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Concerns over sale of alcohol in Lagos motor parks

By Adedamola Saka
29 July 2022   |   4:09 am
The continuous sale of alcoholic drinks at Lagos motor parks is worrying resident and travellers.

Sachets of alcoholic drinks on display at Aswani market PHOTO: ADEDAMOLA SAKA

The continuous sale of alcoholic drinks at Lagos motor parks is worrying resident and travellers.

This was confirmed by visits to parks and garages.

Packaged in different sizes, particularly in sachets, such drinks come handy for commercial bus drivers and other buyers.

Because they are handy, many commercial drivers and their conductors buy and store them in their vehicles to consume while on a trip.

According to National Bureau of Statistics data, in 2021 no fewer than 6,205 persons died in road accidents. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said that 90 per cent of road accidents in the country was as a result of alcoholic drinks, hard drugs, among others factors.

Apart from loss of lives, there are also health issues associated with abuse of alcoholic drinks.

To curb such abuses, the National Agency For Food and Control (NAFDAC) in January 2022 banned the use and sale of alcohol in sachets, small volumes and glass bottles below 200ml.

In a statement by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that the development was part of the agency’s decisive move to reduce availability and curb abuse of alcohol in the country. However, since the announcement little or no enforcement has taken place to curb the selling of alcohol in sachets, small volumes.

When The Guardian visited some motor parks within the metropolis, alcoholic drinks were publically displayed in both sachets and plastic bottles.

At the popular Oshodi motor park, a bus driver, Sunday Oriade, who plies Oshodi- Mushin route,  regretted that many drivers are still taking alcoholic drinks because they are readily available in the parks.

He said:  “ I don’t drink and drive.  Personally,  I think it is a bad habit getting high on the wheel, while  carrying passengers to their destinations. It is our duty to protect our passengers by obeying driving rules, which prohibit drinking alcohol while on wheel.”

Asked if he knows fellow drivers that drink and drive,  Oriade said:  “I know of some of my fellow drivers that are used to this bad habit and their excuse is that they drink alcohol during working hours to ease stress.”

Also, at Ojuelegba Bus Stop in Surulere Local Council of Lagos State, a commercial bus driver, who was loading early morning, preparatory to take off to Ikoyi, was publically drinking alcohol.

With his bus almost full, he asked his conductor to buy him two sachets of popular alcoholic drink, from a nearby petty trader.

Governments and agencies like the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have also sustained campaigns against drinking and driving in a bid to curb road accidents.

The campaign has been premised on the fact that taking alcoholic drinks before or while driving predisposes drivers to possibilities of having road accidents. But quite a number of drivers have not heeded the warnings of the campaign.

Speaking with The Guardian on the issue, a psychology coach and director of studies at the institute of family engineering and development, Dinma Nwobi, said: “It is interesting that there is a ban on the sale of sachet and pet sized alcoholic drinks, which will also reduce the availability of the drinks to the youths, but here in Nigeria we put the cart before the horse.

“What are the sanctions put in place for offenders, for example the compliance officers who are to make sure that this ban is enforced, first by apprehending manufacturers of alcoholic drinks and going ahead to seal off their companies?

“It is one thing to say we have placed a sale ban on a product, but it is another thing to ensure that it is no longer infiltrating the market.”

Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Corps Commander, Olusegun Ogungbemide, said: “Ours is to wait on the highways to check the blood alcohol content of drivers and once it is more than 0.05 per cent, we get the driver arrested and booked for driving under the influence of alcohol. Our mandate does not cover going to arrest those selling alcoholic drinks in parks. I know that government has done a lot on that, maybe there is a laxity.”

Also, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, had recently said the state government has been active in discouraging the sale of alcohol in parks and garages. He added that there is a department in the Office of Civic Engagement that preaches against abuse of alcohol and drugs at motor parks, just as the Ministry of Youth and Social Development has been advocating too.

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