Commercial motorcycle riders in Osun state, popularly known as Okada, on Tuesday took to the major streets of Osogbo in protest against the operations of the state traffic officials.
The protesters, who rode on their motorcycles during the peaceful demonstration, condemned what the termed “high ticket fees” charged by the state traffic marshals.
Numbering about 500, the protesters stormed Ayetoro, Old garage and Okefia areas before they assembled at Olaiya Junction around 11:30am and publicly kicked against the manner the traffic officials allegedly manhandled and forcibly obtained the ticket fees from them.
One of the protesters, Mr. Adetoro Waliu, from Ilobu town in the state, said most of the okada riders in the state were students of secondary and tertiary institutions due to the high rate of unemployment in the state.
Waliu, who claimed to be a student, explained, “Most of us (okada riders) are students, but because of the high unemployment in the state, we eke out living by working as commercial operators.
“The Osun Traffic Marshals have been cheating and extorting us. They impose on us exorbitant ticket rates. They ask us to pay for helmet and state uniform at the total rate of N5,000, but they still want us to pay the sum of N50 daily as ticket fee.”
Speaking in the same vein, another motorcyclist, Mr. Jimoh Afeez, from Oshogbo accused the state traffic marshals of often causing accidents on the roads while trying to enforce the payment of the ticket fees.
“Most of our members have been involved in accidents alongside their passengers because of the overzealousness of these marshals. They should be removed from our roads because they have been causing a lot of nuisance to traffic,” Afeez, who spoke in Yoruba language, alleged.
