Many entries ago I promised the story of the helmets. So, here 'tis!
The government (one of the many -- I think this time it's the Lagos State Gov't) has had a law on their books that helmets are required on all okadas (motorcyles). But, as is the case with most laws -- they are on the books but not in life!
Okadas are very popular as taxis because they can weave through the traffic jams so that those who use them can actually get into the office in decent time. (We are not allowed to use them, of course ... and we wouldn't want to!) So, a driver can carry 3 or 4 passengers on their bike -- along with goats (dead or alive), chickens (as the goats), car tires, 4 x 6 sheets of plywood, car wind shields, ... Yes, I actually saw a guy holding two mid-sized car wind shields on his lap as he balanced behind the driver and we even saw a wheel barrow in the grip of the last of two passengers as he balanced on the back of the bike and let the wheel barrow wheel along behind them.
The scenes are often entertaining --- if they are not terrifying. But as one can imagine, the accident rate is rather high. Jide, our driver, estimates that in Lagos, alone, there are a couple hundred deaths PER DAY from okadas. His father would not let Jide's sister date a particular guy because the guy showed up at their village on an okada! Wise father! We've seen far too many remnants of accidents, including dead bodies with details that I cannot describe here without having this blog be rated R for violence and gruesomeness.
Outlawing their use as taxis would be wise --- which Port Harcourt has recently done. But helmets are at least a place to start. So one fine morning about one month ago the government decided to start enforcing the helmet law. And because it was a law the people didn't need any warning. You can imagine the chaos when police started pulling drivers and passengers off their okadas, beating them into compliance, and hauling them -- bike and all -- to jail. Keep in mind that every law is a new source of income for the dirty police so most were willing to take dashes in order to release the folks. But the required dashes were more than an okada driver's daily (or even weekly) income and in the morning their pockets were empty so, basically, only those with wealthy and compassionate passengers could avoid jail.
(So far, this just seems tragic, but I assure you that the entertaining part of the story is there, too!)
Imagine the panic that ensued. Okada drivers have some system of communication that boggles the mind. (Within 3 minutes of an accident in which a car and an okada collide, the car driver -- if he has not abandoned his car and run for his life -- is surrounded by an angry mob of okada drivers and beaten, often until death. Police stand by and let it happen.) Anyway, whatever their communication system, in this case within minutes the okadas were off of the streets. The price of poor quality, used helmets went from about $20 to $80 in minutes. And new designs of helmets emerged within a few hours.
"Helmets" included: the traditional motorbike helmet which was far too costly for most bike drivers; standard hardhats -- available at most construction sites and, even with the instant price increases, much more affordable; inverted cooking pots, some with handles still attached; inverted, hollowed out, and dried gourds; bike helmets; welder hats; ...
For at least a week, the arrests continued. Sometimes the driver had a helmet but the passengers did not and therefore all were arrested. Sometimes the passengers had helmets but the driver did not and therefore all were still arrested. You see the pattern. But the most entertaining situations were those when a policeman was shouting at someone who was pointing to their "helmet" and assuring the policeman that they were complying with the law. After shouting, finger-pointing, curses appealing to some evil spirit, and basic pleas for mercy the offenders were hauled away.
Slowly the gourds, cooking pots, and hardhats have disappeared. But, the silly women who perch their helmets in crown-like fashion on top of their headdresses -- they remain!
Huge supplies of used helmets arrived across the borders within days -- some folks in neighboring countries raked in a lot of cash for the over-priced necessities!
No one has, as of yet, seemed to grasp the NEED for helmets. There has just been a huge outcry against the "oppressive government that is robbing individual freedoms!"
The sense of urgency is subsiding.
The policemen have tired of chasing down the offenders. They weren't making enough money from the dashes, anyway!
Many drivers and passengers carry their helmets on their laps or hang them on the handle bars.
Many, even some men, wear them like crowns.
Within another month, everything will be back to "normal."
Until the next time some official in some government decides to enforce some law.
I'm in the midst of a three week visit with Jeri (and sometimes Boy, when he's free). Tomorrow we head to Bangkok for the remainder of my time here. Boy is based in Bangkok while he's playing in a football (soccer) tournament that lasts a few months. He's experiencing a lot more freedom than when he was just a lowly Air Force soldier. Being an athlete has advantages in every culture, it would seem!
