President
of Rwanda, Mr. Paul Kagame has lauded the decision of Governor
Babatunde Fashola to restrict the activities of commercial motorcycle
riders also known as okada riders in Lagos State rather than ban them
completely.
Speaking
at a breakfast meeting organized by the Young Nigerian Professionals at
Civic Centre, Victoria Island Lagos at the weekend, Kagame said there
was the need to regulate the operation of okada.
When
asked what he felt about the restriction of okada riders in Lagos
State, he said, there were okadas in Rwanda, but that they were well
regulated and not allowed to constitute nuisance to the public.
“We
have okada too in Rwanda. It is a lucrative business. A good number of
people are doing okada business in Rwanda. But their activities are
well-regulated. There are rules and regulations that define the limit of
their operation.
“We
also organise them into groups, such as association of owners and
association of operators. The groups help in ensuring that the rules and
regulations are duly observed. Because we have rules, institutions and
structures in place, we do not have much problem with okada operators.
“There
might be challenges here and there. But we have institutions and
structures that can take care of those challenges,” he stated. He also
spoke on the International Criminal Court, ICC, saying it is a court to
prosecute poor countries, stressing that “it is wrong to ship African
leaders to The Hague all in the name of criminal offences.
“There
are non-Africans who support those African leaders accused of
committing war crimes in other parts of the world. But ICC does not go
after such people. I will prefer African Union to have its court where
those erring leaders could be tried.” He also identified meaningful
investments in the youth and education as key strategies that would help
Nigeria and other African states recover their lost opportunities,”
Kagame said.
According
to him, there was no need for any African leader to seek aids from
foreign donors, saying that neither Nigeria nor any African state needed
any foreign aids to unlock opportunities in their economies.
He
stated his believe that Nigeria could change, but that it was the young
people that would bring about the change, adding that “I believe the
change has started already. What is required to make a change is in the
hand of youths. Rwanda is ready to work with Nigeria and failing to do
what is necessary will make prosperity a major challenge on the
continent.
“Each
country on the continent has everything it needs to catalyse its growth
and development. We have lost opportunities in the past. We should be
challenged so that we do not lose opportunities in the future again. We
must ensure as a continent that opportunities are no longer wasted.
“Aside
from natural resources, which the continent is endowed with meaningful
investment in young people constitutes larger part of African
population. If we look at the number of young people we have in this
part of the world, it is a vast opportunity for the government. But we
need to support them. I want to see young Nigerians and Africans working
together and take advantage of vast opportunities in their respective
countries or on the continent.
“The
continent’s young people need to interact and network. We now have
technology and devices to interact and network better. This is how we
can gain what has been lost in the past decades. There is no other way
around it. Africans must develop Africa. Europe will not develop our
continent for us,” he said.
