Cote d’Ivoire, a country where things are working (1)

If you have not traveled out before, you will think some things cannot work or cannot be possible but here we are in a country where virtually everything is working.

* Toll gates fare
The first thing that caught my attention at the entry point was when I saw Government vehicles paying money at the toll gates. It is unusual from where I am coming from, in fact they won’t slow down at the toll gates let alone pay. It is not only government vehicles that don’t pay, politicians also especially those that belong to the ruling party.

* Transportation system
The Transportation system in Cote d’Ivoire is superb. You can’t operate any transportation business without registration with the relevant authorities hence no one can operate One-Chance (people that use their vehicles to kidnap in the name of transportation).

Another interesting thing is that they don’t allow unpainted taxis to operate in Cote d’Ivoire and the only ones permitted are the ones that operate mini-buses and their colours are very unique and known by everybody, they are mainly white. And their vehicles, no matter how they look, they are decent and designed with art works and fanciful lights. To some extent, their fares are cheap, especially the luxurious Sotra buses. They charge as low as 200cfa and you must queue to board the bus otherwise you will not be attended to.

There are no agberos, they only have drivers’ union but they are not disrespectful, they don’t harass anybody, and they are only seen outside the city centres. They are not seen extorting money from drivers, or carrying sticks to chase vehicles or fight drivers or conductors, they only collect loading fees and not at every bus-stops as they do back home. And they don’t smoke Indian hemp.

And for the taxis, they use new and clean vehicles including those plying inter state transport. However, they have different types of taxi, some are painted blue, yellow, orange and green. They all have designated routes, while the orange colour taxis are seen in every part of Cote d’Ivoire.

On the other hand, Ocean transport CI is a government owned inter state bus and their fleet of buses are very new, neat and fully-air conditioned. The government owns Sotra and Ocean CI while others are privately-run and they are not only perfectly run but cheap, nobody inflates fares anyhow.

Bikes are licensed over there hence you can’t ride without number plate and you must wear a helmet. If you are caught without wearing a helmet, your bike will not only be seized but fined heavily. If you carry a passenger, the person must also use a helmet. This applies to most of the French-speaking countries from Benin Republic to Togo, down to Cote d’Ivoire.

* No road disturbances
Another interesting thing is that, apart from Police, nobody stops you on the road unlike my people, where everybody wants to show themselves. AMAC will stop you if you are using Sienna or any truck, whether it carries anything or not. They will either insist that you buy their stickers or they confiscate your vehicle.

Nowadays, they harass people driving Hilux for personal use and SUV vehicles especially if the driver is a woman. In Cote d’Ivoire, even if you carry load on every space available in your vehicle, nobody disturbs you as long as you have your driver and vehicle licenses intact.

While they are doing theirs, Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO before they were banned from the road in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT; Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, are waiting for you. Sometimes you will regret owning a car because of their disturbances but in Cote d’Ivoire, nobody disturbs especially if your papers are intact.

If you like, overload your vehicle, nobody stops you because they believe that is what the vehicle is meant for and you need to hustle to make ends meet, but my people will frustrate you, delay you, and impound your vehicle if you don’t sort them on time. Despite the number of uniformed men on the road including Police, FRSC and VIO, road accidents occur almost on a daily basis while in Cote d’Ivoire, you hardly come across an accident and if it happens, it is always minor because there is a speed limit you cannot exceed otherwise camera will pick you and you will be arrested and fine heavily.

* Police
Talking about the police, every man or woman has a whistle, when things are not going well especially traffic, they take charge, nothing like, it is not my duty post. As a driver, you dare not attempt to pass without stopping for them. They don’t need to raise their hands to stop you, they see it as disrespectful if you don’t stop and you will be dealt with for doing that.

The police embark on routine fitness exercises, jogging from street to streets every week, most times Thursday and Sunday despite the fact that the country is very peaceful but ever ready. Their police are very relaxed unlike my country where the police have been overstretched because of so many problems on a weekly basis. If it is not a fight, it is protest or robbery or kidnapping. The police are not stressed up with protests or threats, their police are apolitical, they don’t indulge in politics or being used by anybody. They are professionals to the cure but Nigerian Police are always on their toes, no rest probably because of the proliferation of arms in the country.

Their judicial system also made the police work very easy. They don’t adjourn cases anyhow, it is either they are set freed or sent to prison and because of that, the citizens are always afraid of committing crimes because they know if they do, they might end up in prison. People hardly fight there, let alone commit crimes. Their quarrels only end up with shoutings and because of that their Police are stress-less.

Also, in Cote d’Ivoire, nobody is licensed and arms are not allowed into the country hence the crime rate is very low. They don’t allow drugs prescribed by doctors let alone hard drugs that makes people misbave not to talk of arms hence their citizens are law-abiding because if they mistakenly fall into the traps of the police, they will have themselves to blame.

For their uniform, they have uniformed uniforms, they are well-dressed with good shoes, well-kitted with pistols. Always looking neat and well-respected.

Information from a reliable source has it that they are well-paid compared to others across the world.

No matter how highly placed or the country you come from, the residents respect traffic laws like using seat belts, driving carefully, driving without making phone calls, obeying traffic lights no matter the time of the day, whether late in the midnight.

* Street lights and tv station
In Cote d’Ivoire, every citizen pays for the street lights illumination. According to information available to us, the bill is built into everybody’s NEPA bill whether prepaid or postpaid. The same thing with their national tv hence the street lights are always on once it is night. They don’t go off until morning time.

* Fuel availability/consumption
Ever since we have been in the country, the price of fuel has not changed. It remains the same and nobody cheats or tampers with the meter or dispels the wrong amount of fuel.

This is a country that does not have refinery let alone crude oil but yet they don’t experience scarcity. There is no hike so there is no need for threat of protest by any labour force if at all they exist. Fuel Pump remains at 676 cfa. There has never been scarcity for once that will warrant queue anywhere in the country.

* Cooking Gas
Gas is commonly used for cooking in Cote d’Ivoire, no stove and it is being handled by government establishments, like their own Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC hence no unnecessary hike. Only a few are using charcoal or firewoods for large cooking.

* Siren
In Cote d’Ivoire, sirens are reserved for ambulance and their president and vice alone. Even the police don’t use sirens let alone politicians.

* Roads
Of course, they have the best of roads so you don’t need to worry about your shock absorbers or spring. They don’t spend money on spare parts because of the nature of their roads right from the border of Elubo/Now. Although, there were few roads begging for attention but some of them are already under construction. They are using interlocking for some of them that are waterlogged especially the streets.

* Pipe borne water
The government ensures that water flows in every home. They generate their revenue from there hence they ensure that every household have water no matter how poorly constructed the house is. The water is very good for consumption and always constant.

Chris Onokpegu

Chris Onokpegu is the publisher, a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, FCT Council. Contact Address: c/o NUJ FCT Council, Utako District, Abuja. 08165273757

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