Violence has been a recurring decimal in the ranks of rival drivers’ unions in Nigeria, especially in the Southwestern part of the country. Only recently, a former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) was killed in Ekiti under befuddling circumstances. What is the honey stick in being elected or made a drivers’ union official? Why the recurring leadership crises? These are issues copiously addressed in this detailed report by Tayo Adelaja, Head, Special Investigations.
The battle for supremacy in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has actually become a day-to-day affair. For instance, the peaceful election of who should be the next man to coordinate the affairs of NURTW in Lagos a few years ago did not only end up in chaos but, tragically, a popular businessman, Alhaji Ola Sheu Ekeniojuoti, was shot dead in Obalende by men suspected to be supporters of a particular chairmanship candidate.
According to reports, trouble started when the NURTW National President had a closed doors meeting with the five contenders. At the meeting, issues of consensus candidate and when the election should hold were discussed. Unfortunately, a faction was disappointed that the national president did not endorse their candidate and thereafter trouble ensued. The man shot dead was reported to be the brother of another contender, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo.
In 2008, the chairman of NURTW, Alhaji Saka Saula, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his house at Iyana Ipaja, in Lagos at around 9 p.m. After the reprehensible killing, his supporters went on the rampage thus paralysing activities in most parts of Lagos State the following day.
An eyewitness recounted that there were three gunmen, who arrived in a jeep. He said they walked up to a kiosk occupied by Saula’s guard and bought cigarettes.
“There were still a lot of people around. It was not that late. The men smoked to their satisfaction before they went for Saula, who came outside the building to discuss with the two men. People saw what happened, but ran away. Saula tried to run but they pursued him. He fell into the gutter but they still kept on shooting him. They killed him like an animal,” the witness recalled.
Pandemonium spread early the next day after the news of Saula’s murder spread like wildfire in the harmattan. Commercial activities were paralysed in most parts of Lagos, as members of NURTW went on the rampage at Kollington, Ikotun, Iyana-Ipaja, Egbe, Idimu and Ejigbo areas. In those places, markets were deserted as shops were looted and commercial vehicles stayed off the road early in the morning before the police took control of the situation.
Although no death was recorded, many people sustained injuries from machete cuts and other dangerous weapons used freely by the rampaging hoodlums.
Forty-five-year old Saula, who had served as acting chairman of the union for about four months, had pasted his posters everywhere and mounted billboards announcing his intention to contest the chairmanship position in an election coming up at the weekend he was gruesomely murdered.
A year before his demise, he was sent to Colombia, Brazil and South America by the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) to understudy those countries’ BRT system.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, at that time condoled with Saula’s family, describing the development as saddening.
In a letter of condolence to the family of the deceased, the governor said it was regrettable that such incident could still occur despite the concerted effort of the state government to stem the crime level, in collaboration with the law enforcement agencies. He added, however, that the state would not back down on its avowed commitment to safeguard the life and property of every law-abiding citizen. Fashola added that no effort would be spared in bringing Saula’s assailants to justice.
His words: “We will do all that is necessary and use all security and intelligence apparatus at our disposal to unravel this unwarranted gruesome murder. We would work with the Police, SSS and other law enforcement agencies to unravel those behind this dastardly act.”
He described the late Saula as a young, enterprising, unassuming, quiet, principled and dogged trade unionist, whose death is totally unwarranted. He added that in the last two years, Saula had devoted his energies to efforts at taking road transport unionism to the next level in the 21st century, while ensuring sustainable peace within the various transport unions in the state. All men of goodwill, the governor added, should support the efforts of the state government to rid the society of criminal elements who constituted only a negligible percentage of the 18 million population of the state.
According to him, it was only by exposing people with criminal intent and cooperation with landlords in refusing to harbour undesirable elements, that the society can be peaceful and secure. He sympathised with the family of the late union leader, members of NURTW and prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed unionist.
The then Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro, ordered an investigation into the killing. The governor equally called on the leadership and members of NURTW not to take laws into their hands as reprisal could only worsen the situation and distract law enforcement agencies from promptly fishing out the perpetrators of the act.
Salam Ibrahim, a union member, described the protest as “the best we can do to honour Saula.”
Investigations by Sunday Mirror revealed that the money that exchanged hands between the boys (popularly known as Agbero) sent out to collect money from commercial transporters on a daily basis by the exco of NURTW is enough motivation for the fracas witnessed by the people when there is a perceived threat to dislodge the exco from any garage or parks.
Recounting one among his various experiences in Lagos of the nefarious activities of the union and their boys, a Lagos-based lawyer, Barrister Oyewole Olurin, said: “As the bus conductor was busy shouting various destinations to attract prospective commuters, a shabbily-dressed and fierce-looking young man shouted at the bus conductor: owo mi da? (Where is my money?) In an instant, the conductor got a powerful blow for ignoring the street urchin called agbero.
“The face of the conductor became swollen, with blood gushing out from his mouth. From God knows where, a tall, hefty and equally vicious-looking man appeared on the scene. With his arrival, the atmosphere became more rowdy as shouts of ‘Up chair; baba o, owo meji feeyan kan’ (two hands up for one person) from the husky-voiced agbero and his folks rent the air. Eventually, the hefty man gave his verdict, the groaning brow-beaten conductor was to be taken to his office, while the driver and the bus were to be confiscated until further notice. As for the passengers in the bus, they were left on their own and anybody that dared question them would receive the same treatment as the conductor. The above scenario aptly describes the activities of the union’s fee/due collectors all over the country under the watchful eye of the police and other state security agencies.
A bus driver, Henry Ndem, who operates on the Iyana-Iba to Iyana-Ipaja axis of Lagos recounted his daily experiences. He said he paid about N7,800 daily to unions and Agberos. He lamented that some of the fees are legal, most of them are not.
“We pay dues at motor parks where we registered our buses and most of the dues are legal but the ones we pay at the bus stops are illegal and we want government to implement the new traffic law banning touts.
“I pay N1,500 at Iyana-Iba motor park, N1,000 at Igando, N900 at Egbeda and N1,500 at Iyana-Ipaja while on my morning trip. That does not include the additional payment to touts at every bus stop where I pick or discharge passengers. Many drivers refuse to stop at certain bus stops because of the illegal fees they charge us and when we refuse to pay, they become violent, sometimes destroying our side mirrors, bus seats or even windscreen.
Another commercial bus driver who works on the Ikeja-Yaba route, Dele Fajumiyo said, “Agberos have continued to operate despite the ban because the police have not enforced the traffic law banning them. The police should enforce the law and ensure that the illegal operations of Agberos stop. This is a mega city and we have to treat it as one.”
He added that the activities of touts were frustrating drivers in the state. He implored the government to implement the law that prohibits touts from harassing them. “The government should implement the law that has been passed because touts keep preventing us from doing our business with peace of mind. We pay our taxes and deserve to be protected by the Lagos State Government.”
Many commuters in Lagos have also questioned the presence of NURTW members and touts at bus stops. Joy Okeke said some commercial bus drivers would rather drive their buses empty than stop to pick passengers at Idimu bus stop because the activities of the touts there often force bus operators to flee.
Olabisi Akayinode, a trader at Mushin, claimed that bus fare would not have soared but for Agberos whom she described as ‘lazy and useless’.
“The Agberos are the ones that encourage commuter bus drivers to increase bus fares arbitrarily, particularly when there are so many commuters at the bus stops. They give the money to their lazy chairmen that spend such on booze and women,” she said.
She added that unless the government and commercial bus drivers work against them, they will never stop their illegal collections in Lagos motor parks.
An example of the crisis that engulfed the NURTW is that of the state chairmanship election in Lagos in 2012. It was gathered that a top notch of the union who was contesting for the post had thought he would emerge unopposed. There was fracas in major parts of the state when the National President of the NURTW, Alhaji Nasiru Yasiu, met with the five contestants at the union’s office in Abule Egba. He declared that since there was no consensus candidate, the election would go on as scheduled.
The pronouncement triggered controversy, as supporters of the candidate that failed to emerge unopposed spoilt for war. It took the police intervention that arrested over six persons, including an aspirant for the post of deputy chairman with two double barrel guns, to quell the uprising. It was the incident that led to the death of Alhaji Ola Shehu Ekeniojuoti who was suspected to be the supporter of the unfavoured chairmanship candidate.
The effect of the cold war was the close down of banks, markets and all other commercial activities within the state. Dangerous weapons like machetes, broken bottles, charms and guns were freely used by both factions to settle scores.
An eyewitness, Ayodele Akinfenwa, a banker on the Lagos island recalled vividly the account of that unfortunate incident.
“Motorists heading towards Adeniji-Adele from Third Mainland Bridge were not only harassed but many of the vehicles were destroyed. The situation was terrible. It was like a war. I was forced to flee the scene when they unleashed mayhem on the Island. Banks and commercial activities were completely grounded for two days.
Report had it that former Lagos State Chairman of the NURTW, Chief Akanni Olohunwa, and his arch rival, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya(MC Oluomo),were forced out of the race for the plum job by the Lagos State Government which worked in concert with the national body following the bloody clashes that characterised their campaigns. A new executive was installed. It was reported that Olohunwa was outwitted by MC Oluomo who planted his own man as the new chairman.
Early this year, it was reported that the orgy of violence and needless killings continued in Lagos following the bloody clash by factions of the NURTW, at Idumota (Lagos Island) area of the state.
At the end of the “war”, no fewer than 10 persons were reported dead, with many others sustaining various degrees of injury, and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
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The NURTW clash between the Isale-Eko faction and Onola-Agarawu-Itafaji boys recently too was over the ongoing leadership crisis in NURTW. In the ensuing melee, they reportedly pushed one of the cars inside the building at No. 28 Isale-Igangan Street, Lagos. The building which housed a photo studio named New Star Photo and an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was set ablaze by the hoodlums after bathing the building with petrol. An eyewitness said the building was razed because the attempt to loot the ATM was unsuccessful.
Sunday Mirror investigations into the reasons for the ‘do-or-die’ in the leadership tussle revealed that on a daily basis, an exco of just a park in Lagos State went home daily with about a hundred thousand naira. One of the exco members in a chat with our correspondent at Ketu garage, Lagos asked him how much he was paid as salary per month. When he replied that he earned over three hundred thousand naira, the exco members retorted, “Are you that poorly paid? Haba! Oga journalist, you better team up with us because I can pay that your salary without batting an eyelid within a week. I’m sure that you are pulling my legs, because I cannot imagine that you are paid that chicken change!”
In furtherance of the money available to the union, the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, reportedly quizzed the former chairman, Rafiu Akanni Olohunwa. He was investigated of N4 billion fraud an amount he was alleged to have siphoned from the accounts of the transport body.
The money was alleged to have been diverted from the proceeds of the BRT bus ownership and administration arrangement between the NURTW and Lagos.
In May 2014, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrested a former chairman of the NURTW in Oyo State, Mr. Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as ‘Auxiliary’ for illegal possession of arms. The police said Auxiliary also had other cases in Ibadan, Oyo State, which included murder. The former NURTW boss was arrested on Saturday, May 9, in Olodo, Ibadan while he was driving his ash-coloured Nissan bus. Mukaila was paraded with exhibits which included a Zastava pistol and one packet of live ammunition containing 50 rounds.
On March 10, 2014, the Police had arrested a notorious illegal arms dealer, Mr. Abdulazeez Amao, who smuggled in AK-47 rifles from Mali and Burkina Faso to Nigeria, and 10 of such rifles had been recovered from him. Amao had confessed that one of his customers was Mukaila, the immediate past Oyo State NURTW chairman.
According to report, a pistol, two magazines with 15 rounds each and 9mm live ammunition containing 50 rounds were recovered from Auxiliary; he had given his AK-47 rifle to a Union leader, Mr. Tirimisiyu Olowoposi. However, Olowoposi who heard of the ex-chairman’s arrest was said to have gone into hiding. Mukaila confessed that he actually met the arms dealer and purchased the ammunition for self-defence.
He said: “He used to come to my hotel to drink. That was how I knew him. I told him that hired killers came to my house, killed my first son and also wounded me in the leg. He then sold the guns and ammunition to me. I bought the pistol and the cartridges for N350,000. It has three rounds. I bought the AK-47 also for N350,000. I bought them over three years ago. They are for my self-defence. I was protecting myself from hired killers. I did not know it was illegal to keep arms. I did not know I had to be given a licence.”
Mukaila added that he was being accused of murder because he belonged to the Peoples Democratic Party, which was not the ruling party in the Oyo State.
“The All Progressives Congress invited me three times to join them, but I declined that I would not leave my party because of money. Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (Tokyo) is my master. He was the one who trained us, including the present NURTW chairman, Mr. Taofeek Oyerinde, who is known as Fele,” he explained.
Barrister Olurin, speaking on this issue, said, “The NURTW has at various times claimed that it derived its functions and actions from its registration and an Act of Parliament during President Shehu Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government in the Second Republic. But the question is: does the Act stipulate the gangsterism and brigandage members of the union often manifest in carrying out their business?”
The gangsterism was furthered with the assassination of the NURTW boss, Alhaji Azeez Ashake, on Saturday, September 20, after the PDP South-West rally in Lagos.
Also, on September 29, there was uneasy calm in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, following reports that some members of the NURTW were planning a reprisal over the killing of the union’s former chairman in the state, Chief Omolafe Aderiye. The cause of the death was rumoured to be due to union dispute.
Many residents stayed indoors for fear of the unknown while churches witnessed low attendance. The property of Mr Rotimi Olanbiwonnu, the immediate past chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Ado-Ekiti was burnt.
A public analyst, Ibinabo Horsfall, argued that government cannot take a proactive measure in curbing activities of these groups, because government across the country are not unaware of the infamous activities of agberos. In some instances, some state governments have had to proscribe the various bodies.
A commercial driver, Chukwuemeka Nsofor, contends that it may be impossible for any democratic government to proscribe or condemn the unions’ activity, because all the political parties enjoy their patronage, as well as seek their support to win elections, especially in this era of the politics of ‘capturing states’.
The agberos are foot soldiers of the unionofficers; they collect various tolls from bus conductors and drivers and beat up any uncompromising ones among them. Most of the drivers and conductors are not in any way members of the union which, according to the drivers that spoke with Sunday Mirror, 90 per cent or more of the drivers cannot be said to be interested in being part of the union. Nsofor noted, “In fact, we are not members of the union and we don’t know why we are paying all the fees, as we are not in any way benefitting from the unions’ activities.
When asked why the aggrieved drivers and conductors can’t enforce their fundamental human right as entrenched in the constitution, Chapter IV under Fundamental Human Rights section 40 that, “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interest.
Nsofor replied that the constitution is not meant for the group, as they flagrantly abuse all known human rights even section 35 which states that “every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty”, adding that anyone that challenges the group may not live to tell the story.
He spoke further, “I’m a graduate and only eking out a living through this means after being retrenched and fruitless search for job. My brother, I’ve family to take care of, so I put shame aside and took to driving a commercial bus.
On the fees collected by the group, Nsofor said, “We have lost count of the number of fees we pay, as they range from owo union (union due), owo load (loading fee), owo olopa (police money), owo task force (task force money), owo aaro (morning, afternoon and evening money), owo agbero (tout fee), owo council (LG council fee), owo LASTMA (LASTMA money) and sometimes traffic officers’ fee.
He added, “All the fees are collectible in most of the major cities in Nigeria, sometimes under different names, but the police fee is not debatable. Although the police have at different times denied that their members collect any fee, the reality is that they collect fees at most bus stops, especially in Lagos. The OPS Messa, RRS, and other police units visit all motorcycle and motor parks at intervals to collect the fees every morning, afternoon and evening on daily basis. Any park that refuses to respond quickly would be maltreated and branded as illegal parks, while members would be arrested and sometimes tagged armed robbers. The partisanship of the law enforcement agencies had always been a serious issue in tackling the menace of agberos in our society, it has indeed been alleged that the leadership of the police is the leading sponsors of agberos in the country. The menace of agberos/touts and security agencies such as the Police, RRS, OP Messa, VIO, FRSC, state traffic management agencies, has dissuaded lots of decent people from investing in commercial transport business.
The public also points finger at government’s lack of political will, being responsible for the relentless reprehensible acts of violence by the groups. Many of those that spoke with Sunday Mirror correspondents stated that activities of the various security agencies in the state have also become a clog in the wheel of progress for commercial transportation in the country.
However, a member of the association who preferred anonymity disclosed that members of the union were not as bad as is being peddled, adding that most of those demanding money at various bus stops were not members of the union. He said all members of the union on the road wore uniforms and identity cards.
When asked what the union was doing to remove the bad eggs, he said there were lots of miscreants and touts at the parks and the union sometimes arrests and hands them over to the police; it is the duty of the police to rid the society of touts and miscreants
According to him, most drivers and conductors do not know their rights hence the miscreants and touts take advantage of this to fleece them.
To make the business attractive, Nsofor advised that “government at various levels need to take firm steps to curb the lawlessness of agberos in the country. They need to evolve tough policies in order to ensure that no group or individual in the society continues to act above the law.
“The police and other security agencies must stop their unholy relationship with the lawless agberos so as to be able to hunt down, arrest and bring to book anyone involved in anti-social activities. Nobody, no matter how highly placed or connected, should be allowed to go scot-free after inflicting pains on other members of the society in carrying out their legitimate business. If the union was created by an Act of Parliament, then the National Assembly can review its activities and bring succour to the various cries of innocent Nigerians who are daily being terrorised by the union members.
Barrister Oyewole advised that, “everybody should be free to associate with any union he/she wants and not forced to pay fees under duress to any association, while the union should evolve another way of collecting its dues instead of constituting themselves into a nuisance on the roads, as not all the drivers are interested in being members of their association. All activities of the union should be limited to its members.”
He urged politicians to stop using the group as political thugs to win elections as it had always been difficult to call them to order after the election had been won.
He recalled that, “After a spate of kidnappings in the early 80s, it was the government that decreed that all commercial drivers must be members of NURTW and also display their NURTW identity cards which must contain their passport photographs in their vehicles.
“Since the government has decreed that all bus drivers must be members of the union, union officials (touts, popularly known as agbero) had a reason to forcefully extort money from bus drivers in the guise of ‘union dues’, although nobody knows for sure what these funds are used for, bus drivers according to a commercial driver must pay these fees or risk damage to their buses from the touts who remove seats, side mirrors, wipers, petrol tank covers, among other things on the vehicle. Therefore, the same government must as a matter of urgency address the menace of the unions and agberos, possibly abrogate and ban them.”
Published, Oct 26, 2014
