The Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Transportation, Mr Mojeed Fatai, on Wednesday decried the reckless activities of tricycle operators on Lagos roads
Fatai, representing Ibeju-Lekki Constituency I in the house, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that it had become imperative for the government to step in to save Nigerians from mindless tricycle operators.
The lawmaker spoke against the backdrop of the four people who were reportedly killed on April 30 when a train crushed a tricycle along the Iju-Fagba corridor of the railway line at Agege, near Lagos.
The incident is the latest in a recurring episode of tragedies, involving trains in Nigeria’s economic capital, where human beings struggle for right of way with moving trains and most times perch on train roof tops to get to their destinations.
Reports had it that tricycle operator was trying to out-smart the moving train when the train crushed the tricycle and its occupants at a level crossing.
Fatai argued that there was need for the executive arm to check the operations of tricycle operators to forestall unnecessary accidents and deaths being caused by the tricycle operators.
He disclosed that the assembly’s committee might need to talk to the leadership of transport unions on the recklessness of the tricycle operators, decrying the flagrant disobedience of the operators to traffic rules.
“The way tricycle operators use our roads is quite unethical. As a committee, we need to call on their representatives and advise them.
“The law that this house passed does not allow them to be riding their tricycles on the highways.
“Today, if you go to the major highways in the state, we see these tricycles dragging roads with trailers. In fact, we need to do something about this.
“We need to force them to obey regulations, although it is not part of our responsibility to enforce laws, ours is only to make laws which we have done.
“We need to implore the executive to do the needful to make sure that these people are out of the restricted roads in Lagos State.”
Expressing his sadness on the recurring deaths along railway lines, the lawmaker said that the National Assembly must also come up with regulations that would ensure more protective measures at level crossings.
“As a state, we don’t have powers to legislate on railway, what we can only do is to advise people, especially motorists to be conscious of rail tracks and trains.
“We cannot continue to lose lives on level crossings and rail lines. People must observe laws on railways at all times.
“There is the need to carry out more sensitization so that we don’t continue to lose lives of our people on rail lines, especially where rail tracks meet with roads.
“Motorists and passengers should know that it is a suicide mission to ignore rules guiding level crossings.
“The motorists must be patient enough to allow trains to pass rather than being in a haste and getting crushed by moving trains.
“Passengers should not keep quiet.
It is their lives. Let them shout at all erring motorists, tricyclists and commercial motorcyclists, who may want to endanger their lives at level crossings.”
According to him, as a legislative institution, there may be need to write the Federal Government to look into the law that guides the operations of the rail system and come up with a legislation that can prevent such occurrences.
Fatai said there was also need to discourage commercial activities along railway lines to prevent accidents.
On April 8, a passenger train similarly, crushed a beggar to death at Muslim, Lagos.
