Nasiru Yusuf

The Gubernatorial Candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP), and member representing Kano Municipal federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada has criticized the ban of tricycle operators on major roads by Kano state government.

KANO FOCUS reports that Sharada made the statement in a release made available to journalists by gubernatorial campaign council spokesperson Abbas Yushau Yusuf.

Sharada said at a time when the government is supposed to come up with an idea of addressing youth restiveness and diverting their attention from commiting crime and drug abuse in Nigeria’s most populous state, instead it has decided to choose the path of persecution.

Sharada, who is the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Intelligence and National Security, sympathized with commuters and tricycle operators over the hardships being inflicted on them by the government.

He said even though the transportation system in Kano State is in urgent need of a total overhaul, the manner in which the current administration is going about it signals an absolute disregard for the livelihood and welfare of the good people of Kano State.

“This measure will subject pregnant women, schoolchildren, and hardworking citizens to unwarranted trekking, leading to the loss of productivity or even lives.”

“In addition, it will retard the economic well-being of the tricycle owners, operators, repairers, oil and spare part merchants, as well as the millions of Kano people who eke out a living from the operation of the tricycles.” He added.

The ADP gubernatorial candidate blamed the Kano state government for pursuing policies that forced the populace to rely on tricycles in the first place.

“Such policies include the deliberate disregard for metropolitan roads as well as the uncontrolled allocation of parking spaces that makes car owners prefer the tricycles over their own vehicles.”

He said the government should have brought out a plan that will alleviate the sufferings of commuters and engage the tricycle value chain in economic activities that will replace their lost earnings.

Sharada calls on Kano State citizens to vote for the ADP in the forthcoming election in order to usher in a government that will carry stakeholders along in each and every decision.

“We in the ADP have an integrated transport management plan for Kano State, which will be presented to all stakeholders for their consideration and review.”

“We will also ensure that all stakeholders are engaged in the successful execution of all the policies of our government.” He added. Honourable Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada further asked the state government some pressing questions regarding the ban.

According to him, despite government claims of bringing in new buses, what has the government done to cushion the effect of restricting tricycle riders on every Road? And again, the government did not tell us the number of buses to be used on every Road or where they are going to stop after picking people up?

Sharada said “there is also a special lane for mass transit operators in developed countries when they pick up and drop off passengers, noting that how many bus stops has the Kano government constructed for that purpose?

“Will the buses meet the demands of the passengers as obtained in countries where they use mass transit, hence his description of the policy as “untimely”?

The governorship hopeful added that when policies like this are introduced, the government should tell the general public the number of passengers the buses are supposed to contain, the timing of picking up and dropping off, as well as the price of the tickets. The modalities of buying the tickets and when to buy the tickets.

He corroborated how many passengers the buses will contain from Janguza to Rjiyar Zaki to Tal Udu and challenged the government to answer the questions put forward by him.

He said timing is very important—when to buy the tickets for boarding and other essential services the buses are supposed to offer?

He further described the policy as dictatorial, where the state government has left the decision in the hands of a few people, noting that policies are made by government for the well-being of the populace.

He noted that in advanced countries of the world, there is an announcement of when the buses will arrive at the bus stop so that passengers are put on alert.

Sharada said the government came up with the policy without proper stakeholder engagement and public enlightenment, thereby restricting the tricycle operators at this material time.