They behave like gods,” he said, referring in Yoruba to officials of the Task Force on transport and environmental matters.
Alhaji and his group were obviously reacting to the numerous raids conducted on their domain, which also has a car wash arena and standing on a long stretch of land belonging to the Federal Government, being a step-down of a federal road.
“They come here regularly to raid and extort us and when negotiating with us, they will be behaving as if they are gods. They may even leave you unattended to (demonstrating how the officials allegedly conduct themselves in arrogant ways) and wear you out before telling you their demands,” Alhaji added.
The young men around corroborated the alleged regular extortion, noting that customers’ vehicles were regularly towed to the agency’s Alausa office and at different times, they would have to spend as much as N70,000 to recover expensive cars. Most of the artisans claimed that they voted for Tinubu during the presidential election.
Tasking Sanwo-Olu?
The sentiment is widespread in the state. When asked why they were skeptical about voting for Governor Sanwo-Olu after rewarding his godfather with their votes, they were unanimous in their belief that the Task Force’s alleged cruelty was the making of the governor because it wasn’t so under his predecessor, Akinwumi Ambode, who was also helped to power by Tinubu.
A panel beater whose nickname was Water reminisced: “During Ambode’s time, they (the Task Force officials) would show you respect even when you were wrong. The governor (Ambode) was clear with them, he didn’t want any nonsense.”
Saturday Tribune launched the survey to find out if artisans in the state, who are in tens of thousands, are retaining their loyalty to the ruling party, considering that the exit poll of the presidential election showed that they formed the bedrock of votes received by the ruling party and the president-elect, though Tinubu and the APC still lost the state to Labour Party with more than 10,000 votes.
At another artisan community in the Shangisha area, opinions were divided over who should be voted among the trio of Sanwo-Olu, Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Viviour and Jide Adeniran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Going by the intensity of the debate at this particular location, where petty traders also got involved, it seemed a straight battle between Sanwo-Olu and Rhodes-Viviour. The surname of the latter also seems to be working against him among the uninformed discussants who believed that his surname possibly has its origin in South-East, considering that the mother is Igbo.
But the anger is mostly against Sanwo-Olu and how he allegedly allowed officials of Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) to be extorting motorists and transporters in the state.
A driver who came around to the workshop claimed his younger brother, a LASTMA official, bought a “big car” soon after he joined the outfit, wondering if his salary was enough for such luxury, considering that he was new in the system.
A middle-aged panel beater quickly interjected: “He must have built a house before even buying the car you are talking about.” The panel beater claimed that most of the middle-cadre officials of the agency participate in daily contribution of large sums of money believed to be proceeds of extortion.
They narrated various stories of harassment by LASTMA officials in Oshodi and other areas of the state where there are popular markets and parks.
The gathering eulogised former governor Ambode, alleging that the government was taking the people of the state for granted because “they think they can’t lose.”
The agitated discussants chorused: “They are afraid because they lost the presidential election in the state. Now Sanwo-Olu ordered the release of all impounded vehicles, free of penalty, to the owners. On Election Day (next weekend), they are going to lose.”
The panel beater, who appeared sufficiently educated to understand politics and policies of the state government, also wished for the dislodging of the ruling party.
Why we waived fine for impounded vehicles –Govt
The state government said it decided to release impounded vehicles to their owners free of charge due to the cash crunch that has hit the nation following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) naira redesign policy.
The free release, which commenced last Saturday, is reportedly to scale up the palliative measure introduced by Governor Sanwo-Olu three weeks ago to cushion the effects of the cash crunch on the populace.
The state Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, who made this known, said: “When you look at what the governor proposed, especially during the cash crunch period, we have reduced public transport fare by 50 percent. So, when you go on our BRTs and all the Lagos State-funded public transport, including LagRide, we have reduced the fare by 50 percent just to alleviate the suffering of our people.
“Moving away from transport, we have opened up food banks in certain areas. So, we are beginning to give out palliatives just to ensure that people get through this cash crunch period.
“We are happy that APC won at the national level. And we are beginning to see some of these policies reversed. So, we are hoping that in a short time, life will return to normal but in terms of public transport, I think we have reduced fare by 50 percent.
“Mind you, that does not include major crimes committed. These are just minor traffic offences that have been committed in Lagos and this is showing empathy and trying to understand that look, we understand how difficult it has been and it is not a reason for us to stop you from making ends meet and so hence the governor’s magnanimity.
“All those who have committed crimes within that period should come and pick up their cars, that doesn’t mean people should continue to offend and so right now, what we are doing is to caution them not to commit the offence again.
“After the cash crunch is over, we will make arrests. What we are doing right now is educating people, correcting them to make sure that they don’t commit an offence again, but if you commit a major crime, the law has to take its course.”
Viral video stirs govt
Many residents of the state, however, believed that the freebie from the state governor was due to the viral video showing adults crying like children as their impounded vehicles were being auctioned after permanent forfeiture to the state government.
The video, which set the internet on fire, got many commentators condemning the state government and querying why the administration should be given further grace in power.
In the video, vehicle owners, male and female, were seen crying as the legal process of taking their vehicles permanently away from them was being conducted. They were also seen being restrained by uniformed security men, from coming close to those handling the forfeiture procedure, as they pleaded in tears.
The emotional video had a voiceover querying why the Sanwo-Olu administration should stay in office beyond May 29.
Beyond the complaints about the activities of state-owned law enforcement agencies, another issue raised by some road users is the refusal of the management of motor parks and garages in the state, led by Musiliu Akinsanya, to allow private cars park inside any of the garages under its purview.
Many drivers are incensed by the directive of the agency that only commercial buses could use the parks and garages it manages.
A Saturday Tribune correspondent also reported that since the presidential election was lost by the ruling party in the state, okada riders have begun to return to banned routes without being arrested by agents of the state.
On CMD Road, where okada operations were outlawed last year, a number of operators were seen at the junction leading to DSS office. Although LASTMA officials are always stationed at the junction to control traffic, it is now as if they have been asked to turn a blind eye, which was probably what the Commissioner for Transport meant when he said the state government didn’t want to stop anyone from earning a living at a time like this.
A public analyst, Layi Akinwunmi, said only the gullible would fall for the antics of the state government, noting that the draconian laws being varied now would return once the election is over and the ruling party secures a second term.
Our story –LASTMA
When Saturday Tribune reached out to LASTMA, its spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq, claimed that impersonators were giving the agency a bad name.
Adebayo, who is the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment, said: “In the course of managing and controlling traffic, you will have some recalcitrant motorists who might not want to obey traffic laws or traffic officers, and that is when the word ‘enforcement’ came into traffic management. The agency has been doing wonderfully in traffic management and control across Lagos and that is why our services are being requested for by private organisations and individuals.
“On the issue of extortion, we have to be very careful because we have many impersonators wearing LASTMA uniform in every nook and cranny. I must tell you that the agency, in the last six months, has arrested and prosecuted not no fewer than 15 impersonators who had collected large sums of money from motorists.
“The agency has, at different forums and through jingles/documentaries, warned motorists to stop giving money to any enforcement officers that accost them for contravening any section of the traffic laws. Rather, they should request for what we call a ‘referral notice’.
“The agency does not indulge any officers as anyone caught for any unethical behaviour will face disciplinary actions as stipulated in the Public Service Rules.”
Adebayo added, “LASTMA, at different times, published its hotlines for motorists who are having issues with any officer to call for immediate intervention of the management. I make bold to say that in the last six months, the agency has intervened in not less than 89 different traffic cases in which most complainants/callers claimed ignorance of traffic offences committed.
“I am not saying that we don’t have bad eggs but members of the public must stop the bad habit of giving enforcement officers money, which means they admit in principle to offences for which they have been charged. At LASTMA, we don’t collect cash. Rather, we issue a ‘referral notice’ to traffic offenders for them to appear before the Lagos Environmental and Special Offences (Mobile) Court as we cannot be a judge in our own case.
“It is at the level of the ‘Lagos Mobile Court’ that fines to be paid to the government are pronounced and convicted offenders pay through accredited banks.
“I want to tell you that in the palace of corruption, both the giver and taker are liable.
“Also, the agency has a discipline unit and a provost marshal that monitor activities of officers at their various zones.
“The General Manager, Mr Bolaji Oreagba, does not tolerate indiscipline as he was one of the pioneer staff members of the agency who have worked and are still working to move the agency to enviable heights.”
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