Published 19th Jul, 2024

By Opeyemi Lawal

Clement (not real name), a Lagos driver, has condemned the state government’s move to ban the activities of the popular yellow buses known as danfo and korope in some areas.

Clement said the state government was enticed by the money made by commercial drivers but had not demonstrated the capacity to run a state-owned transportation system.

“The government is enticed by the money in transportation, but they can’t even manage the BRT system efficiently,” he said. “You know what’s funnier? If there would be a protest, it would be started by the agberos and not the drivers themselves. Do you even know how much money people make from transportation in Lagos?”

Relieving his previous experience, Clement said he would not be part of the arrangement to turn the affected drivers into government employees.

“I’d rather sell my bus than take the one from the government,” he said.

“This is because I used to drive one of the BRT buses and the treatment of drivers was terrible. I will never be a part of it.”

On Sunday, the Lagos State Government restated its ban on danfo and korope along the Lekki-Epe Expressway from October 1.

Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation, said that the initiative was to restructure commercial bus operations in this corridor first before moving to the rest of the state.

FIJ spoke with drivers of these buses in the affected area on Tuesday, including Clement, who travels the Ajah-Obalende route with passengers every day.

“They want to take the buses from drivers and start paying them salaries, which is something unfathomable,” Clement said.

Mini-buses under Ajah Bridge
Photo Credit: FIJ

FIJ observed that between the one-hour drive from Ajah under-bridge park to Obalende, about seven different drivers’ union representatives (agberos) accosted Clement for money.

At different times, he handed out N1000, N500 and N200 notes to them. At some point, he refused to give anything, but not without arguments.

He stated that the ban on korope on the Lekki/Ajah Expressway would not only affect the drivers but the agberos on the road would also suffer some of the consequences.

“You see this ban thing, the drivers will not be the only ones to stay out of jobs, even the agberos, too, because they will not be able to collect their regular taxes from drivers who operate state-owned buses,” said Clement.

Matthew (not real name), another driver found under the Lekki/Epe Expressway flyover, told FIJ that the new buses were too expensive for the average driver to afford.

He stated that for people who wouldn’t be able to afford the buses, there were no alternative engagement plans.

“We heard about the ban. There was a meeting with the stakeholders on Saturday, and they said they would be giving us their own buses to drive,” he said.

“But a lot of people won’t be able to afford their buses because they will be too pricey for the average driver to afford.”

Folorunso Adeoye (not real name), another driver, who travels from Ajah to Okun-Ajah daily, told FIJ that while the ban wouldn’t affect him, he thought the state government’s attempt to capture the transportation system was illogical and would push more Nigerians into suffering.

Adeoye admitted that some drivers were chaotic on that route but said taking them off the road was not the way to address the situation.

“Everyone knows that the drivers running the bus corridors are chaotic. They are guilty of all traffic offences, such as double parking, but taking them off the road is not the way to go,” he said.

“This policy will only push more people out of their jobs. This will breed a calamity because the people who were riding okada and were banned moved to Keke Napep [tricycles]. These Keke Napep were restricted to some parts of the state, and some of them advanced to korope. Now the korope is about to be taken off the expressway. How do they intend for these people to survive?”

Names were changed to protect sources.

Share on Social Media