Commuters in Lagos State reported that the strike’s impact was not felt widely throughout the city as it entered its third day. The strike was called by the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN). This is because only a small number of commercial bus drivers followed the instruction.
JDWAN promised to carry out its planned seven-day strike and service boycott during a briefing held last Friday at Rights House, 43, Adeniyi Jones Street, Ikeja, in protest of the state’s park and garage management’s repeated and outrageous acts of extortion. JDWAN is a sizable association of commercial bus drivers that make a living through “our profession of driving,” according to its leaders, Akintade Abiodun, National Leader; Opeyemi Sulaiman, Chairman; Ajimatanarareje Feyisayo, General Secretary; and Taofik Hassan, Assistant Secretary.
The association stated that until a number of requirements are completed, they will continue to boycott the roadways. “Our demands are: Do not charge drivers for the three passengers they pick up in parking lots or parks. We insist that each bus should cost one passenger’s money. We demand that the sole ticket available in Lagos be issued by the Lagos State government. All of the drivers in Lagos State do not agree with organizations like the Lagos State Parks & Garages Management and the Lagos State Caretaker Committee, which were both established by the government of Lagos State to replace the suspended National Union of Road Transport, NURTW, and Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria, RTEAN.
At every bus stop, we kick against the paid thugs from the car park. After we leave the parking lots and parks, all illicit money collected should be promptly abolished. The Lagos State Traffic Maintenance Authority (LASTMA), the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force), and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) must stop intimidating law enforcement agents and harassing them with pistols, cutlasses, and shattered bottles right now. Without breaking any laws, they work together and use thugs to assault and extort us every day.
“Our bus stops for business trucks are fewer. The majority of bus stations in Lagos are only legally designated for use by the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and we are detained when we drop off passengers at existing bus stops, which commuters have long recognized as official bus stops. We demand that the Lagos State government build official bus stations in every neighborhood to stop sporadic arrests and the stress that commuters experience when they must walk several kilometers back to their bus stops.
They contend that delaying government action to address the existing anomaly will only fuel protests and a complete boycott. Ayo Ademiluyi, the association’s general counsel and legal adviser, however, told The Nation on Sunday that the protest would not take place but that the boycott will continue as planned.
This may be the result of meetings with representatives from the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation on Friday and today.
Abiodun Akintade, the National Leader of JDWAN, confirmed that a meeting with state authorities had taken place but claimed that no progress had been made. The state administration, he claimed, “has subsequently made no meaningful answer to JDWAN’s demands; instead, their officials have just requested that a new letter be submitted on Monday, which we see as a joke. We complied with the request to provide tangible copies of the letters to the SSS, the Lagos State government, the commissioner of police, and the commissioner of transportation after issuing a press release with clear requests.
In suit no. FHC/L/CS/224/2022 between applicant Olukoya Ogungbeje, Transport Union Society of Nigeria (TUSON), and respondents NURTW, RTEAN, NARTO, Musiliu Akinsanya, he claimed that a restraining court order had already been issued by Justice P.O. Lifu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, prohibiting the Lagos State Government and all transportation agencies from ticketing, bus stop levies
The representatives of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, according to Akintade, “are mocking Lagos drivers’ predicament and are uninterested in stopping the major factor causing high cost of living in Lagos, by asking for another letter and demanding that we call off the boycott without addressing our five demands.” According to JDWAN, the state government must comply with the court ruling that banned motor park thugs from collecting levies at every bus, put an end to their harassment, establish additional bus stops, and other demands.
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Ikorodu Road, and a portion of Ikorodu, as well as some sections in the Alimosho and Badagry neighborhoods, were among the sites where the strike was in effect on Monday and yesterday. In the aforementioned locations, there were lengthy lines. The few bus drivers who were on duty used the circumstance to raise the fare. Few students walked to their schools, leaving many schoolchildren stuck at bus stations. Some commercial bus drivers who spoke with The Nation said they supported the strike, while others thought the association was an odd organization.
“It is accurate to say that the prices we pay at garages are excessive. Many of us deliver on a daily basis. How do we acquire the money to pay the bus owners, and how much do we have left over to take care of our families and ourselves? Segun Olakunle asked.
Ikotun-Cele commuter Olakunle demanded government regulation of the transportation industry. Suraju Ajibola, a commuter who travels between Mile 2 and Oshodi, claimed he awaited the outcome of the strike action at home. “I made the decision to come out when my coworkers started phoning and wondering if I was working. I’ve already lost a portion of the day. I don’t think the strike was successful,” he stated.
Seun Ajagbe questioned the association’s daring in making the strike call. Many bus drivers, in his opinion, are unaware of the association’s executive committee. “If they’re accusing the park management of breaking the law, aren’t they doing the same thing? We are all aware that the government has only recognized two union groups (NURTW and RTEAN); they are not affiliated with either of them. Does that imply that any group of individuals can simply emerge under any name and begin disrupting the peace of the state? They are not serious to me, Ajagbe stated.
However, Musiliu Akinsanya (also known as MC Oluomo), the chairman of Lagos State Parks and Garages Management, has urged the irate commercial bus drivers to direct their complaints to the proper authorities. According to Akinsanya, the organization has a procedure for resolving disputes involving bus drivers. He claimed that the agency’s state secretariat is always willing to discuss problems among its members.
“As of right now, we have not heard from anyone about the subject of extortion or harassment. They could have brought the issue to the state secretariat if the branch chairmen are not forthcoming, he said, or they should have reported it to their branch chairmen. He forbade the group from politicking the state’s commercial transportation business.
“There is political undertone to the alleged strike action. If not, why are they arriving under a name that is illegal? The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos State, which has been suspended, and the Nigerian Road Transport Employers Association are the two organizations that the government recognizes (RTEAN). It is unknown what the Joint Drivers’ Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN) is. Despite this, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, a retired assistant inspector general of police who serves as the state government’s liaison to the Parks and Garages Management, has intervened and met with them. The respected retired police officer was subjected to blackmail as a result of their failure to abide by the arrangement made at the meeting, he claimed.
Comrade Olayiwola Lemboye, secretary of the Parks and Garages Management (Operations), refuted the claim that members of the retaliating body had been attacked. “Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, Chairman of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management, is a peaceful individual who will never support such illegalities. Even more so, they claim that some of their guys were attacked in the Badagry neighborhood of Berger, where our operations are restricted,” he stated.
He said Akinsanya has been speaking with branch chairmen on ways to resolve the grievances of the resentful transporters in a peaceful manner while advising members of the public to carry out their legal obligations. In order to address the concerns made by the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN), the Lagos State Government stated that it is investigating the demands of the Association. According to Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, the action is required due to claimed “harassment and extortion by auto parks and garages management.”
Despite not being affiliated with any of the transport unions recognized by the state government, the Ministry of Transportation, in his account, called its leadership to a meeting on Friday (NURTW and RTEAN). According to Giwa, the majority of the union members present at the meeting were from the Badagry axis, and it was decided to postpone the meeting till today so that everyone could attend (including the unions) and settle the issue amicably. He declared that the public would be informed of the meeting’s results.
The state government invites motorists to go about their daily business without worrying about harassment or intimidation because security organizations have been instructed to uphold law and order. Giwa stated that those who are raising prices illegally are being told to stop doing so or face the repercussions of their conduct.
Mr. Tope Balogun, an Action Alliance candidate for governor in Lagos State, has urged Alhaji Akinsanya to act immediately to resolve the complaints of some commercial bus drivers. He thinks the drivers who are protesting should not have gone on strike. According to Balogun, the problem of unchecked extortions shows just how little they care about the comfort of the state’s citizens.
