Mixed reactions greet Ambode’s ban of VIOs from Lagos roads

While sighs of relief and jubilation greeted the recent banning of Vehicle Inspection Officers from Lagos roads by the Ambode-led Lagos Sate Government, stakeholders and analysts had need to counsel caution and, perhaps, a closer look or review of the decision before it may backfire on the Lagos populace.

A Chief Executive Officer of a private security firm based on Lagos Island, Mr. Maxwell Ikeguonu, in a chat with our correspondent had this word for both government and jubilating motorists, especially commercial bus drivers:

“It is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), that security of lives and property shall be the primary responsibility of government.

But beyond providing security against terrorists, armed robbers and kidnappers, shielding law-abiding citizens from the havoc and carnage of reckless road users cannot be divorced from the primary responsibility of government.

“We all know what Nigerians can do with vehicles if not checked closely, hence the to support Vehicle Inspection Officers to allow only roadworthy vehicles on Nigerian roads and ensure that driving does not yield death
certificates,” the security boss said.

But analysts say the governor has taken the implication of the ban into consideration in his address to the public.
His words: ‘‘Let me use this opportunity to reiterate that Vehicle Inspection Officers have been asked to stay off our roads – permanently.

We also advise the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to stay on fringes and highways and not on the main street of Lagos.’’

On the perceived or expected lawlessness of motorists expected to increase after this ban, the governor assured that “the new technology will be deployed to monitor vehicle registration.”

While the governor’s pronouncement sparked reactions ranging from kudos to knocks from some Lagos residents, a handful of others are not too comfortable with the development.

Mr Habib Lawal, a commercial bus driver, expectedly, is excited. He said the ban on VIOs from Lagos roads is in order. In his words, “It is good riddance to bad rubbish.

‘‘It’s a welcome development long overdue! We shouldn’t make life difficult for ourselves, but that is what VIOs do to everybody; they work like they need to hit a target by billing us unnecessarily.

“Look, God must bless Gov Ambode for that decision; VIOs don’t have any milk of kindness in them. I can’t lie. Sometimes I Just feel the ground should open and swallow me when I see them from afar.’’

However, Mr Taiwo Akinwale, a car dealer, believes VIOs are still useful despite their problems. Taiwo says there are bad eggs everywhere and banning them from Lagos roads was like throwing the baby away with the bathwater.

“Ambode should not forget how lawless our people can be, especially in Lagos. You see a vehicle on the road oozing out dark smoke, for example, and you wonder why it’s there. Some just drive without functional lights. Even if we VIOs extort us, at least, lawless drivers would have something to fear.’’

They were like hungry lions

Foodstuffs merchant, Sunday Topman equates Vehicle Inspection Officers with hungry lions that mercilessly pounce on their preys.

“They must search out one flimsy reason or the other to arrest you, just to extort money from you. They are like hungry lions looking for whom to devour. They tell you through actions and body language that what they want is money and they don’t pretend about it – and you can’t fight them.

“They just delay you unnecessarily in their office. So, when I see them, I just hide until they go away. I know they can’t stay for too long in one place. I hail Governor Ambode for his action.”

Speaking in the same vein, human rights activist and Chief Executive Officer, Humanity Services Project (HSP), Comrade Linus Okoroji, says banning VIOs from Lagos roads is commendable. He stated that they have deviated from the primary duty of making sure vehicles on Lagos roads are roadworthy.

His words: “It is unfortunate that body became a nuisance and turned their important service to pain on motorists. Therefore, their ban is a welcome development.

“Secondly, traffic officers became too many on the Lagos roads, and all they were doing was just after making money,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Public Affairs Commentator, Mr Charles Ideho, said much as there are reasons to ban vehicle inspection officials from Lagos roads, banning them will grant drivers of rickety vehicles unfettered access to Lagos
roads without thinking of the consequence.

“I view the ban with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a welcome development if one considers the menace the outfit had constituted themselves into in recent years; they have gradually constituted themselves into tin gods, harassing motorists and issuing indiscriminate penalty tickets. And the grinding process that traffic defaulters have been made to undergo in collaboration with bank officials is also a sore point.’’

On the flip side, however, Ideho worries that many motorists might find this ban as a window to misbehave on
the road. “Drivers of rickety vehicles that used to think twice before hitting the roads would now do so with glee and much fanfare. But in all, it might just turn out to be a good decision by government.’’

Expressing satisfaction about the action of the Lagos state government, a constitutional lawyer, Mr. Benedict John traced the Vehicle Inspection Service to the colonial masters at places of economic importance.

“They deemed it expedient to establish VIS with most of their mandates that included the authentication of vehicle road worthiness, the effective patrols on roads and highways to compel compliance and carry out routine checks on vehicles.”

He continues: “These functions and others were performed with professionalism at the time. However, when the FRSC was established by decree 45 of 1988 and subsequently the FRSC establishment act of 2009 which empowers and produce drivers licence for use by various classes of vehicle operators and determine the requirements for standardisation of highway traffic codes.

“Nevertheless, the precondition of obtaining drivers license was to obtain certificate from the VIOs. Now, juxtaposing the functions of both the VIS and the FRSC shows a clear overlap of duties which is absolutely unnecessary.”

John believes the manner in which officers of both establishments conduct themselves on the highway leaves much to be desired.

“Their conduct is one of the major causes of road accidents as they have deviated radically from their major legal duties to illegal extortion from motorists plying our roads, so on that account, the ban placed on VIO by the Lagos state government is commendable because most of the jobs they do while on the highway can be better done with the aid of technology like it’s done in advanced countries. Employing the aid of technology to detect and maintain a current data base of motorists will save time and reduce corruption as practiced by most officers of these agencies.”

So much have been said on the ban and the new technology is now on the center stage. Only time will prove Gov Ambode right or dead wrong.