Transport Cooperative Harps On Sector’s Reforms

Worried by the spate of thuggery, hooliganism and gangsterism in the road commercial transport sector, particularly in Port Harcourt and environs, the Rivers Transport and Investment Cooperative Union Limited has said that it will come up with programmes and steps that will bring about changes in the road transport.

As part of these efforts, modalities are being worked out on giving formal evening education programme to train illiterate drivers in their union.

Making this known to The Tide in a chat, in Port Harcourt, the Director of Administration of the transport cooperative Mr. Nimi Tamuno said that the problem of illiteracy among workers and operators in the transport sector, particularly drivers has remained a big problem in the sector, and that bulk of the problem and crisis in the transport sector could be traced to illiteracy.

He said that a lot of operators do not know how to even spell their names, and how much more reading, pointing out that an illiterate is not civilized.

According to him “An educated society is a civilized society, and for people to know their rights, they must be educated”.

The cooperative transport Director of Administration explained that more than 80 per cent of drivers generally do not know their rights simply because they are not educated, and that it is for this reason that his organisation have agreed to organise such programme.

On how the programme is going to run, he said that since these drivers are workers, that the only time they will have to go through such programme is in the evening hours, and that it is basically for cooperative transport members, adding that tutors to the programme are very much on ground.

The focus for the programme according to him, is basically on how to teach drivers, and make them have the skills of reading and writing, such that will give them power to know their fundamental right.

Tamuno however posited that all the efforts made so far by the transport cooperative in Rivers State will not be complete, if the skill of reading and writing is not given to illiterate drivers and operators, stressing that his union is not making change so as to make money for themselves, but for the total reforms of the commercial road transport sub-sector.

Corlins Walter