By Muyiwa Adetiba

How many times have we seen vehicles, especially commercial vehicles run red lights as if they were not there for a purpose? How many times have we seen military vehicles speed recklessly on one-way streets thereby endangering the lives of those who have the right to that side of traffic, including pedestrians?

How many times have we seen otherwise sane men drive crazily against traffic on an expressway because of a traffic hold-up on their side of the road? How many times have we seen motorcyclists bob and weave to avoid being hit by on-coming vehicles after committing several traffic infractions? The answer is everyday irrespective of where you stay in Lagos. They make those of us who are determined not to willfully disobey traffic rules feel like idiots. It is worse when you are familiar with the terrain enough to know that their actions could cause you another thirty-minute delay because they are simply going to clog the intersection further down.

At such times, it takes discipline and resolve not join this ‘maddening crowd’ and save yourself time and some ‘aggro’. At such times, they are the smart ones and you are the ‘mumu’. You are further made to look stupid when the traffic officers, rather than remonstrate them, pass them ahead of you in order to ease traffic. Why do the lawless get away with their acts of lawlessness?

Why do the wicked get away with their wickedness? In fact, why do they prosper in their lawlessness? In their wickedness? Why are there no consequences to their actions? Where is the law of sowing and reaping? These questions swirl in your head waiting for answers while you are sweating in traffic and witnessing several acts of traffic lawlessness.

I always knew there were consequences even if they were far between or not easily discernible. Some events of the last couple of weeks proved me right. I had gone to a close friend’s place to collect a parcel when I met someone who was vaguely familiar. He greeted me warmly and his voice triggered some recollections. But I still hesitated. He sensed my discomfiture and mentioned his name. He turned out to be the same trusted ‘Man Friday’ of many years to my friend. I was wide eyed because he had changed in many undefined ways.

He was leaning heavily on crutches in a way that suggested one leg was practically gone. His face was puffy which is typical of a man bereft of exercise or someone with a heart condition. I collected my parcel, tried to say the right things and quickly made my exit. You guessed right. The next call was to my friend who said he thought he mentioned it to me last year. I knew he had given his ‘Man Friday’ a motorcycle a while ago to make mobility easier for him.

Last year, when he was virtually living alone in the house – his boss was out of the country – and therefore in control of his time, he rode against traffic and was almost crushed by a hit and run vehicle. His leg was broken in places. He spent most of last year at the hospital and has had three corrective surgeries. He still has two to go including a skin graft. He is lucky to be alive. But he probably will never ride another motorcycle again. And from the look of things, may never enjoy many of the simple pleasures he once took for granted.

All because he felt, like many two wheel riders, that traffic laws did not apply to him. Yet, all it takes is one miscalculation… one consequence of several acts of lawlessness.

We all know about the second event. It was the tragic bus/train collision which happened in Lagos but which shook the entire nation. Many lives were lost as a result and many bodies landed in hospitals. Limbs were broken; dreams were shattered. A Youth Corper at the prime of life, was one of them. She was serving her country after which she was to go abroad to pursue her dreams.

Many would have similar dreams; an expectant mother perhaps, a blossoming love, a financial breakthrough, a looming promotion, all gone in the twinkle of an eye. Unfortunately, as it so often happens, the driver, the cause of shattered lives and broken limbs, escaped with his life to live with what will become haunted memories. I am sure it would not be the first time the driver had broken traffic laws. It would not be the first time he had relied on his wits and ‘smartness’ rather than play safe. And if it was his regular route, it probably was not the first time he would have dashed across with seconds to spare. Yet, all it takes is one miscalculation…. One consequence of several acts of lawlessness.

Those who say the government should have mounted a barrier miss the point in my opinion. You should not need a physical barrier to obey signs and laws. There are many developed countries where rails and roads intersect and barriers are not always mounted. But there are many warnings and signs along the route which drivers heed. Many of our drivers don’t understand many of these signs and don’t care. In other countries, a double yellow line tells you that you are not allowed to cross the lane.

Not in Nigeria. A dividing concrete would have to do the job. In many countries, a light tells you as a pedestrian when you should cross the street and it is a crime if you cross without a green light. In Nigeria, we need concrete in the name of pedestrian bridges to cross the street. Even these bridges are often ignored as inconvenient time wasters. Instead, we would rather learn the art of crossing a busy six lane expressway by timing the speed of on-coming vehicles. Yet all it takes is one miscalculation…. And there would a consequence to our several acts of lawlessness.

The consequence to acts of traffic lawlessness doesn’t have to be deaths or deformities. Fines would be cheaper for all concerned in the scheme of things. Government can reduce acts of traffic lawlessness by bringing reckless drivers to book without fear or favour, starting with its own drivers. The way commercial drivers and motorcyclists ignore traffic signs makes one believe they either don’t understand the signs or they don’t think they exist for them. It is time to bring awareness to them.  It is time to throw the statutes at them. It is time to make Lagos saner.