• Lagos commercial bus operators say bus stop touts keep ripping them off, but the authorities are not bothered
By Kafilat Odunayo
Recently a ban was placed on illegal taxes and other forms of payments levied on Lagos drivers by ‘agberos – bus stop touts who work for officials of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee headed by Musliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN). These touts are most times in mufti but they are sometimes seen in white and green uniforms.
In spite of the recent ban, there have been several complaints by the motorists that they are still being forced to pay illegal levies to the agberos.
In Lagos, agberos do not demand money from operators of commercial transport vehicles – they retrieve the money violently if needs be. And if the money isn’t forthcoming, they inflict damages on the vehicle and the driver. This happens regularly even in the full glare of police officers who usually look the other way when drivers are being beaten by the agberos.
In interviews with some Lagos drivers, Saturday Sun gathered that these levies are still being paid by the drivers even the ban by the leader of the Lagos Parks Management Committee, MC Oluomo.
Many of the drivers who spoke with our correspondent complained that instead of reducing, the levies they pay for a trip on their routes have increased since the 2023 general elections.
A driver, who plies the Ikeja-CMS route, and who gave his name as Adebowale Olanrewaju took his time to share his experience in the hands of the so-called agberos. He said: “The government has handed us over to them. There’s nothing we can do about it. For instance, if the police get to a fight scene between a bus driver and agbero, only the bus driver will be faulted and sanctioned. Sometimes, only the bus driver is arrested and punished. Recently, one agbero damaged my bus at Fadeyi. If I had chosen to fight that guy and the police or officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) arrived at the scene, I and my bus will be the only ones they will arrest. And they will make me pay between N20, 000 and N30, 000 before I can retrieve my bus. If only the government can help us proffer a solution to it, we will work freely and no fight will ensue between bus drivers and agbero.”
Mr Makanjuola, another driver who plies his trade between Oshodi and Egbeda cum Agege also shared his experience with the agberos. He told Saturday Sun: “They trouble us too much. They keep bossing us around when we’re supposed to have more say than them. They always ask us to pay the price they are comfortable with, not minding the fact that we might not have made up to the amount they are demanding. Before the 2023 general election, those of us driving we mini buses were paying N500. But immediately after the presidential election, we started paying them N1000 every morning. We still pay N500 in the afternoon and we can only carry seven passengers at once. There is no motor park where we load on the road. LASTMA officials seize our buses on sight, same with other road unions. We still pay other bills too. We pay for security, tickets, booking, cleaning etc. Even the security we pay for is not necessary because the government does not even know where we park our buses and there’s no way they are securing our buses when they don’t even know where it is parked.”
Mr Ganiu Olawale, who drives his bus between Agege and Ikeja stated: “We have to endure it. We are charged according to the amount each passenger pays for each movement. I don’t think the charges are necessary. We pay N1, 200 in the morning to the union and same in the afternoon at Ikeja. We don’t have a choice but to pay since we are not the only ones paying it.”
Another mini bus driver, Mr Tajudeen spoke with our correspondent on how the extortion from the agbero was taking a toll on him. “I drive a seven-passenger bus and I charge each passenger N500 from Ajah to Obalende. I pay N1,500 to agbero in the park and I always pay from bus stop to bus stop till I get to Obalende. Agberos nowadays make more money compared to drivers who make less. Are we made to serve them? How much is left for me to take care of my family? We still ferry the agbero, policemen and soldiers in uniform for free because they call themselves staff.”