Day-in-day-out, man continues to thrill himself with anomalies resulting from deliberate steps and otherwise. Man continues to take naked routes to afflict himself with so much chronic issues that are destiny and life threatening. It’s worrying that rather than run from afflictions, man has chosen to embrace the ailment with utmost alacrity.
Reality is that all spheres of human endeavor seem to have been incarcerated in the belly of evil devices. All sectors are obviously manifesting some strange and execrable deeds just to make ends meet and motorists are no exception to this regard. What we see motorists do in their bid to make money is quite disheartening and appalling.
Personally, what I have experienced and seen motorists do, particularly in the Northern parts of Nigeria is worth alerting the government to come to the aid of passengers since the body in charge had failed to do so and opted for taking bribes from the law breakers.
A vehicle (cab) with five seaters apparently for five persons including the driver; that is, a driver and one passenger in front and three passengers at the back row has been improvised to a road prison. Rather than the expected, today, we have three passengers and the driver making four persons in front row and then four adults and children at the back row, giving no breathing space to all those in the vehicle. As if that is not enough, motorists still have human passengers of about two or more persons in their boots. How motorists jam-pack passengers like rejected slaves is disheartening and appalling. How and why on earth should a vehicle of five seaters carry ten or more persons? Where is the right of the Nigerian consumer? Why has the Nigerian consumer left to suffer in the hands of his privileged and opportuned Nigerians?
A visit to some of these Northern States – Niger, Sokoto and Kebbi where I had a firsthand experience will shock you on how passengers are being tortured in vehicles. I see this torture as being equivalent to the pains of a rejected slave.
Travelling in such sardin-packed vehicle often subjects the victims to so many disheartening effects. You can’t possibly move your legs and hands. The only thing you can possibly move is your mouth. Subjecting one’s legs, hands and entire body in a particular sitting position for several kilometers like a criminal being led to a torture stake is but a day dream imprisonment. It can lead to many psychological trauma. It can impair one’s body parts and deprives one of the joy of travelling. It can result to quarrel and hostility among passengers. If kirikiri is hell, then travelling in such sardin-packed vehicle is a furnace.
The baffling thing is, unlike the usual prison that you commit a crime and you face the consequences in prison, in road prison, you pay to enter with your hard earned money. What could be more painful than this! You pay a motorist to carry you like a prisoner being led to the torture stake.
Without mincing words, the chronic pains motorists subject passengers to in some Nigerian States seem to be deadlier than some communicable diseases. Rather than taking passengers to their destinations in comfort, motorists have decided to imperil passengers’ lives for their greedy interests. They have created road prisons and those who ought to check mate that have fallen for mouth watering bribes and hence it has been accepted as a normal thing.
I don’t want to believe the body in charge of curtailing this affliction is ignorant of the trend. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is not ignorant of this law breaking trend but they have rather opted for their greedy personal interest of collecting bribes from the law offenders and have their eyes closed to this chronic disease.
Nigerians, what is our problem? A fellow engineers an evil, others connive to propagate it and those saddled with the responsibility of curtailing the ailment receive bribe and the ailment becomes a trend and a normal thing in the society.
We know the truth and what is good for us but we rather take naked and deliberate steps to ignore the truth and embrace falsehood. Who doesn’t know overloading can result to so many destiny and life threatening issues? Everybody knows but very few acknowledge that in their day-to-day activities. Little wonder POC Umeh noted that we all are ambassadors of poverty because we fail to do what we are suppose to do.
That this chronic ailment is common in several States in the country points to the fact that it’s gradually becoming a norm. How law offending ways of making money are easily bribed to become normal thing in our society is quite questioning. How we easily close our naked eyes to lawful things and embrace otherwise is worrying.
If there is anything that should be handled with utmost care and given all the protection the world can offer, it is human life. Anything and everything that tend to imperil human life should be curtailed and put under siege with immediate effect. Human life is irreplaceable and therefore should be jealously guided. Motorists should not be allowed to make money at the expense of passengers’ lives. They should be made to make money under the law since they are not above the law.
The point is, there is need for the government and the body in charge to curb this ill and curtail the chronic disease. To start with, the government has to make the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) stand on their toes and purge them of the chronic disease of bribery and make them fit for the task.
Money should not be made at the detriment of human lives and as such government should come to the aid of the Nigerian consumer. This is because rather than the joy of travelling, travelling in many Nigerian roads seem like a horrible nightmare that many of us wish we can avoid.
We hope the government will act immediately to provide panacea to this disheartening ailment.
