No Parking: PUWOV Reverse Success?

Following the notorious activities of commercial motorists and street traders in Benin city, especially within and around the Oba Ovoramwen square, Edo state government in 2017 engaged some youths to participate in its Public Works Volunteer (PUWOV) scheme to, amongst other things, assist in restoring law and order in the state.

The government however set up a committee, code named, 'Project Clean-Up Edo', headed by Secretary to the government, Osarodion Ogie Esq, with a task to clean up the state capital, and as well expose it aesthetic beauty, being a transit route to the Eastern, Western, and Northern part of the country.

In other to achieve set goal, the Ogie-led committee put together a taskforce, made up of the volunteers, to enforce ban on street-trading, illegal parking and other commercial activities in unauthorize locations within the state capital and environs.

The volunteers who are always decked in Black faze cap, T-shirts, and green reflective jacket with PUWOV insignia, are conspicuously present in strategic areas in the Benin metropolis. In areas like 3rd Junction (Upper Sokponmba Road), New Benin (Upper mission road), Ramat Park, Aduwawa and others.

Motorists caught violating the 'No Parking' rules are taken to their office at Urhokpota Hall, with their vehicles impounded for onward arraignment before a mobile court set up for the purpose.

Those found guilty are sentenced to prison with option of fine.

At their various locations, the PUWOV officials are seen with smartphones, which they use to take photographs (as evidence) of vehicles that park and pick passengers randomly instead of government approved motor parks.

But, in recent times, it seems the volunteers are done with their camera (phone) as it is common to see them enforcing the 'No Parking' ban with pipes, sticks and stones. 

They use these items to destroy erring motorists vehicles, when they are not forcefully removing the side mirror of vehicles, which is contrary to the professional training on security; traffic management and other areas related to law and order for which they underwent in the course of their engagement.

In one of their enforcement drive recently, around Sapele Road junction at Oba Ovoramwen square, a volunteer of the scheme  damaged the side glass of a commercial bus that picked up a passenger at a 'No Parking zone' with a stone.

The stone shattered the glass, and then hit a passenger inside the arsh colour bus (registration number withheld), a situation which took the timely intervention of passers-by to put under control.

Another day, a volunteer destroyed side glass of a commercial bus at around Ramat park, this time, the driver drove off without waiting to ascertain the level of damage, or to confront the stone-wielding volunteer.

 A taxi headlamps were smashed by a volunteer at Adesogbe road junction by Airport road, which resulted in the driver calling the attention of  'WABAINZIGAN',  the state security outfit who were on a routine patrol.

 It took the inputs of the operatives to quell the ensuing tension, as a top official of the scheme insisted in fixing the damaged headlamps and take the driver of the taxi to a mobile court at Urhokpota Hall.

The top official acknowledged as "malicious damage", the destruction of vehicles by his colleagues, even as the motorists do not border to challenge any official, as they prefer to go fix their vehicles to being arrested and their vehicles impounded for onward arraignment.

The volunteers are sometimes relieved of their jobs when a superior officer sees a commercial vehicle picking passengers at an area they are assigned to man, hence they go as far as causing damage to any vehicle violating the rules, apparently to scare them and save their jobs.

In one of the scenes, a case of removal of a vehicle side mirror by an official, it was observed that, the driver has been tried and found guilty for the offence he was repeating when the mirror was forcefully removed. 

After monitoring the activities in the different areas where the volunteers are manning for a period, this writer visited the PUWOV office.

The compound which hitherto is usually filled with impounded vehicles mostly the Red-and-Fire yellow painted commercial buses, as well as erring motorists waiting to be arraigned, has nosedived compared to when the scheme earlier commenced, as the beehive of activities at Urhokpota Hall in recent times has been mainly the Park and Pay operations of officials of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo state.

A commercial bus driver, Ese Sylvester, who had come to retrieve his vehicle, impounded for parking along Oba market road Axis alleged, his refusal to pay a certain amount demanded as bribe by an official of the scheme, led to his  arraignment and was sentenced to 21-days imprisonment, with an option of N30,000:00 fine.

The driver, during a chat minutes after he was released from prison, explained, he spent 48hours in prison custody before securing his bail after raising the fine through a co-driver.

Another commercial motorist, who said he was at Urhokpota Hall to also retrieve his vehicle, said he was arrested along upper mission road by New Benin market, stressing that, an unnamed official promised to release his vehicle to him unconditionally after narrating his "home problem" to him, a claim which was not verified as the official was said to be away as at the time of the chat.

86 percent of motorists who shared their experiences, agreed that, they have once pay their way out of the volunteers dragnet when caught, but there are no substantial evidence to back their claims.

Howbeit, the 'No parking' signposts' erected at these locations to inform motorists areas prohibited for parking, are not being obeyed. Even unknown persons now deface the public infrastructure with advertorials.

These protectors of public utilities seems to concentrate on the 'No Parking' ban, and not the 'No parking' signposts that inform motorists of prohibited areas.

It seems they are overwhelmed with the situation, and that, they need more hands. Especially when a central motor park is yet to be fully functional, coupled with the lack of coordination at the Central Bus Terminal (at Obakhawaye), which forced many commercial motorists to breach the 'no parking' zones, damning the consequences.

Though, one can not mention all the various incidences that have put the scheme in bad light in a piece, there is urgent need for the volunteers to retrace their steps and toll the part that depicts civilization, as the numerous successes recorded through their enforcement may be overshadowed with the crude methods.

These must be halted with continue training and retraining to equip the volunteers with the right skills and attitude to deliver on their duties inline with laid down rules.

However, while it is on record that the scheme, has in time past arrested, dismissed and charged to court any volunteer who flouts the law under the cover of PUWOV, the Mukhtari -led volunteers must do more to halt gradual roll back of the scheme's achievement, notably, the return of sanity to the state capital.