Motorcyclists in Nigeria have been wearing dried pumpkin shells on their heads to dodge new laws forcing them to wear helmets, authorities have said.Of course, folks are fighting back using the lesser known... in first world countries, anyway... "bad juju" defense.
Officials in the northern city of Kano said they had stopped several people with "improvised helmets" following this month's introduction of the law.
Road safety officials said calabash-wearers would be prosecuted.
The thing is, there's a larger, "socio-political engineering" issue here...
Local government authorities often give motorbikes to jobless young men, saying it gives them a way to make a living.Good grief... who could've possibly seen that coming?
But the BBC's Andrew Walker in Abuja says handing out the vehicles does not address the underlying cause of Nigeria's economic problems. It is often an attempt to buy support for elections, our correspondent says.
Often untrained and illiterate, the drivers are considered a menace by many motorists. Fatal accidents are common. Road safety authorities say almost every collision in Nigeria's cities involves an okada.
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FROM THE COMMENTS:
"Instead of Motorcycles the government should give them each a Helicopter!"*
