Ill-digested policies on cyclists and parking in Anambra state

There is groundswell of anger, discontent and condemnation on the
recent government policy pertaining to the operation of commercial and private cyclists and parking of vehicles in Anambra State urban towns. According to the public announcement jointly signed by the information and transport commissioners, commercial and private motor cyclists are barred from plying Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Arthur Eze Avenue and Zik’s avenue within the Awka capital territory. The public announcement re-echoed the ill-digested and thoughtless policy whereby vehicles parked besides the roads and streets near Eke Awka market are impounded by the state government’s traffic agency operatives. The rule on parking of vehicles was the reckless brain wave of the immediate past governor in spite of written protestations laced with constructive criticism on the thoughtless rule. In a petition to the governor and transport commissioner respectively, this writer had critically and creatively appraised the policy against the background of convenience of the people and motorists and stark reality on ground.

It has become clear to the people that the agents of governance in Anambra State hardly care about the implications of certain precipitate policies which they thoughtlessly churn out. They tend to believe that they would keep themselves busy by churning out ill-digested policy to leave the impression that they are really recording superlative achievements in governance.

There are things being done by federal government law enforcement agencies in the state which subject people to privations and adverse effects but sadly the state government turns its eyes away. In its non-populist calculations it believes that it would be endangering their personal interest to confront the leadership of the federal agencies in the state to discuss the deplorable practices and actions with a view to protecting the interest of Anambra people who had elected them into office.

For instance, the former governor ignored the sadistic act of a former commissioner of police who arbitrarily closed one lane of the Zik’s avenue in front of his office to commercial vehicles, private and commercial cyclists and tri-cyclists. Private vehicles are mercifully given the privilege to use the road from 7am to 5pm. Consequently the narrow road to Nibo town which incidentally was divided into two  very narrow lanes leaving one for the exclusive use by the governor to and out of the governor’s lodge Amawbia, created agonizing traffic miasma and snarls. Passengers suffer a lot looking for vehicles and cyclists to board since these means of transportation are barred from stopping to pick passengers anywhere around the place; an inhuman and despicable directive indeed!.

Again, the former governor ignored the indiscriminate road block of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) along Paul University and ministry of works road which create agonizing traffic hold-ups, which in turn compel commercial buses, cyclists and tri-cyclists to divert to very narrow and bad roads to avoid being arrested thus causing great distress to passengers.  The ideal thing would have been for the FRSC operatives to go to high ways like Amawbia-Agulu road to do their job and not Zik’s avenue which is really a street in the heart of the town where motorists cannot go on speed. The impunity among the law enforcement agents goad them to jettison common sense and rational thinking to the winds and use their authority to pursue filthy lucre. For instance, common sense and understanding dictates that the FRSC operatives should not arrest motor drivers who do not put on seat belts on roads/streets at the heart of the towns where speed is not possible due to traffic snarl. Seat belt is ideal on roads and express ways to enhance safety where speed is inevitable and compelling.

In states where elected public office holders really value the interest and welfare of their people, they would initiate dialogue with the leadership of these federal agencies and compel them to do the proper thing. The governors should not tremble before these tin-gods and allow them to do what they fancy irrespective of the feelings of the people. Happily, courageous legislators in Anambra state house of assembly being angry with the police commissioner raised the matter which led to a motion calling on the commissioner of police to remove the distressful and irrational road block on the one lane of the Zik’s avenue in view of the hardship motorists and passengers encounter. Surprisingly, the police commissioner ignored the call because it is in Igbo land, since such naïve action has never been done in any other state. Sadly, the former governor who ought to have taken the lead to confront the police commissioner remained silent so as not to endanger his personal interest in governance. Early this year, this writer wrote a petition to the present governor (and later to the council of traditional rulers) on the problems being created by the unnecessarily road block and impunity of the FRSC operatives, but unfortunately nothing happened. This is not how to oversee the cooperate affairs of Anambra people. It is expected that the members of the executive and legislative arms of government should always be mindful of the welfare of the people who elected them to superintend over their affairs and go the extra mile to fight for their welfare. The federal law enforcement agencies operatives are not law onto themselves and they should not subject Anambra people to privations and hardship.

 If Anambra state government has the interest of the people at heart, it should review the ill-digested traffic rule on the routes for the motor cyclists and parking of vehicles. Barring cyclists on the express way is proper but that of Arthur Eze Avenue and Zik’s smacks of lack of consideration of people’s interest and stark realities on ground since it is thoughtless and ill-digested. It is wrong for the executive council to conclude that the same speed of motorists along the express way is the same along Zik’s and Arthur Avenues, since the two roads link streets inside villages as they are at the very heart of Awka and Amawbia. Cyclists, tri-cyclists and vehicles do not engage in speed in the two roads which could endanger lives, even when tri-cyclists do not go into streets and rugged places where people live.

Again, it is a height of insensitivity to bar motorists from parking beside the roads in the urban towns viz: Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi since they do not block traffic flows. Vehicles packed besides the Zik’s avenue and other roads including secretarial road (the worst) cannot obstruct normal traffic flow. How on earth did the state government think that vehicles neatly parked beside the roads could obstruct traffic flow? This highly inconsiderate policy attracts scorn from the people to the executive council that sanctioned it since it was born out of skewed mindset not attuned to the interest of the people. People want to buy things at the shops along the roads are not expected to carry their vehicles on their head; same goes for shop owners who have no where to park their vehicles or vehicles discharging their merchandise; They should be allowed to park their vehicles near their business premises since the traffic flow cannot be obstructed. You do not make rules for the sake of making rules to impress people that you are government thus creating problems for the people.

It is illusionary to replicate what is obtained in overseas countries in Nigeria, not minding the fact that governments in civilized countries ab-initio make realistic plans which embody projections for urban planning and subsequent urban renewals, even as they make provisions for parking spaces and sundry necessary facilities and amenities for the convenience of people. These are countries where people value constructive criticisms and embrace creative thinking, intelligence and realistic calculations in policy processes and implementation of policies, programmes and projects for good governance.  The idealistic trend is contrary to what are seen in primitive countries like Nigeria where rules are made after waking up from slumber or drinking binge and carousal. 

wwww.ntlight.com.ng