By Ayo Akinfe
Given how dependent we are on motorcycles in Nigeria, it is pathetic they we do not have a factory which manufactures machines that can carry between 10 and 12 people each.
[1] Necessity is supposed to be the mother of invention
[2] Nigerians use motorcycles for practically everything. Nigeria is the only country on earth where motorcycles are use to transport cows and to move other motorcycles
[3] Lagos in particular is wholly dependent on motorcycle taxis known as Okadas because of its notorious traffics jams
[4] During the rush hour in particular, motorcycles gets packed in Lagos. Sometimes, a whole family crowds on to one
[5] It is not unusual for as many as 12 people to be passengers on a motorcycle in Lagos
[6] In any normal human environment, this would precipitate the mass production of such multi-passenger motorcycles. I look at World War Two and still marvel at how it transformed industrial output in Europe and the US
[7] By now, a company like Dangote Industries or Innoson Motors should have patented a 10-seater motorcycle. Maybe call it something like the Lagos Bike. They should then mass-produce it
[8] What terrifies me about Nigeria is that the country does not have one company that can mass produce any item. It is pathetic that we do not have a company that can manufacture say 1m motorcycles a year
[9] After the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt summonsed the chairmen of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler to the White House. There he mandated them to mass-produce tanks, assault rifles, battle shops, fighter aircraft, bombers, submarines, military trucks, etc. They all rose to the occasion. Ask yourselves if any Nigerian company can meet such a challenge
[10] Our new president simply needs to introduce the slogan: “Anything we don’t produce, we don’t need.” If we cannot manufacture common motorcycles, we have no right to ride them!
