The Keke Menace And Why It Must Be Tamed

Tricycles have regrettably turned into a nightmare for road users. They have equally become prime sources of trauma to commuters and other motorists.

It is common knowledge and real-time experience that commercial motorcyclists, otherwise called “Keke”, have become a source of worry in our society. When some states across Nigeria clamped down on motorcycles, popularly called “Okada”, for a number of unpleasant reasons such as recklessness, robberies, kidnapping, speeding and dangerous riding, many people had thought that there would be sanity on our roads. Alas, they were dead wrong!

The ban of commercial motorcycles from major roads in the country had encouraged the patronage of tricycles as the alternative mode of transport for the common man. Apart from the structural similarity and functionality to motorcycles, tricycles are not expensive to buy, use and maintain. The operators easily maneouvre very busy roads, especially, during serious hold-ups and when many people are eager to get to their destinations at the same time. This causes commotion on the road. It is common to see a cross-section of people within the working class ride on commercial motorcycles whenever they need to keep up important and urgent appointments.

Massive importation of tricycles encouraged more people to take to that line of self-employment by earning a living and boosting the economic life of many states. Before now, the common means of public transport in the major cities involved the use of taxis with commercial buses joining as the nation’s population shot up. Tricycles became prominent during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, which implemented the National Agency for Poverty Eradication Programme, making it possible for the importation of large quantities of tricycles into the country, mainly for jobless youths and young school leavers.

The rationale behind banning commercial motorcycles (Okada) in many state capitals had to do with the negative consequences associated with the fast-growing mode of transport in the country as well as other developing nations. As noted earlier, they are cheaper to purchase, manage and ride, unlike cars or vehicles that require more attention and effort, to maintain or move from one place to another. The lawlessness that has been associated with “Okada” brought about more patronage of tricycles, as an alternative, but it appears to be causing more problem than the relief it was meant to bring. This unfortunate development has fuelled agitations for the proscription of tricycles from our roads. Many people also feel that tricycles should not be proscribed in the sense that they remain a viable alternative and a cheaper mode of transport.

Sadly, tricycles have regrettably turned into a nightmare for road users. They have equally become prime sources of trauma to commuters and other motorists. They are now a terror on the roads through reckless speeding, disobeying traffic rules and dangerously meandering through every available space between vehicles on serious traffic situations and engaging in recklessness. I have seen on several occasions where tricycle riders struggle with vehicle owners on the road.

The truth is that there is a faint difference between motorcycles and tricycles. In actual sense, what most motorcyclists did after their ban was to dispose of their motorcycles and purchased tricycles in order to be in business. What it means is that nothing has really changed when we look at the so-called migration. It is the same personalities behind both the banned motorcycles and the new tricycles that are still carrying excess luggage, engaging in speeding and committing other crimes and attacking commuters. It is simply like an old wine in a new bottle; no matter how much the wine is packaged or represented, it remains the same.

It is for these reasons that a better approach should be put in place to tame this monster. It remains a social problem because of the lives and property of the people that are involved and vulnerable to the untold and ugly experiences being suffered in the hands of the operators. To start with, the purchase and use of tricycles for commercial purposes should be revisited. They should be well-regulated so as to prevent people of questionable character from becoming commercial tricyclists overnight. Furthermore, indiscriminate importation of tricycles into the country should be closely monitored, as many of them are not roadworthy at all. The country appears to be a dumping ground for imported equipment and machines.

Government personnel plying for roads safety should stop looking elsewhere and rather beam their searchlight on only cars and buses at the neglect of motorcycles and tricycles. Stiffer penalties such as fines should be imposed, to punish anyone that violates traffic rules and regulations. Law enforcement agents should be supportive in restoring sanity on our roads. More mobile courts should be put in place to summarily try traffic offenders. They should not compromise their status by setting free offenders. This often happens when reckless offenders plead with law enforcement agents to set them free and never be punished. This gives some of them the courage to misbehave and feel on top of the world when they evade deserved punishment.