The long, long trek of Kuje residents since achaba ban

Since the COVID-19-induced suspension of the operations of commercial motorcycles in Kuje, a suburb of Abuja, many residents are forced to walk long distances to get to their businesses or the markets. Daily Trust reports all the angles in the dilemma of the residents. The decision to suspend the operations of motorcycle taxis, best known […]

Since the COVID-19-induced suspension of the operations of commercial motorcycles in Kuje, a suburb of Abuja, many residents are forced to walk long distances to get to their businesses or the markets.

Daily Trust reports all the angles in the dilemma of the residents.

The decision to suspend the operations of motorcycle taxis, best known as achaba, in the Kuje area of Abuja has continued to draw groans from residents of the council.

Achaba, the main means of transportation in the area, has been indispensable for residents as it conveys them from their houses to the bus stops, from where they can board vehicles to the city centre or their places of work, the markets or other places.

The chairman of Kuje Area Council, Alhaji Abdullahi Suleiman Sabo had announced the suspension of the operation of commercial motorcycles in the area in a press briefing, saying it was intended to check the spread of coronavirus.

“With reported new cases, it has become imperative to suspend the activities of commercial motorcycle operators. The suspension is part of measures to keep rural communities safe,” he had said.

Nigeria recorded its first case on February 28, 2020. Confirmed cases now stand at about 13, 000 with 365 deaths recorded.

Since the suspension came into effect on Monday, May 19, residents have complained about the development

Daniel, a Kuje resident, said he had to trek 35 minutes from AA1 extension to AA Rano to find a vehicle.

“It has been like that since then. They are making life difficult for us. You ban commercial motorcycle without any alternative. It was on the second day that we saw few tricycles (Keke NAPEP) but they only ply the main road. Anybody who wants to charter them would have to do so at a high cost.”

A man trekking along the major road while carrying planks said, he walked from Shaidadi to Tipper Garage before he found a vehicle to where he was going.

“I couldn’t get achaba so I have to keep trekking. From Shaidadi to Tipper Garage is a long distance. Motorbikes are the easiest means of transportation for us here since there are no taxis in operation. I saw few Keke but they wouldn’t carry me because of these planks but if it were a motorbike, it would have.”

Some of the few tricycles in operation carried as many as five passengers, breaching social distancing, something Mr Farouq Yakub, a technician around the Secretariat Junction said is counterproductive.

“They are carrying four passengers plus the driver making five inside this tight Keke. So, where is the social distancing we have been sensitising people about if they say that is why they stopped motorbike operators,” he said.

Elsewhere, he said, he had seen keke operators carrying only two passengers as opposed to what is happening in Kuje.

However,  some commercial motorcyclists see the ban as an attempt to run them out of work as they claim they have no reports of anyone in Kuje testing positive for the virus.

One of them who only identified himself as Hamza said, “It is from this business that I feed my family after I make delivery to the owner but business has not been smooth because if you go out and they arrest you, to reclaim your motorbike, you have to pay a fine of N20, 000.”

He said the ban has forced some of them to work underground within residential quatres, which does not bring much returns.

Another rider, Abdul, said paying the fine of N20-30, 000 does not even guarantee getting your bike back.

“If you’re lucky, you will get it and if you’re not, it’s your luck. Some of our members went there to claim their ceased motorbikes, but they couldn’t find them,” he said.

“I believe if we have a union they would not treat us like this, “he said. “But I learnt that plan in in place so that we can be registered and captured well.”

With motorcycles out of business in Kuje, Keke NAPEPs have moved in to make a kill. The main road of Kuje is now doted with tricycles, especially on market days.

Yahaya, who drives one, said achaba riders shot themselves in the foot because they had no union and generated no revenue for the council.

Tricycle operators, on the other hand, were registered by the council before they started operations.

“This is to put things in order and also so that in case of anything, [security breach] they can trace the person,” he said.

On why they’re carrying more than the required number of people, another operator who simply identified himself as Bitrus said, they have to do that because there are so many passengers and there is no clear rule on how many people they can carry.

“For now, we collect N50 to every bus stop and junction but if we are asked to reduce the number of passengers, we may increase the fare,” he said.

Caught in the middle of all these are the traders who buy goods from Forest Market to sell within the metropolis because it makes it harder to move their goods.

Madam Sukura, who lives in AA1 Extension, is a trader in her neighbourhood. She said, she has to trek an hour from her house to Forest Market to restock.

She said after buying all the necessary things, it dawned on her that there was no achaba to move her goods and she could not get Keke after waiting for a long time.

“I had to call my husband who had gone to work in the Central Business District of Abuja. I waited for him to come and pick me up because of my luggage. I know it will continue like this until the keke covers every area.”

A trader who sells vegetables said she carried her load on her head from Agwan Gede to Forest Market because she could not get a motorbike.

The alternative was to stay home and in these difficult times, that simply wasn’t an option.

Many traders who also came from places like Kuckiyako, Dafara, Kango and other areas have different stories of hardship to tell on account of the suspension.

However, spokesperson for the Chairman of the council, Nuhu Muhhammed said, the suspension, not a ban, was a directive from the National Centre for Disease Control and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said when the pandemic is over, the commercial motorbikes would resume operations.

Mal Nuhu said, the council has brought in over 100 tricycles to cushion the effects of the suspension of achaba operations

According to him, Kuje Area Council has over 5, 000 commercial motorcycle operators but the past two administrations of the council suspended the achaba union.

“Kuje is a place where anybody who wants to do achaba business comes to because they know they are free to operate here without going through any process. The operators are not registered or captured in anyway thereby giving rise to different crimes. But, the council is putting in place the process for them to revive the union and make sure everyone that will do achaba in Kuje will be duly register before they can start,” he said.

Until that is done or other measures are put in place, the people of Kuje will have to adapt to the new reality in their lives.