Curbing these suicidal commuters by Akinleye Olusegun

People hanging on a moving train. photo: BondMedia

some people sitting on a moving train. photo: BondMedia

The urge to get to work early so as to avoid being caught in the notorious traffic situation in Lagos State is the beginning of wisdom. As early as 6am, people can be seen  gathering at various bus stops eagerly waiting for the commercial buses to take them to their destinations. The fear of queries at work is such that people are ready to take any means to beat the traffic and with the ban placed on 'Okada' by the Lagos State government, most of these workers have resorted to taking the short cut to work.

In the layman term, Train hopping or Roof Top riding  is the act of surreptitiously riding on a train as a means of getting from one place to another. This degenerating act started in the United States of America during the American civil war by those who were unable to afford other means of transportation. Fast forward to the present time, the act is 'in vogue' in Nigeria.

Despite the many jingles on various radio stations and the signs at every train stations warning people to desist from the suicidal act of climbing on top of train coaches, these roof-top riders have simply  failed to comply, basking in this wrongful act.    

Although, Nigeria is not the only country found wanting. This degenerating act is also common in other populous countries of the world like Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and even Russia. The major difference is that in these other countries, the roof-top riders still act 'gentlemanly' compared to their partners-in-crime in Nigeria.

Here, these offenders even make money by selling drinks, indian hemps and all other banned substances. They are often seen attacking anybody holding a phone or any gadget that looks like a camera. They have
attacked many-a- photojournalist who tried to take pictures of them. These 'illegal passengers' are always armed to the teeth with stones, bottles and sticks which they throw at unsuspecting passers-by.

The Assistant Director of Public relations, NRC, David Ndakotsu has this to say on the issue: " we are really doing a lot to curb this bad activity. We run jingles on many radio stations to warn them. These roof-top riders are just out to sabotage our efforts. They even go to the extent of attacking journalists and policemen but we will not relent on our efforts."

It is high time the NRC joined hands together with other security forces and find a lasting solution to this uncivilized act.  This type of commuting can be dangerous and even life-threatening, because there is a risk of death or serious injury from falling off a moving train, colliding with a railway infrastructure (bridges) or unsuccessful attempts to jump on a moving train or off it.

Today, the practice of roof-top riding is forbidden by statutes on many railroads in the world. Many railroads have a strict view of people riding on the outside of trains or on the roof-tops and employ railway police and guards in an attempt to prevent the practice. Police officers and guards usually patrol the territory of large passenger stations and can arrest roof-top riders if they are spotted. Sometimes, police organize raids to remove these offenders, arrest them and prosecute them.

In Russia, over 1000 train suffers were arrested at the Moscow Railway during ten months of 2011. In India, 153 people were prosecuted in a single day for roof-top riding on the Central Railway while at least 87 people were arrested in the last four months of 2010 in Melbourne. All these are encouraging figures compared to the 33 people arrested and prosecuted in October 2012.
 
The newly appointed chairman on the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has to act fast and bring all these suicidal commuters to book and end the shameful act