Motor parks in Abuja are like the market place. There are unmarked buses and taxis vying for passengers everywhere.
Traders, including hawkers, roam the environment. Food sellers, mechanics, touts, wreckages–abandoned vehicles, heaps of rubbish tied in bags, and spear parts can be seen around. One of the worst places where these abound is at the main Nyanya Motor Park Tarmac – close to the park where the recent bomb blast claimed many lives – the Zuba Motor Park and the Utako Motor Park, popularly called Jabi Park. Other smaller parks, like the Area Three Park, and private motor parks such as Peace Park are relatively more organized and secure.
Recently, a bomb blast claimed the lives of many people at the Nyanya bus stop. Newsmen were shocked, while many wondered that someone they know may have been there when it happened. This is because the bus stop was where most people heading to the central part of the city converged – They came from Karu area, Nyanya, Mararaba, Jukwoi, Masaka and other satellite towns and villages.
However, just a little distance away from where the recent bomb blast took place is the main Nyanya Motor Park Tarmac.
This appears to be where most of the drivers have relocated to. At the entrance a man seats with a rope that is meant to hinder the movement of motorists without his approval – His responsibility is to give out tickets to them, a medium through which the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) source for revenue as well as keep tabs on vehicles. Practically nothing has changed relating to security here. “As of now we have no other security except for a Buzu man,” says a driver, Alhaji Abbass. “We need some uniformed men who would secure the premises after closing ours. In this way we get to know who comes in and who goes out. Those at the gates only work in the day time and their duty is only to give tickets.
If the government is willing to help us, we should have had cameras a long time ago that would capture what goes on here. Agberos (touts) come in and out of this place. Right now we cannot drop our passengers at the park that was affected by the blast and where we are now is still not secure. This is where we park our cars now after the day’s work.”
Femi, another driver, pointed out that the number of traders at the park was alarming and the manner in which they conduct their business. “They should be given a better place and it should be neat and organized so we can be certain nothing is hidden anywhere,” he says. The same scenario is evident at the Zuba and Utako Motor Parks.
At the Utako Park, a union official, Bello Adamu noted that what the park needs is the presence of the Secret Service. “Presently, we are towing out abandoned vehicles from the park because bombs could be kept there,” he explains.
However, Kenneth Ahua, who works with the mass transit buses at the Area Three Motor Park pointed out that the problem they are facing, is the presence of unmarked vehicles which could neither be tagged public nor private. “That was what happened in Nyanya,” he argued. “Somebody came with car and the Union could not notice that it was suspicious. For example, look at this car and that one over there,” he adds and points. “The first one is not painted with the colours we are familiar with while the other, apart from being strange, has its bonnet lifted with a battery outside. Nobody is there. If there was any sought of security detail around here, then they would inquire, but no. At Nyanya, there were lapses, and yet we have the same despite the lessons we are supposed to learn from the incident.”
At the same park, a member of the NURTW says “we are supposed to have Special Investigation Bureau and the Secret Service at parks. These are the people that should secure the place, but they are not here, although we have the Civil Defense.
You can also see that some buses are outside when they should be at the terminal, thus they create a problem for us. Again, we have advised those that sell within the premises, especially the food sellers, to desist from constructing cabinets which could serve as havens for anything dangerous.”
A member of Water Spring Investment who helps in managing the motor park gave an insight into their efforts to secure the motor park. “After what happened at Nyanya, we received visitors like the SSS and FCDA Transport Secretariat. They advised us to monitor all the cars and passengers coming in, prohibited the entry of boxes, the parking of vehicles till daybreak without identification, and encouraged checking private vehicles. To facilitate this we have closed the back entrance where cars used to pass through before now. Furthermore, we alerted the drivers to inform us when there is any suspicion concerning anyone. We have the data of all our drivers, but we do not interfere when it comes to the government buses.”
At these Motor Parks commuters respond to what they perceive to be neglect of where the masses frequent. “The only transport sector given top security is the Airports. The motor parks are neglected by the government to touts to have a field day. There is no standard motor park in the capital city. They are always rowdy and remain open to negative activities in the society. The motor park in developed countries is one sector given top security priority. Why is it that everything of ours has to be different? Is it because they are not used by the so-called big men in the society?’’ Adebayo Tunji a civil servant on his way to Illorin asks at Utako Park.
“It is saddening that we have to deal with security issues at the park now,” says Mallam Abdallah Musa. “Anytime I have to travel by road and go to the park, what is always on my mind is how the driver and passengers have to contend with the conditions of Nigerian roads, but now there is the problem of being targeted by insurgents. It is a serious matter that has to be looked into by the government. People travel more through these Parks, while some children hawk their goods to be able to keep up with school. People source for their daily bread from parks; we cannot afford to take this issue for granted. Serious countries took precautionary measures since the London train blast. What would it cost the government to make sure parks are secure compared to what they spend securing themselves and their families. Taxpayer’s money is not meant to protect them but meant for the good of the populace. It’s a dangerous trend the land transport sector is facing.”
A day after the bomb blast at the Nyanya Motor Park, the FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed, promised tight security at motor parks and other public places. This includes fixing of bomb and other explosives detectors and also the importation of more buses from China to curb the scarcity being experienced on the route. Days after the blast, Justice Peter Affen of the FCT High Court Apo in Abuja declared the park and pay policy of the Abuja administration in the city centre as illegal. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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