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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Between FERMA and LASTMA
The unnecessary and ill-advised muscle-flexing between operatives of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) took a turn for the worse last Thursday when the former reportedly attacked the latter. At the end of the assault, no fewer than 20 persons were injured by the cudgel and cutlass wielding assailants. The victims, mostly council officials at the secretariat of the Kosofe Local Government as well as LASTMA and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials had to be rushed to hospital for treatment. What amounts to a hideous display of bestiality was the extension of the gory spectacle to the hospitals where the victims were supposed to be receiving medial attention. We view the on-going battle for supremacy between the Lagos State Governor, Chief Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, over roads as wasteful and counter-productive. Ordinarily, Lagos State which has since assumed the status of a megalopolis, with an astounding population of nearly 15 million cuts a picture of chaotic traffic that requires the combined resources and attention of both the federal and state governments to restore sanity on the roads. Being the undisputed commercial nerve centre of the nation and a melting pot, only a thin line should divide the two tiers of government especially in such a critical area as enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. In recent months, however, the contentious issue of who owns which road and who has the legal right to maintain order as well as collect tolls has degenerated into an exchange of verbal missiles between Tinubu and Ogunlewe and fanned embers of disunity between the otherwise peace-loving citizens of the state. At a point in time, provocative signboards were erected on some Federal Government roads in Lagos State, urging commuters to bear with their deplorable nature, since they were not owned by the state. This, no doubt must have ignited the furore. And Ogunlewe came on board with an unquenchable zeal to right the wrongs and put the roads back in better shape, the stage was clearly set for a rivalry that would stir bad blood between the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP)-controlled centre and the Alliance for Democtacy (AD)-led Lagos State. Subsequent peace moves initiated to smoothen the rough edges between ought to have put the issue to rest, but all is still not well. Incidentally, the chasing of LASTMA and KAI officials off federal roads in Lagos and their replacement with FERMA officials has stoked the fire of disunity. Worrisome indeed is the absurd level to which this preventable squabble over roads has assumed. This is outrightly condemnable. We urge that caution should be the watchword between the protagonists, who in the interest of peace and the good people of Lagos State should sheath their swords. While we applaud the commendable impact the Federal Ministry of Works under Ogunlewe has so far made in the area of road rehabilitation given the lean resources at its disposal, we equally advise that such gains should not be frittered away on the alter of political expediency. What matters most, in the final analysis, is the restoration of orderliness and sanity on all Lagos roads � federal or state-owned. This we daresay cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of brick-bats and inter-party violence. Enough is enough.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 |
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