… host community, students lament Kaduna achaba ban

Secretary of the community, Hassan Usman, made this assertion in an interview with Daily Trust correspondent.“In Samaru, our achaba riders did not fall within the categories that are posing as nuisance to the society. We know our riders that operate in Samaru and its environs. These are the same riders that operate in ABU, and […]

Secretary of the community, Hassan Usman, made this assertion in an interview with Daily Trust correspondent.
“In Samaru, our achaba riders did not fall within the categories that are posing as nuisance to the society. We know our riders that operate in Samaru and its environs. These are the same riders that operate in ABU, and this is why the university authority made sure that they use special jackets for identification.
“Our concern on this achaba ban is what would become of ABU students living in our midst who use achaba as a mean of transportation to the campus. If you stop them, these students would definitely suffer and this is what we don’t want,” Usman said.
He added, “Since the government believes in community leaders, we want to assure it (government) that we don’t have problem with our Achaba riders. We also want to assure that our people are always on the alert. Whenever we see any bad egg we will alert the relevant authorities.
“It is on this ground that we want to appeal to the state government to exempt Samaru from the ban.”
In the same vein, some students of the university interviewed by Daily Trust lamented that the achaba ban will affect their studies.
Jamilu Sani, a student of the university, said: “This decision is not a wise one. It was not informed by wisdom. Those of us who are living off campus depend on this achaba as our mean of transportation. Even if you come to the main gate by bus, you need this achaba to the Postgraduate School, for example, because trekking to that place may be difficult for most students.
“In the same direction, there are other faculties and departments that are very far from the gate. I think even if they want to ban Achaba, they should provide alternatives first. We are appealing to ABU’s management to allow us to continue using the achaba within the campus, pending the provision of alternative,” he said.