Ban on Commercial Motorcycles: Let Us consider a Policy Re-assessment
It
is no longer news that last week, students, staff and other commuters alike were
greeted with the ordeal experience of the ban placed on commercial motorcycles popularly
referred to as okada on campus. A number
of the commuters have in the last one week resorted to trekking as the alternative
made available—the tricycles popularly referred to as maruwa cannot cater for the huge number of commuters at the park
and it has been argued by many how time wasting and cost ineffective it is to
the end that many commuters have had to wait for other commuters going towards
their destination safe they can afford to pay a #100 to #120 to save their
time. Many (particularly students) took to their various social media handles
to register their displeasure and to speak against what many of them consider
as an undemocratic policy by the management of the University.
In
their argument on the ban on commercial motorcycles, management noted that
commercial motorcycles accounted for the frequent number of accidents and the
serious security concerns about life and property. Apparently, this ban will
not only cut down on the number accidents recorded on campus, it will also reduce
the number of crime such as burglaries, robberies and rapes. Perhaps, to this
end, management is justified. However, need we say that this may just be one
means out of the many means used by criminal elements to perpetrate their
nefarious acts. Also, without gainsaying,
a close look at the policy formulation process will show how there may have been several stakeholders
meeting, however, a closer look will reveal how that this policy is anything
but a reflection of the interests of all stakeholders.
In
the last one week, aside that many have resorted to trekking and for a fact, it
has been that of long distance trekking for a number of students, a number of
students cannot also get to their various destinations in the shortest possible
time. The painful implication of these may include that not so many would be
able to keep up with the stress of covering long distances to get to their
classes if they always have to resort to trekking every time. Also, it may also
mean that students may not be able to catch up with the time fixed for their
classes. In the end, students may become worse off yet again. Noteworthy, is
that students are the most affected in all of this narrative; the feeling for
most students is that the ban could have been provisional allowing for a
gradual withdrawal of okada thereby facilitating
a smoother change process.
While
it may appear that (just like every other policy of the management) there is no
going back on the ban, it is, perhaps, high time management felt the pulse of
the commuters by carrying out a performance appraisal of this policy. To say
the least, it has not been such a pleasant ride for commuters (especially
students) since the introduction of maruwa
and a number them clamour for a more relieving means of commuting. Essentially,
for every policy a review and re-assessment is not out of place.
©FATSSSA
PRESS ORGANISATION 2019
All Correspondence
(rejoinders inclusive) should be directed to the Editor-In-Chief via: fatsssapress@gmail.com
or 2348100048641.
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