Agbero is the Yoruba word for a tout who canvasses for passengers for commercial buses at motor parks. But over time, the touts have expanded their coast as they position themselves at bus stops, imposing ridiculous levies on drivers of commercial buses, tricycles and motorcycles.
In Lagos, the levies come in various names: ‘Owo loading,’ ‘Owo olopa,’ ‘Owo task force,’ ‘Owo organising’, ‘Owo traffic’, among others. A typical
agbero is armed with a cane/stick and, in some cases, a marker with which he identifies the bus whose driver has paid.
The touts wake up, take positions at bus stops and extort money with impunity from commercial drivers and conductors. The sticks they wield become useful in a situation when the conductors hesitate to part with money they demand.
These touts, who are often under the influence of alcohol and drugs, are a spectacle to behold at various bus stops across Lagos.
Relating some of their bitter encounters with these miscreants to our correspondent, a commuter driver, Sunday Tewogbade, who plies Ojota to Berger route in the metropolis, says almost half of what he earns daily is lost to the illegal activities.
He says,“ When we heard it in the news last year that their activities have been banned, I was happy. I was relieved for about one month as these touts were off the road. But due to the negligence of the relevant government agencies in enforcing this order, the touts soon found their way back to bus stops.
“Out of the N12, 000 I earn make on the average, N5,000 goes to the owner of the bus, and I end up giving out about N3,500 to these touts who collect money with various names. It is the remaining N3, 500 that I end up sharing with my conductor. We are not happy about this situation, and government should not only make orders, they should also ensure compliance.”
He pleads with the Babatunde Fashola administration to come to their aid and enforce its order to save them from continued harassment in the hands of the agbero.
Though the state government, on August 3, 2012, banned the activities of the touts, both at motor parks and at bus-stops, they continue to wreak havocs in the metropolis.
At a press conference to herald the implementation of the Lagos State Traffic Law at the time, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, had said the government would no longer tolerate extortion on highways.
He had said, “Henceforth, union activities are no longer allowed at our parks. They are to relocate to offices from where they will operate just like the National Union of Teachers and the National Union of Journalists. Also, no union member must be seen collecting money on the road.”
Commercial drivers who spoke with our correspondent said the touts only complied with the order for a month and soon went back to the roads due to the failure of the relevant authorities to implement the directive.
One of them, Segun Allen, who plies Oshodi to Ikotun, lamented that almost every bus stop on the route he takes daily are manned by touts.
He says the last time he was involved in an argument over the payment of the illegal fee, his conductor was beaten to a pulp.
He says, “They terrorise us as if we do not have a government in this state. They are everywhere on my route. From Iyana Isolo to Isolo, Jakande, Iyana Ejigbo, Cele, Ile Iwe, down to Ikotun. They have turned all the bus stops to commercial centres. And sadly, they keep demanding illegal fees while the government, which said it had banned them, watch as we suffer in their hands.
“Even if a passenger alights from your bus, without loading passengers, they will still ask you to pay one ridiculous fee for using their bus stop. When my conductor disagreed with them over this some weeks ago, the agbero guys pounced on him and gave him the beating of his life for refusing to pay.
“When I came down to protest the development, the LASTMA officials then came and impounded my vehicle for parking indiscriminately. I know what I went through to get my bus released.”
Another bus driver, Segun Sofolahan, complained bitterly that he would have to part with a huge chunk of his earnings to repair the havoc the touts wreaked on his vehicle at Pen Cinema last week, when he refused to pay some levies.
Sofolahan says, “Just look at my windscreen, wiper and side mirror. They damaged everything and I have vowed not to fix them because even when you do so, they will still be the ones to vandalise them whenever you disagree with them over their illegal tolling.
“It’s a pity that touts have taken over Lagos roads and we drivers are groaning in silence. Lagos government should save us from them and allow us to operate freely without fear of molestation as we go about our daily business.”
What gives them this power? The touts claim they are exercising the duties expected of them as a ‘union’ in the transport sector.
When contacted, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Lagos Council, Mr. Tajudeen Agbede, however, dissociated the union from the activities of the touts. He said they are not members of the NURTW, adding that he and executive members of the union had done a lot to ensure that members comply with the government’s directive as well as all provisions of the Lagos State Traffic Law.
He said, “Those people you mentioned are not our members. Those people you see on the road are on their own as all our members who were hitherto operating on the roads have now been restricted to motor parks.
“As a union, we have done a lot to enforce this order of government. For instance, we launched a task force that moves around to ensure that all our members across the state continue to comply with the order. With this, we have arrested many of these touts and handed them over to the law enforcement agencies for prosecution.”
He explained further that the activities of his members on Lagos roads are now restricted to helping in controlling traffic in the event of a gridlock.
Efforts to speak with the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, proved abortive. His phone rang out at different occasions he was contacted while two separate text messages sent to his telephone were not responded to.
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