By Godwin Tyonongu
Barely few months after the Nyanya bomb blast and the accompanying promise by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, that a more secured motor park would be provided for residents of the territory, nothing close to that has been seen.
When the unfortunate incident that claimed scores of lives happened, virtually everyone blamed it on lack of proper security mechanism at motor parks operating in the territory. Though a sad tragedy of such magnitude was on the other side of the coin seen as an eyes opener to the concerned authorities on the need to safe guard and forestall any further occurrence.
But in Nigeria, we are known for our in-built tendency of fire-brigade approach to issues. We are always seen to be proactive when the ugly happens but as soon as it is over, we forget in hurry.
Perhaps this may explain why the FCT Administration despite an earlier promise, has not been able to fulfill it convincingly.
That the Urban Mass Transit buses are no longer loading their passengers inside the motor parks but by the road side does not provide, in any way, a credible alternative for the commuters. It is unarguable and glaring to any average user of these buses how insecure this make-shift arrangement of loading by the road side has become. Anybody jumps in without any scrutiny contrary to what many thought could become the practice following the tragic events in the vicinity twice.
“This place they call temporary or what not, is even highly risky for we the commuters. You can see yourself how the miscreants are all over here, shouting up and down, causing confusion. Tell me, there is no single security check, everywhere is just rowdy. If not the bomb blast, the former park was more organized than here”, Bello, an aggrieved commuter, told Blueprint.
The chairman Abuja Unity Movement(AUM), Comrade Hassan Danladi, opined that the only way out of the quagmire was for Senator Mohammed to hasten up the construction work on the Apo-Karshi axis in order to cushion the effect of traffic congestion along the Nyanya area.
“It is true that the minister has a political ambition in his state and will soon be vacating office. But he should try and tackle the immediate challenges faced by the FCT residents before he leaves. Because wherever he goes, his legacy shall speak for him
“I think the dealing with this kind of perennial problem half way cannot really solve the problem. This government should take the bull by the horns, making sure that the problem of convenient transport system without security breaches is guaranteed to the residents because as people working for the government, they so deserve it”, Hassan said
It is still not clear why the FCT authorities were hasty in demolishing some structure they described as illegal along the Nyanya axis shortly after the bomb blast but failed to, in the same vein, put a mechanism in place in synergy with the security apparatus in order to check the activities of some bad eggs who might disguise in the name of transport unionism to be aiding the insurgents.
The transport unions have severally denied that those constituting nuisance by the road side where the luxurious buses are normally packed are not their members.
As at press time, efforts to reach the Minister’s media handlers to comment on the matter proved abortive even as residents insist that something must be done urgently to arrest the worrisome situation.
