Barrister Gbenga Oladapo, a human rights advocate with Lawyers Watch for Justice International Initiative, LAWJII, an organization based in Rivers State has lent his voice to the recently constituted task force on street trading, illegal motor parks, among other issues in the state as a step in the right direction.
He stated this in a chat with our reporter yesterday, saying that traffic situation before now was worrisome. He maintained that people do all sorts to disfigure the city but expressed confidence that with the new move by Governor Nyesom Wike, the state will regain its status as the Garden City.
According to him, those who claimed economic situation warranted traders to engage in street trading were only whipping up unnecessary sentiments. He condemned a situation where everyone would like to be on the fast lane without making efforts to do the right thing.
He said: “If you have been moving around Port Harcourt lately, you will see that the traffic situation is now ameliorated. Come around Fruit Garden before now, you may be stuck in the hold up for minutes, but now that is no longer the case. In every cosmopolitan society you don’t have people blocking the streets in the name of trading, there are markets, they could move into the markets.
“Most of the people who are out there on the streets, claiming they don’t have any means of livelihood have shops inside the market, they have stalls inside the market but they don’t want to use it. Everybody is on a fast lane. The governor has not acted wrongly in that wise.”
On the issue of ban on public demonstration and proscription of youth associations in the communities, the human rights activist said under the Law, the people have the right to carry out demonstration, without causing civil disturbance. According to him, in a democracy, demonstration is the only means of expressing people’s feelings. He advised that government should provide demonstrators will security, especially where such intention had been made known by any group. According to him, it is the only way government can be criticized and made to know what it is not doing right.
On the proscription of youth association recently, the rights activist said this had been done in the interest of all. According to him, in the past, many hid under the guise of one youth group or the other to carry out nefarious activities. He stated that, based on the fight against cultism in the state it is not a bad idea. According to him, “in as much as they are not totally banned, if they have certain conditions to meet for them to operate, I see that as very innovative on the part of the government.”
