GOVERNOR of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday arrested an officer of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Ki Yusuf, alongside another
Staff Sergeant, A J Adeomi, for violating the state law that forbade private vehicles on the road lanes meant for public transport, known as the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT.
The governor intercepted the erring soldiers on the bus lane at the Outer Marina, in Central Lagos, as Yusuf drove his army green Peugot 406 vehicle with Army registration B01-150 NA on the BRT lane, followed by the black Toyota Camry vehicle driven by Sergeant.
On sighting Mr. Fashola who approached his vehicle, the Colonel alighted from this vehicle with repeated salutes for the governor, apologizing for his obvious violation of road use law.
“I am sorry; very, very sorry,” said the officer to the governor, who wondered why a military officer of his rank would act in direct contravention of established civil code.
A huge crowd had gathered to witness the exchange.
“Why, as a senior military officer, would you choose to break the law instead of preserving it?” asked the governor of Colonel Yusuf, who had nothing to say for himself.
Fielding questions from reporters after the incident, the governor described as “very unfortunate” the fact that those who ought to stand in defense of the democratic values of the nation are the ones violating the law.
“But it signifies my commitment and the commitment of the Lagos State Government that all those who will not comply with our laws should leave our state. We will not back down.
“There is a zero tolerance for lawlessness. There is zero tolerance for breach of our regulations and we are going to do more of this. We are going to take control of our traffic. We cannot build our way out of traffic congestion; our responsibility is to manage traffic and manage congestion”.
Insisting that people must behave well, Mr Fashola said: “I don’t use the BRT lane; I sit down in traffic and I expect everyone who wants to drive his car to do the same. The alternative is to use the bus.
“The bus is for those who cannot afford to buy cars. They have the right also to use the road and we cannot encroach on that lane which we have reserved for them. This is democratisation of the road and I will defend it.”