Around and about the nation

By Reuben Abati

"OL'Boy, congratulations".

"What is it this time? What mischief are you up to?"

"Bring your hand first"

"Look, don't waste my time. I have very important things to worry about"

"I say bring your hand. Do you know what I want to tell you?"

"Please yourself"

"Hen hen. Look at this story. The Federal Government has extended the manufacture date limit of used cars that can be imported into the country. Previously the age of manufacture limit was eight years, now it has been extended to 10 years. This is the major highlight of the new excise and customs review"

"And what has that got to do with me?"

"It means you can bring in a used car much more easily into the country. You can bring in any car as old as 1998."

"Should somebody like me still be riding a Tokunbo car."

"Oh sorry, my master, I forgot that someone like you is so rich, a used car is beneath you. But that your car I see you with, is it not a Tokunbo car"

"It is grade A".

"What is Grade A? Is that a new brand in the market? Manufactured by which company please?"

"That car you are seeing, when I bought it, the mileage on it was less than 2000 kilometres. It was as good as new. I brought it in personally from Germany".

"When you bought it, was it tear rubber, did you remove the rubber yourself?"

"I have told you it is Grade A not Tokunbo".

"I don't see the difference"

""You can't see it. But let's face the issues. I don't understand the idea of government encouraging people to bring in more used cars from Europe and the United States. The whole of Nigeria has become a junkyard for imported used cars. And this eight-year limit, or 10-year limit is a lot of bunkum. Nigerians continue to bring in all kinds of vehicles anywhere they can find them. Have you been to the Seme border lately or those border towns, by Republic of Benin?"

"I don't have business in such places"

"The last time I went for a function in that area, I saw smugglers bringing in all kinds of cars through the border. It is big business. If you have cash at hand and you are willing to bribe all the officials at the border, you can bring into Nigeria even a car that was manufactured thirty years ago."

"I hear the smugglers know what to do to the vehicles and it would seem as if they are within the law."

"Even the documents can be prepared and placed within the requirements of the state. That is why there are so many used cars on our roads."

"It is a matter of choice. I know people and they are not necessarily rich who will not buy any vehicle except it is brand new."

"But is that how you interpret choice?"

"The truth is that if you want a good car, these days, all you have to do is to get some support from a bank. With as low as N20,000 per month, you can work out a credit facility that allows you to buy a brand new car and you can pay back over a period of 20 years."

"And by then, the vehicle would have long packed up, I don't like the idea of borrowing so you can look like the neighbours. I'll rather stay within my means. And in any case, the so-called self-improvement, or is it home improvement (?) facility that you get from the banks, the banks are not really interested in you, they are more concerned about profit."

"I know a lot of people who are taking loans to buy cars."

"It does not make sense. A car is a wasting asset."

"But it adds value"

"What value? Look, if the Nigerian government wants to encourage more people to buy used cars, if that is the purpose of the new policy, then it is stupid. In other countries, governments encourage their citizens to use brand new vehicles, Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all kinds of vehicles. Americans and Europeans are selling off their big cars, to save cost on gasoline. Many of the cars on our roads not only guzzle petrol, they pose a threat to the environment."

"After buying your own Tokunbo, you don't want others to have the same opportunity. This is the problem with us in this society."

"Far from it. I am saying instead that this is not the best way to address the challenge of transportation in Nigeria. It is not by increasing population of vehicles on our roads. There are too many cars on the roads, because everybody wants to own a vehicle, some people even have a whole fleet and they send all their cars onto the roads daily."

"I can't blame anybody. If a man can afford a car for his own use, I won't query him about how he uses it."

"The thing to do is to create a multi-nodal transportation system which gives people options. If you decide to introduce an effective and modern rail transport system in Nigeria today, both intra-city and inter-city, you'd be surprised how you'd free up the roads, and fewer people will be under compulsion to buy cars."

"Government will need money to do the kind of metro line system you are asking for."

"We need it."

""But many things will have to be sorted out."

"What are you sorting out? Malaysia manufactured its own home-made car a long time ago, and it is a popular brand in Britain. Nigeria has been talking about a Nigerian car for such a long time. We are not talking about that anymore, rather government wants to empower smugglers and spare parts dealers, and fill the streets with more Tokunbo cars."

"Rome was not built in a day; Let my people buy cars first."

"These days, I am afraid to go to some places simply because of traffic congestion. One day, someone should calculate the loss in real terms."

"Okay, leave the matter. You always like to bother yourself unnecessarily. We are in the ember months, I'll like to see you complete this year and live happily thereafter.""

"Life seems to be getting more difficult as the year begins to wind up"

"Armed robbers are everywhere and they are so daring. I doubt if there is any day now that we do not read a story about armed robbery and the robbers appear to be targeting banks especially."

"The Inspector General of Police has advised all banks to install surveillance cameras to assist the police in tracking down bank robbers"

"Many banks already have CCTV cameras. There are banks that have been using CCTV cameras for years, but that has not discouraged robbers from attacking the banks.."

"The IG says it will help"

"Yes. But what matters is what the police do with the evidence collected. And don't forget that robbers are becoming more sophisticated, they do research. And knowing that there are CCTV cameras, it is those cameras that they will first disable before embarking on their mission"

"You sound knowledgeable about this matter..."

"You dey craze. All I am saying is that CCTV cameras cannot become a substitute for the police doing their job"

"Nobody has said that."

""Okay if you insist."

"I hear the the Federal Safety Commission (FRSC) has declared that anybody caught drunk and driving will be sanctioned, because there are increasing cases of drunk driving. You know that old injunction, if you drink..."

"Don't drive. Yes, how will they enforce it? Do they have the equipment, the required number of personnel to enforce the regulation?"

"You are vent talking about enforcement. I am more concerned that even men in uniform drink these days. Is it any surprise that virtually every police station has places where you can buy alcohol. When you see a police check point, a drinking joint is likely not to be too far away."

"That is the police not the FRSC."

"I don't quite see a difference."

"The FRSC has also said that drinking joints at all motor parks will be abolished"

"I hope the regulation will also extend to private motorists and commuters. I know people who can't touch the wheels unless they are a little bit high. And as a rule commercial drivers in Nigeria drink all kinds of things including marinated ogogoro on the rocks"

"The don't drink and drive campaign must include motorcyclists too, those notorious okada riders. They appear drunk to me."

"I understand Nigerian Breweries is supporting the campaign"

"A brewery telling people not to drink? I hope they are sincere"

"More like the brewery telling people to drink responsibly"

"By the way, I see that the Third Mainland Bridge has been re-opened"

"Ahead of schedule please."

"I think that is praise-worthy. It is not always that you find a government making a promise and fulfilling it. Lagos State Governor Raji Fashola promised that the inconvenience caused by the closure of the bridge for repairs will be temporary. He has kept his word. That is my man."

"But who are we praising? The Federal or state government, because that bridge was the responsibility of the Federal Government."

"Both. But my point is that the bridge could have become another abandoned project. Remember the repair of the Port Harcourt International Airport. The project was abandoned for so long."

"I see. But it is not only the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos that needed to be fixed. When something affects Lagos, the Federal Government and every one else try to focus on it. How about the bridge at Onitsha and other bridges across the country?"

"I agree. They should be fixed too, particularly that Niger Bridge. "

"You'd recall that in Lagos also, there are still about 31 bridges which some European experts said are in varying states of collapse. What is government planning to do about those other bridges?"

"Ask your man now?"

"We should ask the President"

"Where is he these days?"

"He is in Aso Villa"

"Looks like he is becoming quiet again"

"No. He has been busy really except that he has been sending his Ministers around a lot to stand in for him. The UN General Assembly, the launch of DAARSAT and so on."

"I hope His Excellency is not adopting a style of government by representation"

"No. It is called government by delegation"

"You sef."

Robot  Villager

# 1 Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all kinds of vehicles. Americans and Europeans are selling off their big cars, to save cost on gasoline. Many of the cars on our roads not only guzzle petrol, t...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 10.10.2008 09:45

Gbolly  Villager

# 2 You sef, na wa for you o. Thank u Posted by Gbolly| 11.10.2008 14:57

10Kobo  Villager

# 3 =Abati>"By the way, I see that the Third Mainland Bridge has been re-opened" "Ahead of schedule please." "I think that is praise-worthy. It is not always that you find a government making a promise and fulfilling it. Lagos State Governor Raji Fashola promised that the inconvenience caused by the closure of the bridge for repairs will be temporary. He has kept his word. That is my man. f just for this only, keeping a promise, this Fashola Administration has earned my respect...and that doesn't come cheaply. Should all governments of the states and the federal in particular, be held accountable like this, making and keeping their promise o the electorate, then Nigeria would have been another story and "Vision 2099" :D would have been realized long ago! More Grease to your elbow, Guv'...what about "Inter City Mass Transit and the Electricity situation"? Any hope???? 10kobo Posted by 10Kobo| 12.10.2008 16:48