The front page story of the Daily Graphic of February 10, 2015 with the headline “Okada trade booms” made interesting reading.
And the reactions of the Transport Minister, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, and the Motor Traffic Transport Department Operations Officer, DSP Sulley Suleiman, were equally intriguing. While the police said they were on top of the situation, the minister also blamed them for allowing the business to thrive.
That notwithstanding, the citizenry put their trust in officialdom to protect them through the laws of the land, so that those who abused the laws would be brought to book as guaranteed by the Constitution.
I remember some months back, the current Greater Accra Police Commander conducted a swoop on okada riders and the streets of Accra saw some semblance of discipline and order.
The Police commander, by this singular act, received tonnes of commendation from the public and he promised all and sundry that the exercise was not going to be a nine-day wonder but what did we see two weeks after?
The commander could not live up to his promise and now what we witness on the roads is total chaos.
The okada riders have total disregard for traffic regulations. But do you blame them if you have two of our legislators (Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo and Mr Alfred Agbesi) who brazenly said the police should go easy on the okada riders because they have to do that business to survive.
The activities of these okada operators are a clear circumvention of section 128(1) of the road traffic regulations, 2012 (legislative instrument 2180) and had these honourables who obviously sympathise with these law breakers been in another jurisdiction, they would have faced serious consequences. Indeed, that would have truncated their political career but this is Ghana for you.
Sometime last year, I was driving on the Kaneshie Mallam road and I got so frustrated with these motor riders who nearly caused an accident that could have destroyed many precious lives.
I was compelled to call the police headquarters operational room to complain about the okada riders’ recklessness only to have a rude response that I should complain to the politicians because they are the impediments to the enforcement of the law.
In 2013, I travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, and for hours I never saw any okada, so out of curiosity I asked the taxi driver whether the okada business was dead in Lagos.
He then told me the new Governor had banned okada and that all the operators were scared because if they were caught, the law would severely deal with them.
I was so glad and screamed, ‘That is leadership!’ and hoped Ghanaian officials (Politicians and the Police) would learn from this Governor.
My challenge to the Inspector General of Police is that the police must act without fear or favour when it comes to enforcing the law so that we will all have a disciplined society.
Let’s take a cue from Napoleon Bonaparte: ‘When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out.’
We live in a country governed by law so let us respect and enforce the laws.
<<Print>>