Nation
Commercial Drivers’ Strike Hits Commuters In Lagos
Some commuters in Badagry and its environs were on Monday morning stranded as commercial bus drivers embarked on an indefinite strike.
The drivers alleged arbitrary collection of levies from them by officials of Lagos State Motor Parks and Garage Management.
The Tide’s source, who monitored bus stops in Badagry, reports that commuters were seen waiting for buses to convey them to different destinations without success.
The source reports that at the popular roundabout in Badagry, many residents going to Ojo and other places returned due to lack of commercial buses to convey them.
Mr Idowu Jimoh, a staff of Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in Badagry, told the source that he had waited for close to two hours at the roundabout for a bus to convey him to his office in Lagos.
He appealed to the Lagos State Government and aggrieved transporters to resolve the issue amicably for peace to reign.
According to Jimoh, “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, so it is the masses that are suffering for what they don’t know”.
The source reports that the situation was the same at Mowo Bus Stop, MTN Bus Stop, Ibile Bus Stop, Magbon Bus Stop, Churchgate and Agbara,
At Mowo Bus Stop, tricycles, known as Keke Maruwa, and commercial motorcycles were on ground to convey stranded commuters to their various destinations.
Mrs Elizabeth Ojo, a foodseller who was going to the market, said the tricycle drivers had increased the transport fare by 50 per cent due to the strike by the commercial bus drivers.
Ojo urged the government to meet the people and resolve it before it went out of hand.
Meanwhile, Mr Taofeek Hassan, the Assistant Secretary, Joint Drivers’ Welfare Association of Nigeria, told the source in a telephone interview that commercial bus drivers would not go back to work unless government intervened.
According to him, the bus drivers left the road because of extortion of their people by the park managers.
“When National Union of Road Transport Workers was created, the union was created to represent the commercial bus drivers, but now, things have changed,” he said.
According to him, the park managers were eating fat on commercial drivers who were working daily but had nothing to show for all their works.
“So, we left the road because we don’t want their troubles. The government should listen to us, we don’t want them on our road again,” he said.
He said the association had given them more than seven days notice, adding that they should have resolved the matter before they started the strike.
Hassan urged the commercial bus drivers to sit at home and avoid trouble with the park managers who, he alleged, were moving from one bus stop to another looking for trouble.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
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