Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Dying culture of maintenance in commercial transports by Olusegun Ariyo

                                                                                    





Evening has fallen in the street of Lagos; indeed, it was time when every employee, artisans in all work of life has to start returning home from their various places of origin. Indeed, happy hours for some has evolved, while it is usually a sad one for others since majority of our mode of movement is indeed on road and the means of transport that majority  of the population uses as  channel  still  remains commercial vehicular movements. Everyone is looking forward in getting on board through various routes that are in-existence in every terminal in-demand, in other to get to their various destinations. Experiences as, to the way things  are done in most unusual manner by those operators of commercial vehicles, that majority of them, the populace ply during peak period,  and  where  you don’t even know any  agency to lay complains to when the needs arise, instead,  some  of those dying cultures  is being allowed to be celebrated without any body  questioning what ever is their sense of judgment on there  maintenance and vehicle worthiness in the cause of their movement from one location to the other is truly one out of many obstacle we are yet to cross in the annals things that  should be done appropriately.





 The understanding and perception about some handlers of commercial vehicle  that moves within our metropolis, who never think of its healthiness and condition of what is the signs their vehicle is showing before embarking on any journey’’, is there need for it to be handled before it get out of hand, knowing fully well that passengers boarding  during that peak period  would have being so tired  and could not wait a bit, getting  home without any hindrance, more essentially being able to do the needful before dark in the night are not disappointed, hence evening has  fallen,’’’’’’’’  after weighing the extra-ordinaries that befalls  the mode and means at which our transportation management swings  in ,and the manner with-which some driver’s non challant attitude  is, towards managing its mechanism  and ensuring  that standard  remains an up-hill task to them and its passengers ,  and also  where it becomes more problematic to so many passengers on board, and to those who are willing to get on the move, fundamentally and physically speaking, some  of those vehicle are suppose to be off the roads due to the fact that  some are out rightly old and could not stand the taste of time any more, while in some cases, some develop mechanical fault  persistently with the know of the driver just because of their greed to part away with some amount of what the vehicle has being able to produce as a result of going commercial with it ,  and for another  reason  of being selfish  amounting to ignorant at the detriment of its passengers,  unfortunately, they the [drivers] defile all warning signals the vehicle must have been given, and ride on it in that escalating situation with  the believe that it could be managed to its destination from  there origin.



 This and some other hocus –pocus like ‘’ Oga, make I manage am now, I go, go repair am immediately I drop you, I beg, I beg understand with me’ are indeed the challenges of change in perception that is still of essence from many of the drivers plying our metropolis. This trend usually thrives in different segments of our lives as we move from one origin to another destination. One thing that struck my understanding anytime on board when in one of these mode of transportation essentially, the commercial means in our metropolis, is the way the perception of those in the stirring thinks when the demand for standard is abound.



Typical of any motorbike mode for instance, is how to get a passenger from one origin to destination. Ordinarily, every means of transport with commercial out look should be of standard when ever the needs arises to service its mechanism, put in place good shape of tires, its road worthiness standard with the rest of the infrastructure that keeps the mechanism in  smooth motion at every pace demanded. But then, in some occasions reverse is usually the case, you will see some motor bikes having their tire dancing in an unusual manner, is either the sprocket chain is faulty or the tires are wired- off, and could be dangerous.




  Most occasion the operator is fully aware, but because they are good at the word ‘’oga make we manage am, they tend to want to risk it in that situation. My personal capacity, in the cause of accessing one mode of commercial bus transport, I find out that many of these vehicular movements are like death traps. Physical observation alone, gives very bad impression not to discuss when having an experience on board with such vehicle.



 Typical commercial vehicles like [danfo] has is being called on our road, is few  out of many that can be removed from such controversies, but has on the high side, those identified with these challenges. A Phenomenon that thrives in, not only road transport mode, but   Air, and rail counterparts as a results of the overbearing attitudes of some drivers, the management or owners. it was  realized that our drivers truly needs the moral equivalent of  collective counseling of a mind that had been suffused and suffocated through their thinking when defacing the thought of maintaining their vehicles need if the needs arise, which off-course should  be a regular thing.




 The drivers are always far too eager in making money, and in a hurry, they ignore the need to examine and evaluate the stages of maintaining their vehicle, which depleting effects usually fails on passengers.  Drivers also fail to realize how important is their relationship with passengers since they the passengers are those who patronize them on daily basis and did not fully understand the importance and the dire consequence of ill maintainace of daily moving vehicle that falls under this circumstance. In these wise, both the operators and the passengers share the agony and where in most times the owner gain. I remembered coming in from yaba route to connect to Iyana ipaja, I entered commercial vehicle plying that route. it was hell on earth, when all-of a –sudden, the vehicle developed fault, and the passengers new how non challant those drivers could be when the need for maintainace arises in   servicing their vehicle periodically as it suppose to be the culture, and  is  not in that circumstances. Those passengers alight from the vehicle, yelling, some are negotiating how much the bus conductor could give to them since they have gone half way, almost reaching their destination whilst some are not even close, some are willing to meet with appointment and as well, look for alternative means of transport that could   get them to their place of destination, for them to meet with appointment  in good time remains a big question calling for answer.




All said. The phenomenon became what seems not boarding the driver other than the money involved which he new he was at the verge of loosing. The predicament of the passengers lamenting is of no importance to the operator, the periodic maintainace that is required of him to implement is of no significance, instead the money involved.  But then, the  painful truth here is that the mechanism would have been given signs before it eventually parked off on that faithful day, where their usually pattern has failed unabated.



 Part of the reason we missed the boat here is that  we never stopped to examine  the logic or illogicality of our doings in the way we handle thing, more especially relating to something that affect our lives and the way   we plan them, the belief system of a class of people who were not often the brightest and the best commercial drivers the nation  produced and who were not really knowledgeable to subject their thinking and thoughts to positive judgment of how of essence  should maintenance of  commercial vehicle  is to them.. When you put all these pattern of events together, one get the impression that our drivers may not have a good understanding of how these things should be done.





 Our system of governance should put these into cognizance in the area of training and re-training them as a matter of necessity in their various driving schools. My prime example of the failures of drivers when it comes to maintainace where-with, escalates into lot of controversy was about the lingering challenges it poses ahead as we move on with life. Indeed, foist a new ways of life on the general population, many of whom were already set in their ways, in the end,  checks and balance is expected to entrenched through self judgment by those operators in ensuring that their vehicle is worthy, parharp new Nigerian person might have emerged  through self introspection, and with him a new character, discipline and ethos

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