The use of branded, regulated commercial taxis as means of intra-city transportation has totally gone into extinction in the northern part of the country, Arewa PUNCH reports.
Our findings showed that from Nasarawa to Sokoto, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Gombe, Kebbi, Taraba, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Zamfara states – all are without branded taxis in their intra-city transportation architecture – a new development which was not the case in the early 1990s in the region.
Arewa PUNCH investigations further revealed that until this recent development, taxis were adorned with the distinct colours showcasing the pride and heritage of the respective states.
For instance, Kaduna, being the regional headquarters of the then old northern region, had its taxi branded in the deep green and yellow colours while the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, cabbies are painted green with white stripes by the side.
Our correspondents who monitored the development across the region, observed that commercial buses, unbranded taxis otherwise known as kabukabu, tricycles or Keke napep, as fondly referred to by commuters have all taken the place of the branded taxis which were common in the past.
However, not a few commuters who spoke with Arewa PUNCH lamented the situation, pointing out that the advent of unbranded taxis has brought untold hardship on commuters.
A resident of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, who simply identified himself as Mallam Abdul Salami told our correspondent that he had stopped patronising unpainted public transportation system in the state for fear of either being robbed or kidnapped by unknown persons.
He said, “at a time like this when issues of insecurity, including kidnapping and banditry are on the increase, the government is supposed to look towards this direction to ensure that criminals do not take advantage of our poor transport system in the state to carryout their negative agenda.”
Salami appealed to the state government to collaborate with the transport unions in order to ensure that all commercial vehicles are painted in a particular colour for the safety of all residents and other commuters.
Another resident, Owogeka Thomas, disclosed to Arewa PUNCH that it was her first visit to Nasarawa State from the Southern part of the country and was therefore surprise that the entire state did not boast of functional government regulated and monitored branded taxis.
“Lafia is the capital of Nasarawa State, but there are no taxis to move around the city. Even the tricycles that are available are not painted, So, how will residents be sure that the operators of the tricycles are registered by the government?” she queried.
Thus, she called on the state government to act swiftly on the matter in order to boost the confidence of residents and commuters who ply the roads across the state on a daily basis.
There were no comments from the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Mu’azu Gosho who was contacted for his reactions over the issue.
Gosho had simply told our correspondent that he was headed for a meeting.
In Kaduna State, “kabubu” or unbranded taxi and okada, otherwise known as “Keke napep” have taken the centre stage, as branded taxis have since gone into extinction in the crocodile city.
The unpainted taxis, we gathered have brought untold tales to residents and other travellers across the state due to the nefarious activities of the pockets of “one chance” gang who are always on the prowl.
Although a very few of these branded taxis still ply the Independence Road through to Kawo and Mando areas of the state.
Only recently, Ms. Lola Seriki, publisher of Tracereporter, an online newspaper, was robbed of her telephone by the gang along the Sabin Tash- Gonin-Gora
Also, in Sokoto State, the use of branded taxis is said to have gone for good.
Mr Samuel Jackson, a Federal Civil Servant in the state while narrating his experience imformed our correspondent, “It was all fun then as most of the drivers who engaged in driving of these taxi, popularly called Taxi Driver then were mostly from the Southern part of the country and they were very dedicated to their job.
“Honestly, that period can not be compared with what is happening now. Youths of nowadays only know about motorcycles and tricycles as means of transportation within the town.”
However, in a bid to revive the sector, the state Governor, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, had while celebrating his first 100 days in office, launched 20 Toyota Camry 2022 model for intra city transportation for women.
In Zamfara State, Arewa PUNCH learnt that the absence of taxi cabs within the the state metropolis has paved the way for youths displaced by insecurity in their various communities to actively venture into the operation of commercial motorcycles.
At Minna, the Niger State capital, tricycles, according to our correspondent, have chased away taxis out of the ‘power state’.
Adducing reasons behind the extinction of branded taxis off the state, the Acting Director of Land Transport in the Ministry of Transport, Mohammed Abdullahi, observed that the business no longer booms in the state.
According to him, taxi owners in the state capital realised there was no profit, adding that the state does not have many routes for taxis to ply for brisk transportation business
Abdullahi said, “we used to have taxis, but as you can see, we don’t have taxis again. The reason is simple: you see, tricycles are all over and they are not making it easy for taxis to make good profit, that’s why we don’t have taxi cabs again.
“Tricycles have already taken over the market, and they are not making anything out of it. That’s why the taxis left the market.
“It’s the market that determines it. If not, we used to have taxis. All those yellow colour vehicles. Gradually, they were wiped out because of the situation in town, he explained.
Arewa PUNCH learnt that politics, low patronage as well as the mechanical problem of the vehicles were responsible for it’s (taxi) phase out in Benue State.
Our correspondent learnt that over the years, residents of Makurdi, the capital city, relied on motorcycles aka okada and shuttle buses, as a mode of transportation within the town.
Speaking on the issue, the state chairman of Motorcycles Association of Nigeria,
Matthew Nyiutsan noted that some people abused the introduction of intra city taxis in the state.
He said, “the former Governor, Gabriel Suswam introduced intra city taxis, his administration procured Nissan vehicles which it gave out as loan to the people of the state. This motivated many people to go into it, but unfortunately, it was abused.
“As usual, many of the beneficiaries defaulted in the repayment plan while the majority others complained that the vehicle, being of the Nissan brand, also had the peculiar problem of brain box.”
He stressed that “ because it was difficult to get the right replacement for the brain box, the vehicles became problematic to the beneficiaries.
“Owners who were driving it around for taxi decided to park it. Others who did not want such liability returned them to the Ministry of Finance.
“Most of the beneficiaries are politicians and cronies of those in government. Some, rather than use it for the purpose it was given, turned it to their official vehicle.
“The succeeding government did not help matter. Instead of looking into the problem and strengthen the durability of the brand by bringing in experts who were proficient in trouble shooting the brand and getting them back to the roads.
“Instead, another product was hurriedly introduced into the market. This move did not do anything better to improve the situation until it phased out,” Nyiutsan clarified.
He dismissed the insinuations that the okada ridders sent the taxi drivers out of business and submitted that the taxi business did not affect okada riders’ own.
“It didn’t affect our business because only a few people were patronising them,” he remarked..
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for transport who said that he was not aware of the reason the Nyiutsan was phased out noted that government would soon come out with the urban mass transit arrangements that will involve intra city taxis.
However, he acknowledged he influx of motorcycles and tricycles popularly called ‘Okada’ and ‘Keke Napep’, respectively.
Felix Udebu, a resident of Lokoja, told our correspondent that the unbearable hot weather that permeates the state made commuters prefer to ride on motorcycles and Keke rather than wait for taxi cabs that were oftentimes suffocating and very uncomfortable to ride – talk about the overloading of the cabs with passengers embarking on similar route trips.
“Why would anybody like to ride in the taxi cabs where they pack commuters like sardines and under the heat.
Also, in Kano, commercial tricycles have taken over taxi operations in the state, following the ban placed on okada in the wake of the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents across the state.
Moreover, a resident, Musa Abdullahi who spoke with Arewa PUNCH, said the reason why tricycle operators took over the intracity transport services from the taxi operators was because of their quick services to customers and the fact that they charge lower fares compared to the rate taxi cab operators would’ve collected.
“Taxi cabs cannot reach everywhere, but the tricycles can go anywhere in the city. No matter how narrow a street is, tricycles can access the place.
“Moreso, tricycle operators’ charges are lower compared to what the taxi operators charge. Even despite the increase in fuel price, most okada and tricycle operators can fill their tank with N2, 500, unlike cars that are used as taxi and which can consume between N6, 000 and N8,000.”
Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, according to Arewa PUNCH findings, like other states across the region, is also without branded taxi cabs and this is since its creation in 1996.
The town, with a population of slightly over one million people, has only motorcycles and keke-napep as means of transportation from one place to another.
Residents of the state, especially women and children, highly patronise ‘Keke-napep’ to travel from one area to the other because of none availability of taxis in the town.
Although attempts were made in the past by some individuals to own and operate taxis in Gusau town, but because of low patronage, the taxis are no more in operation.
The absence of commercial cabs has given okada riders and keke-napep operators the leeway to cause untold traffic hold-ups holding vehicles owners to ransome as they have to drive with utmost care to avoid any form of collision with them as many of the operators are usually under the influence of alcohol.
Many lives have been reportedly lost to the reckless riding style of these okada riders, even as the number of people who frequently sustain various degrees of injuries soar.
Many vehicles and motorcycles are also damaged due to the accidents caused by okada riders who are mostly unskilled riders.
Checks by Arewa PUNCH in the region have similarly shown that due to the absence of taxis, operators of
keke-napep and okada riders in Gusau, most of whom are from the rural areas have invaded the town, a situation that is viewed by many as a threat to the security challenges affecting the state.
An indigene of the state, Ibrahim Shehu said, he is not comfortable with the activities of some of the okada riders thus expressing the fear that some of them could be dangerous people.
Another resident of Gusau town, Mohammed Sanusi, said it is very shameful to hear that Zamfara State, which was created since 1996, does not have taxi cabs plying the metropolis
He maintained that he feels ashamed whenever he had visitors coming to see him from other states and who might want to pay for the services of the cab with the town.
“I will be very unhappy to see my friends coming to my house riding on either a keke-napep or okada.
“I have travelled to many places in the country, and I’ve yet to know of any state or a town, especially from the Southern part of the country that has no taxi cab,” he remarked.
More investigations indicated that two years after Governor Babagana Zulum distributed 100 painted Corolla LE taxi cabs on hire-purchase arrangement to beneficiaries strictly for metro service within the Maiduguri metropolis, the cabs still serve very little of their purpose.
The cabs were distributed on Feb 3, 2022, along with 10 Ashok Leyland buses and 500 tricycles to ease intra-city commuting services and self- employment.
According to Arewa PUNCH findings, two years after majority of the cabs which had since been paid for by the beneficiaries are parked and lying idle by the Customs area command in the metropolis.
“People here are not used to boarding taxi cabs,” a tricycle commuter, Usman Mustapha, told Arewa PUNCH, adding, “That is why you see majority of them parked idly, almost all-day-long.”
He continued: “Consider the cost of boarding taxi cab during this economic hardship when the metro buses fare is N50 to however long the destination, but the taxi cab charges between N100 and N150.”
Mustapha recalled that right from their commissioning day, Governor Zulum banned them from plying any route outside the city, concluding, “while tricycles seem to be pushing them out of business with their cheaper fares, do you see the taxis frequently plying any route even near the outskirts?” he asked
The story is slightly different in Kwara State where part of the effect of the fuel subsidy removal has been said to include the forceful removal of taxi cabs off the roads in.the state.
Like others, tricycles have taken over city transportation business in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital forcing taxi cabs off the roads in the state.
Investigation in the state showed that only few taxi cabs have been operating on major roads in the state capital while tricycle operators have taken over the business.
Checks by Arewa PUNCH showed that the cabs painted in yellow and green colours which is the state’s official colours are no longer visible on the roads, such that “before a commuter could get a cab pick passengers, about 40 tricycles would have passed and picked more number of such passengers.”
It is also said that majority of the taxi drivers have changed from being taxi to Keke Napep operators because of the high cost of running taxi business.
State chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Ariwoola attributed the diminishing number of cabs operating in the state to the high cost of petrol, reminding that taxis have higher rate of fuel consumption compared to tricycles.
“The rate of maintenance of a taxi cab is higher than that of Tricycle. Taxi and Tricycle carry the same number of four passengers but the fuel consumption of tricycle is low when compared to fuel consumption of taxi cab,” he said.
A taxi driver simply identified as Alhaji Sakariya Omolabi said that he remained in the business which he had been operating for about 40 years because he had no other business to venture into.
“I have been in Taxi business for over 40 years and I have to remain in it because it is the only business i know. I can’t venture into any new business which i have not been doing,” Omolabi stated.
