Mixed reactions greet ban on tinted glasses as enforcement begins in Lagos next week AS far as 28-year-old Kunle Ajayi is concerned, the news was rather one of the last he wanted to hear, at least, not now. “Why can’t the authorities not wait for a few months, at least?” he asked angrily. What he meant was that in those few months he would have enjoyed the Toyota Camry, his first car, before the announcement that all non-factory tinted-cars were barred from the nation’s roads.He told The Guardian : “It was not really my idea until after I got the car and drove to see my friend John, who lives in Surulere and drives a Nissan, the glasses of which he later tinted “It was John who said that tinted cars separated the men from the boys and that girls just loved cars with tinted glasses. “He took me to the same workshop where his glasses were tinted, and I must tell you, it cost me quite a lot to get the night-blue tint you see on the car. “Indeed, the tinted glass made both the car and the owner rather more popular, which, as it is now, seems to be very short-lived, no thanks to the announcement.”
The announcement that seems to have upset the young man and dampened his excitement over his new car came from the Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Humphrey Abah, who recently, directed the police to begin the enforcement ofthe law banning vehicles with tinted glasses from the roads. However, cars with factory-fitted tinted glasses are exempted from the directive. He added that only the President, the Vice-President, governors, the Senate President, his Deputy and Majority Leader as well as the Speaker, House of Representatives were permitted to use tinted-glass cars in the country.
Others, including judges, top military and police brass are not allowed by law to use tinted glasses on their cars, and that they should, therefore, remove them to avoid embarrassment. The minister stated that the current situation where the windshield and side glasses of seven out of 10 vehicles were tinted posed a great challenge to security personnel as they found it difficult to identify occupants and contents of such heavily filmed cars. “The measure is to check the widely acknowledged use of such vehicles to commit crime, especially kidnapping and transportation of explosive devices and arms,” he said. He directed that owners of tinted or filmed vehicles be made to remove them by policemen on the spot, stressing that there was an extant law that, forbade use of heavily filmed cars on Nigerian roads.
He also said that Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other road traffic personnel would assist the police in enforcing the law. “Whether we are Honourable, Chief Honourable and traditional rulers, we are meant to be seen by the people we are leading. “Those in authority should ensure that the tints on their car glasses are removed. Policemen have authority to remove the tints on the spot. “ All Commissioners of Police in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are to ensure strict compliance with the law. “By this announcement, all permits given in respect of tinted glasses are hereby cancelled,” Abah said.
He stressed that drivers of tinted vehicles constitute a risk to their passengersand other road users as the filmed-glasses preclude minimum safety standards, noting that the drivers ‘are not able to make adequate use of their rear-view mirrors.’ Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, on the Minister’s directive, Pastor Joshua Ngugo, who lives in Lagos, said: “It is a welcome development, considering the political environment in Nigeria at present. “We are approaching elections and I believe it is a proactive measure to boostsecurity.” A lawyer, Kazeem Bamgboye, said: “The law prohibiting use of heavily-filmed cars on Nigerian roads is not a new one. It is a sensible, well-thought-out regulation to improve safety and stop people hiding behind the dark glasses to commit crime as have happened so many times in Nigeria”, he said.
To Chika Okenwa: “It is appalling to see Nigerians tint their glasses all in the name of showing off. “In fact, it is quite common among the 419 people and those who engage in shady deals. “Why would somebody, after buying a car, take it to the workshop and pay as much as N60,000.00 or above to darken the glasses, unless the person is tryingto hide something?” he asked. But the owner of a heavily tinted Mercedes Benz Sport Utility Vehicle, who sought anonymity told The Guardian, that the tinted vehicles afforded more privacy.
“The driver can easily identify whoever that is getting too close to the car without being seen, read possible intentions and know what to do,” he said. Also an automotive engineer, Jim Akamiro, said: “Usually, glasses are tinted to keep the interior of cars and SUV’s cool as the occupants are less exposed tointense sunlight.” He urged the Federal Government to educate the public more on the new directive to save ignorant Nigerians from becoming victims of extortion by some unscrupulous policemen. So far, Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt have the largest number of such tinted cars, probably because of their positions as political and economic nerve-centres of the nation.
Though enforcement of the directive has begun in Abuja, it is yet to commence in other parts of the country. In Lagos, the State Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Jonas Agwu said the enforcement had not begun because more awareness needed to create of the directive. He said, enforcement would start by next week and enjoined those affected to remove the tints themselves ahead of time, as “there will be no sacred cows.” Investigations by The Guardian revealed that most of the kidnappers who were recently arrested in parts of the country confessed that they hid their victims inside their vehicles, which were always tinted, to beat security checks.
The revelations might not be unconnected with the directive to begin enforcement of the ban on tinted-glasses. But there is real concern that the same directive may create another avenue for some corrupt policemen to extort money from people. “This could be another opportunity for the police to make more ill-gotten money. “Some of them will be unable to distinguish between factory-tinted vehicles, which are exempted, and aftermarket-tinted ones, which are prohibited, while others would feign ignorance and under that guise, extort money from owners of vehicles with factory-tinted glass.
No comments:
Post a Comment