When former Transport Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, in a rare moment of "divinely" inspired insight urged Nigerians to consider adopting bicycles as a means of transport, not a few of us laughed him to scorn. I'm sure most must have wondered what most have possessed the man entrusted with providing Nigerians with an efficient transport system to advocate a return to the 1950s.

However with recent events, it seems Ojo may have been right afterall. The railway system has been moribund for years, our roads are no more than death traps with armed robbers and N20 police men waiting to dispatch those who miraculously survive the treacherous navigation. There is no evidence that any serious attempt at developing water transport was ever made , now our air molues that have for so long depended on God's hands to remain in the skies have finally decided they can go no further! Once the skies were the safest and our leaders could care less about our roads despite spending billions of naira awarding spurious contracts to their cronies. No governors announced a 6-day mourning period for the poor masses who died daily on our roads, Baba did not express "profound shock" anytime Lagos molues plunged into the lagoon.
Now they are in our shoes, facing the consequences of government ineptitude that we have had to live with for decades. Thanks to them, most of us cannot afford the cost of air tickets and are thus spared the honor of dying in the air. Unfortunately for them, there are no bus stops in the sky, they cannot order the pilot to "slow down" nor can they stop to change a spare tire.

When Sir Maduekwe came on board, he told us to go buy bicycles. He represents all that is wrong with our leaders. Men who lack vision and come to power with no other ideology than to provide "good governance", another meaningless weather-beaten phrase that comes in handy for clueless looters aspiring to positions of power.
These same men who ride the best of cars also encourage us to buy bicycles in the face of rising fuel costs in the name of "painful reforms". As usual, heads will roll, the government will order another potential dust-gathering investigative report. The minister of aviation will go through unproductive rounds of meetings, money will be shared in the name of seeking solutions to the frequent aircrashes and soon we shall revert to our usual complacent mode waiting for the next disaster to occur.

Now our looters/leaders can feel the pinch of "painful reforms", for once they know why there is no gain without pain. We are not so much bothered, we have been in pain for years!Besides bicycles have an excellent safety record, they do not depend on government's epileptic supply of over priced petrol, they don't require good roads, they can be parked where cows cannot get at them, they don't suffer bird strike and best of all they are affordable to the masses.
It does not matter if it takes 10 hrs to travel from Lagos to Ibadan, road transport wasnt any faster after all!

NB: New approved stickers for air molues - "the downfall of this contraption may be the end of your life"!