Millions of residents of Lagos were forced to walk to their destinations on Monday as commercial bus drivers stayed off the roads over allegations of extortions .
Transporters accused officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) of official corruption saying that the manner of extortions has made their business unprofitable. Members of the transport unions had taken to the streets in different parts of the state simultaneously causing huge crowd of stranded residents.
The situation had forced many who could afford it to resort to commercial motorcycle operators popularly called Okada to reach their destinations while charging his fares.
However, with the ban on Okada in some areas of the state, those whose destinations included the banned areas resorted to few privately owned cars who cashed in on the situation to make brisk business. However, things degenerated at the Ile Zik area on the Lagos Abeokuta Highway as policemen trying to halt a protests rally by the transporters fired teargas canisters severally at the protesters.
This temporarily stopped the procession as those protesters ran to avoid the smoke. NPO Reports learnt that a commuter was hit by one of the canisters injuring him on his face.
A resident who was caught in the confusion, Mr. Adams Adeeko, said he had trekked from Pen Cinema Agege to Iyana Ipaja thinking at Iyana Ipaja, he would find a bus to his destination at Idimu.
“This suffering is too much. No one had any hint of the plans to go on strike today and this has caused lots of hardship. I think the government itself should act fast.,” he said Another resident who spoke with the NPO Reports, Rasheed Lakoju, said both the government and the drivers must be blamed for what is happening to public transportation in Lagos.
“One, the LASTMA officials have turned their jobs to means of making personal fortunes. They therefore capitalise on every situation to make money. Secondly, the drivers themselves brake the laws at will. They either drive against traffic or park at illegal spots. All these have made Lagos a difficult place to live in,” he said