Boss13: When Fashola declared that he would transform Lagos to a mega city, I could not hide my joy because my belief was that these area boys will be chased off the street. However, this is not the case. The number of area boys has increased exponentially, the menace they create on a daily basis is absurd and the ever working governor has turned blind and deaf towards eradicating these nuisance off our streets.

Now I begin to wonder, what kind of mega city is the governor trying to create - one with potential criminals on the roads? What are the economic and social benefits in having miscreants on our roads? Why is Fashola not doing anything about it and does he intend to blame the FG for area boys?

These boys have no business with our roads. If their aim is to collect levies, there are a thousand and one ways to get these levies.

cashkid18: wat is dis one asking

speedyboi: Ehnn....I remember a thread that made frontpage I think last year...condemning okada...saying things like: they cause accidents on the roads blah blah.....
Na this same Nairaland we dey when fashola banned okada and nairalanders started shouting 'Heartless Governor', 'elitist Governor' blah bląh blah.


Na this same Nairaland we dey again oooo........una don dey condemn Agberos.
If and If Fashola drives out Agbero in the future and I see any thread condemning the move on frontpage. Well I won't be surprised! Nigerians/Nairalanders are; hypocrites, sadists AND confused lots who don't know what they want, what is right or what they actually want from their Government. smh.

oluamid: @OP, if you want to be tribalistic don't be subtle about it. Although agbero is a Yoruba word, you and I know fully well that its not an exclusive preserve of Lagos state or the SW so stop trying to make it look like it is.

Agbero is a Nigerian thing and there's hardly a motor park you go to in Nigeria that you don't observe it. Besides, it goes by different names in different places so don't tribalise it. It is one of the things State governments really need to tackle because just as you said, its the ordinary citizens/passengers that bear the brunt of it.

Ikengawo: Agberos represent a powerful political tool that anyone who wishes to win Lagos will not ignore and more importantly will not fail to utilize. If Fashola goes to war with them, they will strike back in that they're very organized and turn Lagos into a hellhole for everyone. If left alone and even supported, they can intimidate enemies, rally support, and spread your name. Same for area boys. Politicians can create personal armies with these men and thus it's often hard to get rid of them because their patrons are often allies.

Boss13: When Fashola declared that he would transform Lagos to a mega city, I could not hide my joy because my belief was that these area boys will be chased off the street. However, this is not the case. The number of area boys has increased exponentially, the menace they create on a daily basis is absurd and the ever working barking governor has turned blind and deaf towards eradicating these nuisance off our streets.

Now I begin to wonder, what kind of mega city is the governor trying to create - one with potential criminals on the roads?
What are the economic and social benefits in having miscreants on our roads?

Why is Fashola not doing anything about it and does he intend to blame the FG for area boys?

These boys have no business with our roads. If their aim is to collect levies, there are a thousand and one ways to get these levies.

ol2012: Dude, what makes u think I want to be tribalistic? I'm a yoruba man if u must know.
Now this thread is not about collection of levies in motor parks(from inter-city transporters I guess), rather its about extortion of motorists in bus stops on Lagos intra-city roads. So are you saying same thing is now happening all over the country?

speedyboi: Ehnn....I remember a thread that made frontpage I think last year...condemning okada...saying things like: they cause accidents on the roads blah blah.....
Na this same Nairaland we dey when fashola banned okada and nairalanders started shouting 'Heartless Governor', 'elitist Governor' blah bląh blah.


Na this same Nairaland we dey again oooo........una don dey condemn Agberos.
If and If Fashola drives out Agbero in the future and I see any thread condemning the move on frontpage. Well I won't be surprised! Nigerians/Nairalanders are; hypocrites, sadists AND confused lots who don't know what they want, what is right or what they actually want from their Government. smh.

ol2012: Dear All, I while I appreciate all comments so far, I do not want us to turn this into another tribal/political e-ground(as some comments are already trying to) The import of this thread essentially, is to come up with ideas on how to stop this menace. I strongly believe there should be a way to achieve this.

bluerange: it is not a lagos nor a south-west issue only, am frm the south-east & they operate well there. lt is national even the minister of state for either labour or trade who is from Benue is a former agbero, was shown on zaki's heroes of our times on AIT.

ol2012: The menance of lazy individuals who extort money from commercial drivers/conductors is fast becoming a culture in Lagos. The commando style of operations of these urchins(some now usually dressed in uniform) always keep me wondering for how long the LASG will continue to feign ignorance of this anomaly.
I sometimes watch helplessly, how these drivers/conductors are harrased if they refuse to part with their money; how their vehicle wipers, side mirrors, tyre covers etc are brazenly vandalised and sometimes(rarely though) how these conductors get beaten up by the almighty AGBEROs in broad daylight.
Commuters apart from getting delayed in the process are the ones indirectly funding the payments made to these lazy bones, since a fare that should ordinarily cost #100 for example is charged #120 or #150(when payment to AGBERO is factored in)
Personally, more worrying is the fact that this Lagos AGBERO madness seem to be spreading gradually to other neighbouring SW states.
Dear NLs, in the even government continues to ignore the atrocities of these individuals, what can the helpless transport workers in particular, and Lagosians in general possibly do to stop this injustice?

nwanna89: I live in the South-east and I am currently getting pictures and video evidence to make a documentary about this issue. It affects us more because we own a company, and these agberos extort a lot of money to let our products pass through the roads. They come up with some ridiculous means, mainly through what they call Emblem. Its a sticker you buy and put on your truck or commercial vehicle. Each of the stickers cost about 15,000 and the problem is that each group has its own stickers, in every city or state you go to. Therefore, its never possible for you to have the complete set of stickers. These boys stay on the highway with nailed sticks to puncture your tire if you dont stop.
Truck drivers pass this cost to the seller, who passes the cost to the buyer. So, assuming a trader brings tomato from Kano to Onitsha, the tomato price will be much higher simply because the truck driver has to deal with this boys on the road. It is seriously killing businesses in Nigeria. We spend close to 200k every month on them. And this has prevented us from developing the market for our products in cities like Warri, Port Harcourt Aba and so on. Govt really needs to intervene.

ridlaw: Its sad what most nairalanders know hw to do is to blame government on every instance and never profer solution to issues. Back to the issue of agbero in lagos, do people think banning them is as easy as that? If u ban them where will they work? Remember these are people that have some sorts of criminality in them. Even the most decent society in the world has one or some gang situation they battle with each day. Its apparent various transportation policies and projects by Fashola like the light rails and expansion of BRT when completed wld definitely reduce the effect of agbero in lagos since this sector is where they lived on.

Decryptor:
There is no correlation between Agberos (Touts) people who rob motorists in broad-day light and terrorise commuters and Okada riders who offer transportation services to people for ease of movement! One of the major reasons okada was banned was because majority of the cyclists were ibos. Yoruba man no fit do okada for im life! We know them very well! They don't like hardwork like the Ibos and Edo people.They prefer extortion jobs. The policies of LASG are anti-ibo policies. If the agberos in Lagos were to be ibos, fowlshola would have ordered a "shoot-at-sight" with the Lagos state police force. And yet these are the people who want to rule Nigeria!
God forbid!! The last time i checked, Fresh Air is better than Ewedu and amala Air!!