By Boniface Enekwech
The recent closure of Jibowu bus terminals and impoundment of several buses by the Lagos State government has become a national issue considering the fact that most Nigerians have been accustomed to the use of the various terminals while travellng to their various destinations or during festive periods. On a daily basis, Lagos city witnesses the ceaseless movement of people and goods around the Jibowu bus terminals. The passengers from different parts of the country embark and disembark from the vehicles at the bus terminals. The interesting aspect of the economic activities that take place at the terminals is the seamless service the operators render to the public.
Now, the disturbing news is the decision of the Lagos State government to order the closure of the several bus terminals at Jibowu and consequently impound their vehicles .These are terminals that sprang up with the authorisation of the same state government and those involved have been paying the relevant taxes, dues and tenement rates over the years.
It is also a well-known fact that the terminals have played a key role in driving the economy of the state as they not only facilitate the movement of people, goods and services but help in driving the tourism potentials of the state. Most of the bus terminals have also complemented their transport services with hotel accommodation for travellers. This has reduced the incidents of robbery attacks on innocent travellers who arrive from their long distance journeys late in the night or at odd hours.
The practice all over the civilised world where free market economy thrives is for commercial transport companies to maintain their independent bus terminals. In the United States of America, we are all familiar with the popular Greyhound Bus Company which plies from coast to coast with travellers, and it maintains independent terminals in different towns and cities of the United States. In New York, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Washington, New Jersey and many other places, the different transport companies operate separate and independent terminals. Therefore, the decision of the Lagos State government to cluster the bus companies in a motor park is old fashioned and counterproductive.
With the huge number of passengers transiting through the Jibowu bus terminals on a daily basis, it is almost impossible for the management of the allocated motor parks to cater for the comfort of the travellers as it obtains in the privately-owned bus terminals. There is no doubt that the activities in the motor parks will be chaotic, thereby returning the passengers to the forgotten days of touting and disorganised travels.
Lest we forget, the bus companies also transport foreigners and it is in the best interest of the Lagos State government and all stakeholders that all passengers are rendered the best services available as we had it with the bus terminals. Lagos, as an international city, must adopt best global practices in handling transport issues as it depicts the character of the state government in power, and bus travel shares the same prime position with air travel as far as travel within and outside a country is concerned.
The decision to impound vehicles belonging to the transport companies is not only punitive, retrogressive and sadistic but appears to be politically and ethnically motivated. For a state government that claims to be home to all Nigerians, it is expected that it should show magnanimity and demonstrable good faith in dealing with issues that concern the livelihood of citizens of the same country. It does not augur well for us as a nation for a state government to make abrupt decisions which can have far-reaching effects on the lives of people without considering the consequences.
It is, therefore, appropriate for the Governor Ambode administration of Lagos State to immediately revisit the unjust and unlawful act of its officials in impounding over fifteen buses belonging to the Luxury bus operators and going a step further to close the several bus terminals at Jibowu. For example, buses belonging to the Ekeson Transport Company were impounded for no justifiable reason, and the question is what the Lagos State government stands to gain by pushing the employees of the company into the unemployment market and throwing the company into bank debts.
The operators, comprising of the Luxurious Bus Owners Association of Nigeria (LUBOAN), Association of Mass Transit Operators of Nigeria (AMTO) and Association of Benin Transport Owners (ABTO) had met and issued a communique condemning the attitude of some inter-state bus operators who load and offload passengers on the road contrary to the standing rules.
The coalition had in the communique made a commitment to ensure that order is restored by ensuring that bus operators comply with the expectations and directives of the Lagos State government. This approach will, no doubt, go a long way to restore sanity to the Jibowu area.
It is also gratifying that bus operators came together under the umbrella of a coalition of different associations to reach the decisions contained in the communique and signed by the coalition steering committee chairman, Prince Emeka Mamah (LUBOAN), AMTO Chairman, Chief Greg Inyaba, and Isaac Uhunmwagho, an engineer, for ABTO.
If we are to go down memory lane, it can be recalled that under the former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the bus operators won a court case against the Lagos State government which approved their relocation from Ojota to Jibowu. Since then, they have invested several billions of naira to develop the area as anticipated by the state government, but unfortunately, the Ambode administration is poised to upturn the approval.
For instance, how do they expect the bus terminal operators who have borrowed heavily from the banks to fund the construction of the terminals and repay the loans they took from commercial banks? The weight will definitely be too heavy on them and there is the likelihood that the burden will be shifted to the passengers who will be compelled to pay 50% higher transport fares.
Enekwechi writes from Abuja.