RECESSION: COMMON NIGERIANS AND THE PRIDE FOR MOTOR CYCLE – BY OLANIYI ABDULWAHEED

The horrendous challenge that common Nigerians face is quite unimaginable. A lot of people inadvertently endanger their lives, not because they do not value it, not because the world is a hell, but the need to have what it requires to be a human often drives them to toss with their existence on earth. The risk-without-fear life they live is in the strife for money. As a result of abject poverty and economic recession battling with the country that have soaked many in shameless lives, many Nigerians, young or old, including graduates, have chosen to be commercial motorcyclists. This is very popular in both rural areas and cities across the country.

Riding a motorcycle for economic survival has been seen as the only alternative way of self-employment particularly at this time of economic recession. Regardless of age or education or status, many Nigerians claim to have hope in being a commercial motorcyclist despite the huge risks attached to it. The business started thriving when some youths, who were out of the schools as a result of harsh challenges, engaged themselves with a petty job, pending the time they would get enough money to start a befitting business. But the business got its boost when young, jobless graduates from the higher institutions saw riding motorcycles as a way of fulfilling one’s dream when reality in job opportunities is no more celebrated again. Many, especially the youths, find mystic hope in the swift horse that can fetch them money, death within a short period of time.

Perhaps the business might not have gained its huge credibility, if the aged ones in the society had not joined the seemingly alternative way of survival for the common man in Nigeria. While the young commercial motorcyclists ride speedily in the heart of the major roads, the aged ones ride slowly and operate at the suburbs of the cities. The old men who feed their families with their daily yields ride from dawn to dusk just like their young counterparts. They never complain of headache even if the sun boils water on their heads. Rather, they chat with their passengers and make them get the relish of the ride. The majority of these aged commercial motorcyclists have no other means of livelihood, but they are often proud of their profession.

Nevertheless, if one thinks of the dangers of driving motorcycles, one will not attempt to possess its ignition key, let alone purchasing one. Many people have breathed their last breath as a result of a fatal accident while riding a motorcycle. Unlike motors, it has neither seat belt, nor body steel to protect one when danger occurs. The flesh of a motorcyclist involved in an accident is the first victim of circumstances. Sometimes, the rider’s head or the passenger’s hits the stony ground, leading to a sudden loss of memory or death. Death in this kind of situation is inevitable before reaching the hospital, because many victims cannot sustain injury in the head for a long period of time. While the fortunate ones in a motorcycle accident either lose an arm or leg, the bike is not an option for them anymore when they are in need of means of transportation.

Why cherish such a death trap in the first place anyway? 

Apart from the fact that death often beckons to one on his bike, it seems not to befit a city that claims to be developed. Because the motorcycle is a harbinger of doom, government in various states in the country are working tirelessly to eradicate death traps in their states. In the major cities like Abuja and Lagos, the motorcycle has been banned while tricycles and taxis replace it. But it still thrives in the suburbs of the cities. Sadly, the law against motorcycles in some states in the country has resulted in an exchange of spit between government and the governed. Why? Some of these commercial motorcyclists who have been prohibited from using their means of survival are not given alternatives as in other states that replace motorcycles with taxes, giving out soft loans to those who bend for the law to purchase a taxi or tricycle. The policy is not totally successful where government shuns people after prohibition.  

While everyone is being drowned in the sea of dearth as a result of the economic recession hitting the country, many Nigerians have opted for the motorcycle as a means of transportation and economic survival. It is, therefore, advisable for the government to be cautious in implementing any policy that might affect the common man in Nigeria.