Either deliberate or not, whatever it is MC Oluomo got going with the PR stunt is impressive. But it’ll require a lot more to stop me from associating him or NURTW with bloodshed and a reign of terror. Childhood days in Isolo, my mother had a shop at Afariogun in Oshodi. Thread
Newly retired, she invested her gratuity in a fabric shop in Oshodi. Every now and then, she & friends will close shop for days & lose income, because fighting in Oshodi between gangs of MC Oluomo & his rivals. As a student having to commute Oshodi frequently, I was robbed.
Till 2019, my colleagues living in the Oshodi area worked & lived in fear at intervals due to brutal clashes and murders of alleged NURTW gangs. It was always stories of MC Oluomo & his men. Enforcing control - violence was the instrument. Many lives lost, livelihoods damaged.
Their use of arms & violence as instrument of operations is near legitimate, only the Armed forces come close. Never for once has the Lagos govt wielded the big stick, or not to my knowledge. No growth or real transformation to road transport. Yet MC Oluomo’s profile soars.
We commute humans like manure. Until they eliminate violence as the modus operandi of NURTW & drive transformation of Lagos transport, I will never see how or why a society, be it business, politics, religion or media should associate, celebrate or endorse such an institution.
It’s society telling our kids that thuggery is okay.
It is NOT okay.
And I will say this, no matter the PR.
It is NOT okay.
And I will say this, no matter the PR.
