Fashola Directs Stoppage Of Arrests For MOT Offences
• As LASG moves to halt faking of MOT Test Certificates
Gov. Fashola has directed that henceforth, no motorist in Lagos State should be arrested or contravened on account of the possession of inauthentic Ministry of Transport (MOT) Test Certificate.
Rather than arrest or contravention, the Governor directed that any motorist caught with such fake document should be issued a docket with a moratorium of 21 days within which to rectify the anomaly and obtain a genuine document.
Disclosing the directive Sunday at a Joint Press Briefing in conjunction with his Motor Vehicle Administration Agency counterpart, Mr. Akin Hansen, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Oluseyi Coker, said the directive was aimed at nipping in the bud the circulation of fake MOT document in the State.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the Governor also directed that only motorists who breach clear traffic offences as specified in the Traffic Law and Highway Code could be arrested.
Coker further disclosed that through the activities of the Vehicle Inspection Unit of the Ministry of Transportation, it was recently discovered that fake MOT certificates are in circulation which predictably lack the security features on the authentic certificate.
He also revealed that certain centres whose operators failed to renew their licenses, have continued operating using touts that often use their Test Centres to issue MOT test certificates and documents such as Bank pay-slip and allied documents.
The Permanent Secretary reiterated that the State Government’s Law enforcement and Traffic Management Strategies and officers are not aimed at revenue generation but to make the roads safe and sane for the use and convenience of Law-abiding citizens.
Lamenting that most vehicle owners engage the services of third party to collect the certificate, Coker said the procedure for obtaining the MOT Test Certificate still remained that the vehicle owner should make a statutory payment at the Government approved bank- Sterling Bank- before the vehicle and the bank’s pay-slips are taken to any duly certified designated MOT Test Centre for the issuance of MOT Certificate after necessary inspection has been conducted on the vehicle.
He warned, “In view of the foregoing, Government is not liable for any transaction that does not follow the aforementioned due process”, adding that the directive of the Governor is part of the steps being taken by the State Government in its avowed determined to nip in the bud the nefarious activities of touts and bring to book anyone found guilty in this regard.
Other steps taken by the Government in this direction, the Permanent Secretary said, include the publishing of the list of duly certified and licensed MOT centres and the mobile phone numbers of Government officials to contact in cases of any anomalies concerning the MOT.
On the allegations of excesses by some LASTMA officials on the State’s highways, Coker stated, “For the avoidance of doubt, our law enforcement and Traffic Management Strategies and officers are not aimed at revenue generation but rather meant to make our roads safe and sane for the use and convenience of law-abiding citizens”.
“The acts of a few bad eggs in our traffic agencies should not be misconstrued as a reflection of the character of the hardworking men and women who are clearly in the majority”, the permanent Secretary said, directing members of the public who are harassed on account of non-original MOT document, to lodge their complaints by sending SMS to 08033056975, 08033239057 or 070249983.
Calling on all public officer in the State to “conscientiously carryout the new directive on the operation of MOT and motorists in the State “to make that extra effort to obtain genuine documents in every transaction”, Coker declared, “I will like to end this address with the oft-repeated call by His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) that traffic officers, LASTMA officials and, indeed, all public officials are in employment for only one reason – to provide service to all law-abiding citizens of Lagos State”.
In his contribution, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, urged the media, as the link between the Government and the people to endeavor at all times to carry out this noble duty by putting the right information in the public domain.
Also present at the occasion were the Director of Projects, Ministry of Transportation, Engineer Remi Thomas, a director in the Motor Vehicle Management Agency, Mr. M.A. Buraimoh, among other officials from both government establishments.

Loosen up!

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C&I Leasing's RedCab Corporate Taxi concept now concrete

Having successfully pushed the same in Enugu and effectively kicked okadas out of the business area in the eastern city, C & I Leasing has finally deployed the much awaited 200 RedCab Corporate Taxis. The Red taxis however pose a serious threat to the typical Yellow with black striped taxis (oko asewo) and on the long run, okadas. The red taxis would also compete with the Corporate Cabs. Taking a close look at the drivers (male or female), they are suited up (meaning 247 A/C’s) with red ties. The cabs are labelled and I presume some tight communication network here or there.

C & I Leasing paints Lagos Red with Suzuki Hatchback Corporate Taxis (RedCab)

LagosMet Verdict: A very welcome development indeed. How they will cope with the crazy Lagos traffic and resistance (unforseen) from the old cabs remain to be seen.

Close up Shot RedCab Corporate Taxis - LagosMet.com

Beautiful RedCabs for the Red Light Districts

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Fellow Lagosians,

I’m going to be raw, blunt and natural. Like fashion, many street slangs come and go while some stay on for decades.

A commercial van "danfo" inscribed with the words "Aropin"

. I’ll assume slangs such as “carry go”, “wetin you carry?”, “no dulling”, “one chance”, “let’s go there”, “gbogbo bigs girls” and “fokasibe” have replaced the meaningful ones we used to have on buses such as “The downfall of a man…”, “The young shall grow”, “Let my enemies live long…”, “Eda ma ro mi pin”, “Safe journey”, “If God be for me…” e.t.c.

Nowadays, the reigning style is Jenifa’s, effectively adding an “S” to almost every word e.g. “I loves that boys”, “Whats is your names?”, “Threes millions nairas…” and ultimately, “Gbogbo bigs boys”. Majority of the quick words originate from the root language of Lagos, Yoruba although the lingua franca in Lagos is Pidgin / pigeon / broken English.

That brings me to the latest (possibly disgusting) slang on the streets now. And it’s just two words “Jooo Oh!…” (please) then some creative, possibly obscene words. I’ll leave you with three examples after which you can manufacture more for yourself. It’s fun if you catch the joke.

1. Jooh oh!… mi o le fi indomie pokunso o (Please I can’t hang myself with noodle strands – of course no one can!)

2. Jooh oh!… mi o le fi alakan se kan kan o (Please I can’t use a live crab as bathing sponge – can you?)

3. Jooh oh!… mi o le fi toothpick se post o (Please, I can’t make a goal post out of toothpick)

And it goes on and on and on and on. I had to manufacture those dry ones cos it’s basically raw-er than this.

… but I won’t say, still, just keep your ears out of the window or take a trip in a Danfo and wait for the trigger – JOOO OH (pronounced Chor Hoe)!

Joor Oh! Mi o le fi ejo she tie o!
Mi o le kirun niwaju BRT o!
Mi o le gba canal de Canada o! (from Efundola)

See Rubminds.Com for more Joor oh slangs.

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Teacher’s Strike

Staff campaign for pay rise

This week, I was shocked to hear that school teachers had gone on strike. Actually, traffic was kind of lighter than usual, this I mistakenly attributed to the on-going UEFA Champions league matches knowing fully well that Arsenal, Man-U and Chelsea (and some Liverpool) fans would like to watch the games live even if it meant staying back in the office or at home (call-in-sick). This Day made it clear (http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=136699) how pupils will be affected negatively by this development, final year pupils especially. I really don’t know why teachers so poorly paid have to fight tooth and nail to get an increase in the face of searing inflation, devaluation of the Naira (The naira was 117 naira to a dollar as at 28th of November) at 165 naira to a dollar. The lowly paid ones feel the ripple effect the most ranging from food stuff, house rent, health, transportation and clothing.

Credit Crunch

February was fast! If you are still paying up debts you “amassed” during the month of December, you can pay up this March as 30 days should make one more pay. But if you fell a victim during vals, with Easter likely to be on the way, don’t dip your hands into your pocket just yet. Okay if the teachers are complaining bitterly and even going on strike, they have every right to. People in the private sector dare not try that. The global credit disaster has left a lot of people unemployed as companies keep downsizing. At present, most companies instead of recruiting are relieving employees of their jobs and overworking the surviving ones. It’s a matter of holding on to your job. It was predicted that Nigeria would not be affected by the Credit Crunch but whoever published that probably forgot that at least 4 billion dollars is pumped into the Nigerian Economy by Nigerians in Diaspora. Already, many are returning from the UK to seek a better life in Lagos. Companies are reviewing budgets and are very reluctant to sign P.O.’s as the traffic indicators stand still on “RED”. Oceanic Bank for example did not retain a single Corper among the resently unleashed Batch A NYSC members. A very rare occurence in banks nowadays. GTB also sacked some members of staff for not showing up at the last annual retreat. The fact is most companies are seriously looking for ways to downsize, free up the wage bill and reduce operating expenses as much as possible. Will things get better soon? Do you expect a yes? Then keep tab on what’s happening to America and Obama’s mission of “Hope”. The obvious fact is that the credit crunch is affecting Nigeria regardless of what we initially thought. The earlier we address the issue the better. Address in the sense that we, as individuals, need to find alternatives and to battle hard to survive these times. It is purely coincidental that our Governor is trying to keep Lagos clean at the moment, thereby relieving people of their “jobs”. Coupled with the c.c., well, I just hope it won’t be long before everyone walks on the street carrying three things:

1. Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama
2. The Holy Bible/Qu’ran
3. Revolver or Knife

Fuel Pump Price Hike

Okay, the FG has been subsdising the cost of fuel before I was born but really, I do not understand how after almost 50 years of independence we cannot refine enough crude oil for use or export and now we will be left at the mercy of “independent” marketers (IMs). Hmmm. Interesting. They’ve promised that prices are likely to be low (even without subsidy) since our IMs are not greedy milk-them-quick people. To have this coming in at this time of the GCC (Global Credit Crunch), I think it’s a welcome decision and hopefully that should boost the value of the Naira (Mr CBN won’t it?). It’s for our own good anyway, that’s what “they” said and I can only hope…

Click here to compare the price of petrol/gasoline in other parts of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing

Flood

Okay the rains are here again. And with on-going road reconstruction, it remains to be seen if this is one department where the Governor will score the least. Drainage has been a huge problem in the past, contributing to gridlocks (heaviest traffic), robbery, loss of homes and breakdown of vehicle not to mention, lateness to work. If Lagos can keep the floods away for once then we should have a pleasant March to August. Unfortunately, I don’t see us living this “good life” until sometime next year!

Buy Garri

Before I say bye – bye, I should remind you that the global credit crunch will not affect 4 things: Food, clothing, housing and Internet. If you are in any of these businesses, you should continue to live large. Obviously, music, movies, advertising, religion and education will continue to thrive. If you are thinking of investing heavily in electronics or automobiles, I think this is not a good time. Invest wisely and remember that the GCC is also affecting 419ers (visit www.419eater.com), don’t fall mugu to Land/Property/Mowe-Ibafo scams.

Happy New month!

I leave you with a video from Hon. Lekan Kamson… A must see.

Links: www.lagoscityphotos.blogspot.com

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