[Mhiz Rebecca]

For Ayo Bamidele, a typical day
begins at 4:00 a.m. and ends 19
hours later at about 11:00 p.m. A
driver of the popular commercial
mini-bus, otherwise known as
‘Danfo’, Mr. Bamidele plies the
Oshodi-Ilupeju route of the Lagos
metropolis. But because he resides
in Agbado-Ijaiye part of the city, he
wakes up very early and gets home
late in the night. And, like most
Lagosians, Ayo does not enjoy the 7-9
hours sleep range recommended by
the National Sleep Foundation.
“That early morning ‘rush hour’ is
when we make our money as
transporters, so I cannot afford to
sleep at home when others are
making money or else I will go
hungry,” he told PREMIUM TIMES in
an interview.
“This is what I do to feed my family,
pay rents and send my children to
school,” he added.
But the recent pronouncement by
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to
banish yellow buses from Lagos road
has sent jitters down Ayo’s spine.
Like most commercial bus drivers in
Lagos, he is apprehensive. He told
our correspondent that if the
government eventually executes its
plan, he is worried about the fate of
commercial bus drivers whose
source of income is the yellow
‘danfo’ bus.
“To be frank, many of us are afraid
now. We don’t know what the
government wants to do exactly and
what it wants us to do; we don’t
know how it expects us to feed our
families and survive if it banishes
‘danfo’ from the road,” he told
PREMIUM TIMES.
Akinwunmi Ambode’s plan
While speaking at the 14th Annual Lecture of the
Centre for Value and Leadership held in Lagos
with the theme: “Living Well Together,
Tomorrow: The Challenge of Africa’s Future
Cities,” Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos
State had said that he would banish yellow
commercial buses from Lagos roads this year.
Mr. Ambode, while buttressing his points, had
maintained that connectivity was a critical
element for a mega city to work, which required
having mass transit systems to move people from
one point to another.

“I tell you what, I want to banish yellow buses
from Lagos this year,” the governor had said,
adding that there was still a lot more to be
achieved as regard making Lagos one of the
vibrant cities of the world.
“My dream of ensuring that Lagos becomes a true
megacity will not be actualised with the presence
of these yellow buses on Lagos roads.”
According to Mr. Ambode, cities are the most
attractive destination for those who want to
realise their dreams.
“It is estimated that 86 immigrants enter Lagos
every hour – the highest in any city in the world –
and they have no plans to leave.
“This is because Lagos has remained over time,
and most especially in the last decade, the most
attractive destination for those who want to
realise and live their Nigerian dream.
“This ever increasing population of the state
however means that we have to be on our toes to
provide facilities for this more than 23 million
population,” Mr. Ambode said.
The state government has, however, not
announced the modalities for the phasing out of
the buses.
Impossible dreams
A survey by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that some
commercial bus drivers in the metropolis believe
the proposed plan cannot be executed by the state
government. Many of them expressed concerns
over what would become of them if thrown off the
road.

“It is not possible… it is a crazy idea. Who will
feed our families? What job has the so-called
government created for us? Where does he want
us to dump our numerous buses? Would the
proposed new buses even reach every part of
Lagos like we do? It is a crazy idea…” an
apparently furious Joe Eze, a commercial bus
driver at Ilupeju, told our correspondent.
For another driver who simply identified himself
as “Baba Luku”, the yellow commercial mini-bus
popularly known as ‘Danfo’ has been a part of
Lagos for a long time and it would be difficult, if
not impossible, for any government to banish it
from the road.
“Those who say they want to banish yellow buses
from our roads, as well as their forebears, met
the system on ground. ‘Danfo’ is Lagos and Lagos
is ‘Danfo’,” he told PREMIUM TIMES in Yoruba
language, amidst laughter.
Baba Luku, who plies the Mushin-Oshodi route of
the metropolis, added that the plan, if executed,
would only aggravate the security situation in the
state, noting that it would negatively affect the
rate of armed robbery and all sorts of criminal
activities in the state.
“Ambode is doing fairly well in terms of security,
let him not jeopardize his efforts with this ill-
conceived idea. Where does he want the army of
conductors and drivers of the yellow buses to go?
He wants to push us into criminality?” he said.
Ayo Bamidele, a driver, said, “I have a family I
feed, clothe and send to school from this business.
I am a Poly(technic) graduate but there is no job.
The government doesn’t provide jobs yet it wants
to take away the one we have. It is unfair.”
Drivers, Conductors Plead
Others who spoke with our correspondent
however pleaded with the state government to
look into the plan holistically, by considering its
implication on the lives of people who feed their
families with the income generated from
their daily operations as drivers and conductors.
On his part, Edwin Igwe, a driver who plies the
Oshodi-Toll gate route of the city, pleaded with
the government to be considerate in the execution
of the policy, adding that an alternative plan
should be provided for the drivers.
“Government should be considerate… some of us
took these buses on ‘hired purchase’ arrangement,
how does it want us to survive and pay the debt?
Where do we even dump the buses? The plan is
hasty and insensitive,” he said.
Explaining further, he noted that the government
could as well extend the period it plans to banish
the buses from the road, so it would enable
affected drivers plan for other means of survival.
“Even if Ambode wants to ban the yellow buses, it
should not be this year. He could as well give us a
three or two years notice so that those who want
to invest in other businesses would have time to
plan and invest.”
Mr. Bamidele, who plies the Oshodi-Ilupeju route,
said the government could as well adjust the
present system by regulating the activities of the
bus drivers and conductors, rather than banish
them from the road.
“If you want to take something from someone, you
give him another thing. The government can come
up with alternatives for us or even make
adjustment to the present system instead of
banishing our buses from the road,” he said.
When PREMIUM TIMES approached a member of
the National Union of Road Transport Workers,
NURTW, Oshodi unit, he declined to speak with
our correspondent.
Passengers react
Mixed reactions, however, trailed the news of the
proposed ban among passengers who spoke with
PREMIUM TIMES.
“I think the plan is good and will enhance
development. But it will also force people out of
job. Government can look at it very well and see
how it will minimize the negative effects,” a
trader at Oshodi market, Sadiat Ajani, said.
“It is the best thing to come out of this (Ambode)
administration, I support it hundred percent.
Those drivers are so reckless and manner-less.
They deserve to go,” a civil servant who declined
to have his name in print, told our correspondent
at Ikeja.
Others who expressed concern over the operations
of the government-owned buses, said the ‘Danfo’
drivers should be spared but their routes could
be defined and regulated.
“I think traders will be most affected by this plan.
Let them have dedicated routes. The state-run BRT
buses don’t allow traders and their goods to join
the buses. Yellow bus drivers and conductors are
the ones we rely on. It is possible this new system
too will not allow us (traders) convey our goods in
their buses. It will just lead to suffering and
frustration for us (traders),” an agricultural
produce trader who simply identified herself as
Alimot, told our correspondent.
A civil servant who works on the Island, Ade
Johnson, however, said the plan would affect the
transport system in the state as the proposed
government-run buses would not be as effective
as the yellow bus system.
“I work in Victoria Island and I leave at Sango;
only the yellow bus can ensure that when I wake
up by 4:30 a.m., I will get a bus and get to office
in no time,” he said.
“Most BRTs start operation around 7:30 a.m. or
even at a time later than that but ‘danfo’ is
already on the road by 4:00 a.m. Again, BRTs
close for work by around 9:00 p.m. or thereabouts
but ‘danfo’ operates till around 11:30 p.m. or
12:00 a.m.
“As you can see, if those yellow buses are
banished from Lagos roads, passengers are the
ones who would bear the brunt and suffer the
most.”