Ban of Commercial Motorcycle in Niger State By the Govt. is Anti-people

(By Dimeji Macaulay DSM, Niger State)

The Niger State Government recently banned the operation of commercial motorcycle popularly called Kabu in the state. This deliberate attack on the right of youths and masses to livelihood in the state again shows the insensitivity of state government to the plight of the masses.

The need for commercial motorcycle operation cannot be over emphasized. It is used in cities by business men and women, civil servants and students to overcome traffic congestion in order to beat time and navigate roads that are inaccessible to cars and buses, particularly in the inner communities. It is a fact that kabu operation has become a source of livelihood for the ever increasing army of unemployed youths in the country.

We challenge the Niger state government to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for people and let see if crime rate will not be reduced to the barest minimum. People rendered jobless by policies of successive governments have sought refuge in commercial motorcycling.

The ban of kabu operation in Minna town by the Niger state government under the guise of confronting insecurity must be rejected and resisted by working masses. We are strongly of the opinion that it is unemployment and unorganized state of society caused by the same ruling elite that is responsible for insecurity. If the reason is safety, we challenge the Niger state government to state openly what means of transportation do not have its shortcoming. People die unavoidably through accidents involving car, cab, tricycle, bus or even plane because of the chaotic state of transportation. The ruling elite and governments at all levels can only resolve the crisis in the transportation sector by rebuilding infrastructure.

The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) calls on the Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu to immediately rescind this ruinous policy and work towards rebuilding the decaying state of infrastructure in order to create jobs. We also call on motor cyclists and their unions to get organized and mobilize the general populace to resist this anti-working people policy and to defend their livelihood.