Benin city, Edo State, Nigeria – By Oluwafemi Oladipo
When Edo state Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, announced the ban of commercial motorcycle operations popularly called ‘’Okada’’ in some areas of the state following security concerns, the excruciating impact of the decision on the lives of majority of ordinary people of the state knew no bounds.
Less than five days was given by the government for the commercial motorcycle operators to look for alternative sources of livelihood as the ban took effect on June 17, 2013. As for commuters, used to Okada rides they were to adjust accordingly with heavy sacrifice.
Not only were social and economic activities greatly affected in the aftermath of such decision, but its ripple effect reverberated across other aspects of the people’s lives.
On the one side, medical personnel at the various health facilities in the state which hitherto were being overwhelmed by the daily influx of victims of horrendous ‘’Okada-related accidents heaved a sigh of relief. Many victims of Okada-related accidents never made it alive to the hospital.
Also, several private vehicle owners applauded the government decision. For them, government’s action though overdue was a welcome relief as they would no longer have to contend with the rascally commercial motorcycle operators who had been alleged to have been responsible for most accidents and caused unquantifiable amount of damages to vehicles on various roads.
Most of these riders usually resort to pleading or employ such other methods as viable to evade paying cost of repairs of damaged vehicles. Since most times they could not afford the cost of repair to damaged vehicles, the owners of such vehicles would usually bear the cost.
The case of those physically challenged that depended on these commercial motorcycle operators to commute from one place to the other was better imagined.
For the commercial motorcycle operators it was more than a trying time, it was harrowing. While some had their family and social lives disrupted as a result of their inability to cope with the negative financial situation brought upon them by the government ban, others who were too old or frail to work as unskilled labor developed nervous breakdown and had to relocate to their respective villages.
The strong ones amongst them however were able to adjust by either going into farming or switched to such other menial jobs to keep bodies and souls together.
At the extreme were those who died in one circumstances or the other and those that resorted to crime.
Edo state government had promised immediate succor for the commercial bike operators and commuters to mitigate the hardship occasioned by the sudden ban, but it was not until sometimes in the second quarter of 2014 that a semblance of such promise began to be packaged as seen in the government-financed arrangement with a leasing company called C&I.
The government’s plan, born out of good intention was to make it easier for affected Okada riders to acquire commercial motor vehicles through financing, thereby easing the problem of transportation in the state.
About two months earlier, an agreement between Ikpoba Okha local government and C&I had led to the supply of over 200 units of Suzuki Alto cars in support of the state government promise to provide cheap and affordable vehicles for the unemployed commercial motorcycle riders.
At the unveiling and launch of the cars at the headquarters of the council, its chairman, Mrs. Itohan Osahon, announced that the council’s gesture was their own way of ameliorating the hardship faced by out-of-job commercial motorcycle riders in the locality.
The Ikpoba Okha local government council financed deal with C&I put the unit cost of each Suzuki Alto at about N1.5m while beneficiaries, after satisfying all administrative requirements including the payment of N48,700 deposit were to begin a daily payment of N1,500 spread over a period of 36 months or 3 years.
However, at the launch of the state government version of this program later on at the state house, no inking was given to the beneficiaries about variation in the financing arrangement between the state government and C&I Leasing.
Rather, during the launch of the Suzuki Alto cars Governor Adams Oshiomhole, not only promised to subsidize the cost of the vehicles by 15% for beneficiaries, but mentioned the unit cost of each car in his address.
He also promised to ensure that Sunday was made free for beneficiaries to take their families to church and rest, and as such beneficiaries would be relieved of any payment towards their cars on such day.
But after the fanfares and ceremonies associated with the unveiling and launch of the 300 units of Suzuki Alto cars by the governor the reality of the state-financed arrangement with C&I soon became obvious to beneficiaries as the debilitating daily payment agreement has now become an albatross around their necks.
Unlike their counterpart in Ikpoba Okha and other council areas where this scheme is operating the beneficiaries of the state government financed Suzuki Alto cars are now being made to pay a daily rental fee of N3, 000 by C&I Leasing.
According to the former commercial motorcycle riders, failure to do so means forfeiture of all prior payments and seizure of cars. However, the former commercial bike riders who are now beneficiaries of the state government-financed taxi-cabs do not believe that Governor Adams Oshiomhole is aware of their plights. As a result they have decided to march en-mass to the Government House to make their complaints against C&I Leasing known to Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
A beneficiary of the state government /C&I Leasing arrangement, Prince Eweka, who chose to use only his last name, had this to say of C&I:
‘’The problem we have now is this company. Governor Adams Oshiomhole flagged off these vehicles at N1.5m. We were to pay N1,500 daily over a period of 3 years but C&I Leasing has brought the daily payments to N3,000. We buy fuel of about N1,500 and getting that N1,500 daily payment is difficult enough talk-less of N3,000.”
“Ask my colleagues here. The methods being employed by C&I to ensure beneficiaries keep to the terms of the agreement is so harsh and akin to slavery that in the course of the tension to meet up some of the taxi-cabs drivers have crashed their cars’’.
He said he was in the Government House when Governor Adams Oshiomhole directed five of them to meet with Commissioner for Transport and another government official to discuss.
Prince Eweka said after the discussion they promised to reach them in three days but up until now these government officials have not made true their promise.
It is the belief of the taxi-cabs beneficiaries that all that was discussed at that occasion never reached the governor.
Julius Odibo, another Comrade taxi-cab beneficiary, said he was supposed to benefit from the Ikpoba Okha taxi-cab program but felt it was too expensive for him at a daily payment rate of N1, 500.
So when the state government announced its own scheme he borrowed N60, 000 in order to be a part of the Oshiomhole arrangement.
“At the beginning we were exempt from making payments on Sunday as it was designated a no working day. But today, the opposite is the case.”
As at now we no longer go to church on Sunday but work in other to meet up with the harsh conditions placed on us by C&I Leasing. ‘’C&I Leasing says N3, 000 for 3 years, amounting to N2.7m for the entire life span of the contract.
Another curious issue noticed in the agreement document obtained by this reporter indicated that C&I Leasing will provide comprehensive insurance coverage throughout the lease period of 36 months for each Comrade taxi-cab.
However, a WAPIC insurance certificate {number withheld] with effective date of 22/04/2014 and issued to a beneficiary [name withheld] showed date of expiration of insurance as 21/07/2014.
What in essence this meant is that WAPIC insurance in connivance with C&I Leasing issued a comprehensive insurance coverage for 3 months on each unit of Suzuki Alto car leased to Comrade taxi-cab lessee instead of the promised coverage of 36 months.
Apart from complaint of nervous breakdown amongst drivers, occasioned by what they term the manner of pressure employed by C&I Leasing, the beneficiaries also complained of extortion by War Against Indiscipline [WAI] and Edo state Transport Management Agency [EDSTMA] personnel most especially around the King’s Square area of Benin City.
They alleged that officials of these state government institutions usually single them out of other cars packed in the same place for molestations. ‘’They tow our cars to their office where as much as N15, 000 is sometimes paid to claim them back vehicles, they alleged.
Edo state Commissioner for Transport, Honorable Orobosa Omo-Ojo has reacted to the allegations that he and another government official instructed by Governor Adams Oshiomhole to discuss with five representatives of the comrade cab operators did not pass along to the governor the conclusion of their meeting.
The commissioner, while responding to a text message sent to him by Alltimepost.com correspondent in Benin challenged them to say what the governor asked them to discuss with him and the other government official they mentioned, saying there was no time such instruction was given by the governor.
He said the comrade taxi-cab operators have to understand that the state government only assisted in facilitating the transaction between them and C & I Leasing and government should not now be blackmailed by it.
This is a business transaction between the comrade taxi-cab operators and C & I Leasing which they voluntarily went into, continued Orobosa, “and even though the state government promised to do something for them to reduce the cost of the lease financing that is not enough for them to see it as an avenue to arm twist government into rash decision making.”
At the launch of the 300 Suzuki Alto, the commissioner conceded, that Governor Adams Oshiomhole actually promised that government would assist would-be beneficiaries with a 15% subsidy to reduce the financial load of repayments however they have to realize that the process may take some time.
Government is not unaware of their plights, he said, as everything is being done to bring some succor into the lease agreement process but the operators have to realize that out of the several millions of residents in the state they should consider themselves lucky to have this opportunity.
He frowned at the suggestion by the comrade taxi-cab drivers that officials of the state transport management agency were singling them out for extortion most especially around the King’s Square in the state capital, saying there cannot be an exception when they break the law.
Though he did not rule out few cases of bad eggs in the agency, the commissioner however enjoined the comrade taxi-cab drivers to always obey the law in other to avoid unsavory consequences as there was no way another set of rules can be made for them
Meanwhile, in another telephone enquiry to the representative of C & I Leasing, Prince Okoro in Benin City, Edo state, the firm said it would respond soon to all the allegations made against it by the comrade cabs lessees as they had nothing to hide.
Comrade Adoro Peter, former chairman of the Edo State Commercial Motorcycle Riders and now one of the leaders of the comrade taxi-cab drivers, however believed that someone, somewhere was being economical with the truth.
