Chai, Nwa m Imela, Chukwu gozie gi, Asi na obughi gi, ana m adagbuola na ala. Chai Chukwu Gozie unu (My child, Thank you very much, God Bless you if not for you, I would have collapsed on the road. Thank you for saving me God bless you) were the words an elder woman showered on me after she alighted from my vehicle on World Bank to Control Post area of Owerri on Monday morning.
While on the way heading into town from World Bank Estate area, outskirt of Owerri Municipal, I noticed the presence of considerable number of pedestrians on the road. Among them was an aged woman who stood akimbo after being drenched in heat suspected to be a fallout of a long walk on the road. She looked left, right and waited helplessly for a rescue. Her pitiable gestures caught my fancy as I pushed the break-pedal to halt and put the gear on reserve and picked her.
The elderly woman, a grandmother informed me about her predicament having left home for a checkup in one of the medical facilities in town. According to her, after a more than an hour wait at the Second Roundabout (Ideal Suite) bus stop, without an available taxi to ferry her into town, she had no option than to embark on foot walk since it was appointment to meet a doctor who may vacate office if she arrives late. Midway, she lost steam and was at the verge of surrendering to fate before I stepped in
The case of the elderly woman is one of the many fairly tales people residing in the State capital, especially these without vehicles recount since Okada was banned.
Scene 2
A group of people numbering more than 300 gathered at Okigwe/Wetheral Road Roundabout, Owerri, the Imo State capital.
It was not a pre-arranged meeting. There was no planned arrangement to embark on demonstration since the Government House, Owerri, gate, that attracts street protesters is adjacent to the bus stop. Simply put, the crowd was joined together to wait for commercial cars on the route, no thanks to the transport crisis that hit Owerri of late.
From the Government House Roundabout to Orlu Road Roundabout, Control Post Roundabout, Fire Service Roundabout, and other major bus stops in the State capital, the story remains the same. No commuter vehicles to take people to their various designations since the State government placed embargo on operations of Keke in major parts of the State capital. Those unable to pick a vehicle now make do with the latest fad called “Trekking”
For now, a resident of Owerri or those who have business to do in the state capital without a private car will definitely experience the Topsy-turvy being witnessed in the transport section in Owerri.
In the desire of the state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha to make real his urban renewable program in the state capital, the popular means of transport, known as tricycle (keke) in local parlance had its fair share of the governor’s kaleidoscopic gestures, meant to achieve his claims of making the state capital, the Dubai of Africa.
Irrespective of the fact that Okorocha has a history with Keke operators having recruited majority of them as his foot soldiers in the build up to the 2011 election, the governor’s campaign was led by the tricycle operators who were a common feature of his convoy before he became governor.
It would be recalled that at the popular Ekeonunwa market, the Okorocha administration crushed into rubbles late August this year, various Keke operators used their machines to join the campaign train of Okorocha when he wanted to become governor in 2011 through APGA platform.
Conscious of their contributions to his first ever electoral victory, Okorocha renamed the operators Imo Pilots and always gave them a space of importance in his government.
It was surprising that moment after bulldozing the Eke Onunwa market (Eke Ukwu, Owerri, the Imo Pilots were at the receiving end of his onslaught as he ordered the restriction of Keke in some parts of the state capital. The operators engaged in a quasi movement until the final hammer that ended their existence early this month as part of Urban Renewal program.
There is no doubt that the ban has instituted transport crisis in Owerri. As a remedy, government claimed it injected into the system a special taxi called Taximo before another bus like taxi; Imo Black Cab, whose ownership is still shrouded in secrecy, joined the township operation.
Yours truly in one of my earlier commentaries published a few weeks ago, warned about the impending consequences of an outright ban on Keke without palliative measures. The end result of the transport crisis is sheer transformation of the state capital to haven for car owners only.
Despite the presence of Taximo and Imo Black Cab, residents of the State who are not chanced to own a car for intra-state capital movement are experiencing untold hardship. The disturbed road users either spend hours at the bus stops waiting for scare taxis or embark on “trekking” to their destinations. Private car owners have also turned to “Kabu Kabu” operators to assist stranded passengers at the bus stops and road sides. The new fashion is to see private car owners and unmarked vehicles ply the routes as a result of influx of passengers. Reports have it that flashy cars are not left out. With majority of the residents operating as public transport users, the state government needs to devise a means to curb the sufferings of none car owners in the state capital.
Some mechanic friends just revealed that they have come under pressure recently from cars owners who have flooded their workshops with abandoned vehicles. It goes to show the trend of growth in car ownership in the State.
