Perhaps Joe can help these guys.
Nigeria's largest cities have descended into near chaos due to the strict enforcement of motorcycle helmet laws. Nigeria's poor tend to use motorcycles for personal transport due to the fact that they are not only inexpensive, but often just given away in large numbers. Cyclists argue that the high cost and limited supply of helmets prevents them from complying with the law. Some rent hard hats from construction workers. Others use gourds, pieces of tire, or other objects with string tied to them. Using these or no helmet at all results in arrest.
Nigerians complain that the helmets, which will undoubtedly be shared, pose a health risk. Skin diseases and hair parasites run rampant in this nation. Others fear that helmets put riders at risk for black magic spells that could cause accidents.
This sounds like a strange story from half way around the world, but it reflects a serious problem. Is Nigeria's biggest social, health, and public order problem helmetless motorcycle riders? Isn't Nigeria the home of a multitude of corrupt criminal organizations? Don't they suffer from terror attacks on oil facilities? Do police really have time to contend with such nonsense?
We have the same issue in the United States. Whenever I see several police gathered around a "click it or ticket" checkpoint, I wonder whose home has been left vulnerable or what domestic assault will go on for ten or fifteen more minutes because we have to make sure every good citizen wears their safety belts. Enforcing the nanny state takes time and resources that could go to stopping real crimes.
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