It is one month since the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) were banned by the Lagos State Government for violating the rights of motorists and constituting themselves into nuisance on Lagos roads.
That’s the irony. Meanwhile, one of their duties was to maintain sanity on the roads and highways by ensuring that all vehicles plying such roads are road worthy at all time. The same people who were supposed to maintain sanity were accused of violating the rights of road users. This is because VIO as they were known had chosen the wrong path in the course of doing their jobs.
In the days when they were in operation, the fear of VIO was the beginning of wisdom. As the ‘kings’ of the road, they tormented whoever fell into their tracks. Commercial drivers operating in Lagos had signs to inform their colleagues that VIO were on the roads. On such days, several people would look for alternative routes to wriggle out of trouble. They caused untold hardship to road users as long queues of vehicles would block major roads, making vehicular movement impossible. But all that has changed. Lagosians can heave a sigh of relief as their tormentors-in-chief have taken the backseat for now.
When the Governor of Lagos, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, pronounced the ban, several people poured encomiums for saving them from the rough hands of the VIO.
It should be recalled that trouble for the VIO began when one Oluwadamilare Afolarin was flagged down by the officials at Illaje, Ajah, for driving a car with a cracked windscreen. The officials impounded his vehicle and issued him a fine of N80, 000. After raising the money, he went to pay the fine for his vehicle; he was told that his vehicle got burnt and a compensation of N200, 000 was offered him. Piqued by what had befallen him, he went to the VIO director, Mr. Gbolahan Toriola, who allegedly assaulted him. He was accused of setting his car on fire. That was not all. He was detained at the Ogombo Police Division in Ajah for three days.
According to reports, the 42-year-old was released after he was forced to sign an undertaking not to report the incident on any of the social media platforms.
There were several other reports about the rascality of the VIO; however, none was as damaging as that of Folarin, which turned out to be the final nail on the coffin.
In a swift reaction, Gov. Ambode banned them, according to reports, permanently, an action that has earned him the nickname “man of the people.”
This report takes a look at the traffic situations in Lagos one month after. The views of motorists since the men they dreaded so much left the scene are also captured.
Musbau Ayinla who drives a taxi for Uber told The Next Edition “I am now comfortable on the road. It is not as if there is anything I’m doing that is illegal but just that I know I cannot be harassed and money cannot be extorted from me anymore. No matter how complete you think you are, these people must find a way to book you. If you have showed them all your vehicle papers, including road worthiness and driver’s license, they will ask for things like fire extinguisher. Let’s be honest, how many people move around with fire extinguishers? If by luck you have that, they will look for the slightest crack on your windscreen. That is enough for them to nail you. If you are lucky, they will book you N10, 000 for that.”
Chuka Ugbonna who drives to work in his personal car from the mainland to the Island five days in a week, told The Next Edition that VIO was irrelevant. He said, “I have never seen a force as insensitive as the VIO. I used to think that police officers were inconsiderate until I had encounters with VIO. The VIO behave like machines. They can’t be reasoned with when you have made a little mistake. Now that they have been banned, what difference has it made? Is there disorderliness on the road? Even if there is we have enough hands to take care of it. In Lagos alone there are LASTMA, police, and FRSC. What do we need VIO for?”
Shedrach a commercial bus driver: “Those who are saying that VIO aren’t necessary in Lagos are just exaggerating. They were as important as any other force on the road, but they misused the privilege given to them. Lagos is the most populated city in the world so there is the need for as many law enforcement agents as possible, especially on the roads. There are so many people who aren’t qualified to be on the road but they are. FRSC and LASTMA alone can’t handle the situation. But unfortunately, these people weren’t well trained, which lead to the abuse of power. They over did it.”
Moses Ituah, a pharmacist: “There is sanity on our roads now. Most of the roads are free. We are no longer driving with fear. I want to commend the governor of Lagos state for saving us from the cruel hands of VIO.”
A month ago, in a telephone chat with The Next Edition, the VIO director in Lagos, Mr. Gbolahan Toriola, insisted that the Lagos State Government did not ban the VIO from Lagos roads permanently. He said, “We aren’t on the roads for now because our officials are undergoing training in the area of technology, which would be in line with global best practices. They are also retraining them on how to conduct themselves.”
Whether VIO are banned temporarily or permanently, the fact remains that commercial and private drivers in Lagos are not missing them. Not only that, calm has returned to Lagos roads.
