Stakeholders in Lagos State have urged the state government to create a policy that would effectively regulate the activities of the informal sector, such as motorcyclists popularly known as ‘okada.’
At a workshop organised by De Montfort University United Kingdom, Nottingham Trent University, and the University of Lagos, according to a statement on Friday, the stakeholders recommended that a forum be established for academics to be actively involved in policy formulation and stakeholder engagement.
Speaking at the event, a researcher from UNILAG, Dr Basirat Oyalowo, said, “These motorcyclists actually obeyed the restriction but some of them, due to the need for survival, breached those laws.
“They don’t mind being regulated and restricted to certain places, but the actual ban is not the way to go because people will still carry out these activities bearing in mind the traffic situation in Lagos and people demand their services.”
In his speech, a researcher from Nottingham Trent University, Prof Robert Ackrill, noted that stakeholders should attempt to find lasting solutions to problems through policies.
Also speaking, the Principal Investigator, De Montfort University, UK, Dr Eghosa Igudia, stated his findings that “13.89 per cent of motorcycle riders still operate on banned routes because passengers request for them, while 54.17 per cent of the riders earn more money and higher profits.”
He added that 48.7 per cent of street hawkers do it for survival, while 27.52 per cent are not aware of the enforcement.
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