HELMET is a MUST! If you can't share HELMET then BUY  one

HELMET is a MUST! If you can't share HELMET then BUY one

olanajim:

I can see a general discordance as to what education mean. What does it mean to be educated?

Socrates said those who are educated are: "those who manage well the circumstances which they encounter day by day; those who can judge situations appropriately as the arise and rarely miss the suitable course of actionthose who hold their pleasures always under control and are not unduly overcome by their misfortunes, bearing up under them bravely and in a manner worthy of our common nature. . . "

with above, when applied to okada situation, it is clear that Okada riders allow their misfortunes (poverty) to overide their common judgement (on safety of lives), therefore they are "certified ignoramuses" therefore they need education to understand that poverty must not be the excuse for risking their lives. Govt need to enlighten them the same way car drivers were enlightened about seat belt.

olanajim:

I remember when I was in primary school, the re was a mass campaign against wearing "Agbada" while riding bike. I later find out the some people enjoyed wearing flowing Agbada while driving on the road. There were, I was told, several road mishaps as a result. With some paying with broken limb.
Yes, poverty is the major culprit, but how many people will drink acid if "pure water" were to be sold 50 naira per satchet?

deor03:

HELMET is a MUST! If you can't share HELMET then BUY one,

If you don't want to wear HELMET then look for an alternative mode of transport,

Afterall before 9/11 people could carry more than 100ml of liquid or walk with their shoes while crossing a metal detector before boading a plane. These rather normal behaviours became RED flag because of safety reasons and people all over the world complied.
So what's the big deal.

debosky:

The problem here is not education - the Okada men know what they need to do, but in a desperately poor environment, they will do anything necessary to avoid compliance, because to them, it is a matter of additional cost - Helmets cost money!

Poverty makes people drive with faulty brakes, hoping and 'praying' that nothing happens - is it that they don't know brakes can save lives? People will 'manage' as much as possible.

People who are so poor and feckless that they put their lives at risk will not simply change if 'educated' - that is why enforcement is needed. People will try to get away with whatever they can, be it plastic helmets, buckets or calabashes

Due to the hard nature of life in Nigeria, we've become very fatalistic - that is not as a result of lack of education, simply staying alive (even barely) is what most people are doing, so risk taking is no big deal. This is why there must be increased effort to monitor, sanction and ensure compliance. Adverts will not make unruly okada men comply, they need a big stick to force the issue.

Kobojunkie:

And what continues to happen at airports across the country to date? People still go with 100ml liquid containers to the airport but the government continues, to date, to do all it can to educate the people on what is allowed and what is not allowed, right? So saying Helmet is a must is not where the buck ought to stop. People need continued education on what the reasons are for such laws and what the benefit is to them and to those around them. It is almost 8 years after 9/11 and you still find signs at airports instructing you on what you cannot take past the gate; on TV, media houses read out what you are not allowed to take and make references to why. I believe this is why people are not making a big deal out of it. Because they are made to understand the whys of these laws through campaigns geared towards making them a part of the process.

Moves:

Two Points have been made here are that Helmet is Compulsory and Neccessary, also the Need to educate or inform the public about it need,  The problem here is mainly the Inavailability and Inaffordability of the protective helmet (retailing @N6000) ,  It is a shame that nigerians we fail to see oppurtunities that problems profer, It this case if i was the Chairman or Party Leader of AC in Lagos, what I will do is buy the Helmet in bulk, they can't be more $20 each if buying directly from manufacturer, even cheaper in china, have them customised with my party logo; start giving out to registered okada's two each @ N500, and any memeber of public that wants one pays same amount, my Party get good Publicity, free moving advert; public goodwill problem solved; same goes for the Banks, give it out to their customers with account with them, thus encouraging mostly underbanked okada driver to bank with them; Plus the free Adverts; Same for Telecoms,  hence problem solved, the cost of purchasing this helmet is dwarfed by the benefits to the company.
Also, there are disinfectants specially made for Helmet-- just like the ones made for barber clipper, voila problem solved,

An example is the public smoking den's provided for smokers, nicorete's provides some of this den @ airports, whilst advising their products,

deor03:

@ kobojunkie,
I am barely 3 months back in Nigeria and I must enlighten you that, FRSC has used all available/affordable media to publicise and sensitize the public about the dangers of not wearing HELMET and the PENALTY attached to this act.
They have a "boring" advert they show in between NTA news. I have even seen advert in the Newspapers and I am sure it must have aired on Radios across the country also.

Almost 80% of Nigerian Adult URBAN population ( Don't quote my statistics please) board OKADA and know the inherent danger in these mode of Transport.

The least a responsible government can do is to sensitize it citizens through campaign and advert and also put APPROPRIATE fine/punishment in place for deterring citizens.

As far as I am concerned, the FRSC has done this; therefore they have every right to enforce this rule

Kobojunkie:

As much as I agree that there is the problem of cost and availability, I must add that the ‘educated’ poor would go out of there way to spend money in cases where they know it is in their best interest to. So I am not entirely convinced that cost is the big issue for those who have chosen to wear pumpkin shells and buckets on their heads. I mean, unless the law specifies the tech of the helmets, I would assume they would be overlooked for at least wearing some FORM of helmet their heads while riding. Some of these men have money tucked away to, say pay for their girl friend’s dowry or buy that piece of land they have been eyeing for years. If we push to convince them of the need for a good quality helmet, as against plastic/plant head covering, we might see more and more of them making an effort to change their old ways.

About some chairman taken it upon himself to use this to drum up effort for his cause, I would not put my stock in that at all. We are still talking of Nigeria here where the CHOP-I-CHOP mentality seems the order of the day.

bronx_dog:

@Olanajim

Okay - a bomb hasnt yet exploded on an aeroplane mid air, so, bombs should be allowed on airplanes is it?

JJYOU:

good question. helmet saved my brother in the early 80's i don't know why naija peeps think their lives are not worth a common helmet. all these oyinbo grammar tire me. how much is an helmet self

My submision is that even if wearing of crash Helmet is strictly obeyed, it won't reduce okada acidents or stop armed robbers for using okada to rob! It is like wearing dark goggle to protect oneself from tear gas. Can it work?

9jaganja:

na by force to live in Lagos? pack go village abeg!! una don turn Lagos to slum. E be like say you go begin need visa to enter Lagos soon. Because people with no plans, no ambition at all just de move come hoping to start singing in Alaba market. Abeg carry your yansh go back village.
Lagos need to be man handled. I was told there was a time when certain plate numbers are not allowed to drive on certain days in Lagos just to control the traffic. Now that's what we need again.

Kobojunkie:

When was Lagos never a slum? Have you ever been to lagos before? When did the people you refer to arrive in Lagos? I am guessing long before you did cause as far back as I can remeber, Lagos has been a slum since after idiaghon was removed from office, so I don't understand how anyone can come on here to make it seem as if all that is new. lol

9jaganja:

Eko oni baje.
I'm a Lagos native. And If anything happens to my dad today, Eyo masquerade will come out (if you know what I mean). Our family houses are still all over Lagos not sold yet cause we are not broke yet. The problem with Lagos is over population simple! It's been so for long because migration to Lagos started way back when Lagos was a colony which was before the stupid Lord Luggards' Amalgamation of southern and northern protectorate.

I lived all over naija, from PH to Abuja depending on where I hear there are fine girls without bigotry and religious mofos. .