LASTMA Boss, Olalekan Bakare-Oki reveals secrets behinds his agency’s successes

I am Bakare-Oki Olalekan, General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA)

The agenda for 2026 is for the agency, LASTMA, to improve on whatever we have achieved last year, in terms of ensuring that there is a great improvement on travel time of Lagosians, promote high safety standard and also to ensure that we put in our best, and ensure that we live above board, to reduce road accidents across all roads in Lagos State.

The challenges were enormous, but I will only mention some of them. Number one is the behavioral pattern of road users in Lagos State, in terms of people refusing to maintain high level of discipline, over speeding, and not committed to ensure and prioritize high level repair and maintenance of their vehicles. Also part of our challenges has to do with the activities of trucks and tankers, conveying and transporting cargos across the state. This is understandable because of the high level of activities of haulage business in Lagos.

By geographical location, Lagos has more water than any other state in Nigeria and this has really positioned the state in terms major ports in Nigeria, likewise Dangote Refinery, Dangote Fertilizer, and other major haulage companies.

In Nigeria today, over 55% of cargo activities are done in Lagos, and this has really had a great impact on road infrastructure in the state. Transportation in Lagos State, over 90% are still being done through the roads, despite the whole efforts by the governor in opening up other forms of transportation vis a vis the waterways and the rail. So because of the high vehicular density in Lagos, movement of people and goods and services have been a major challenge, but as an organisation that is saddled with ensuring that there is free-flow and seamless mobility, we are committed to ensuring at all times that we put in our best to ensure that Lagosians can move freely and ultimately improve on travel time.

As you mentioned, this year, there is going to be lots of political activities.  We at LASTMA have identified certain locations especially areas or venues designated for political activities, and we have been able to go through those areas, we have robust road management plans in place. And in case there is change of venue we equally provide adequate solution for any emergencies.

For the Mayors, it is not a new thing, it has been on, but at management level, what we did, last year and 2024, was to rejig the whole system, we had to change their outfit to be in tandem with modern things especially their reflective jacket. It has been improved upon and it is now auto reflective, so that wherever they are in managing traffic, they would be highly visible, in the morning or at night. We did not stop at that, we equally ensure that whoever we are bringing on board as LASTMA Mayor must be people of proven integrity, people that have high level of pedigree so that the main purpose would not be defeated.

We have been able to touch on five divisions, the LASTMA Mayors now operate in five divisions, and other traffic hotspots. The LASTMA Mayors are now well trained, well coordinated, now they have a goal, they even have a platform, and their daily and weekly activities are being monitored and recorded.

At the last Traffic Conference when we celebrated LASTMA 25th Anniversary some of these Mayors were recognized and were given awards for outstanding performances, that served as a form of encouragement so that other people would like to emulate them, or put in their best.

Since my coming two years now, we have been able to upscale our disciplinary system and improve on whatever we have on ground. For over two years we have a well established and coordinated department that is basically responsible for ensuring that they curtail the excesses of our men on the road, we have the provost unit and we have the surveillance unit, their core responsibility is to ensure they move round the state especially where we have our men managing, controlling or engaging the public.

What they do at times, they move around unbranded, and this has been yielding positive and enormous result, that is part of what we are seeing on the behavioral pattern of our men in the last two years.

The welfare package has been wonderful, we give it to Mr Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, since he assumed office as the governor of the state, he has been able to improve on the welfare package of LASTMA, in his first tenure LASTMA happened to be the first agency he visited, when he resume office in his first tenure, and what he did when he came, he doubled the shift allowance, the hazard allowance immediately. Apart from that, we have an insurance package for all Lagos State staff which includes LASTMA officials, we equally have separate insurance Programme, apart from the global insurance of the state government. LASTMA has another one, that is well packaged with LASACO, that is to tell you that LASTMA enjoys double insurance in case of any eventuality.