From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, “The
National Union of Road Transport Workers is a Nigerian organisation which
functions as a mixture of a public transport company, street gang, and a
transport worker's union. The organisation raises fund through several methods,
but the largest of these is charging fees - of approximately 20 Nigerian Naira
at illegal checkpoints, and from local shop owners. A large number of the NURTW
have been arrested in recent months after a government crackdown on these
unregulated fees, after the government embarked on a plan to stop people from
collecting dues outside motor parks. These people are known as “agberos”.
To be honest with ourselves in this
country, the NURTW can best be defined as a bunch of illiterate
thugs, extortionists, murderers and highway robbers. I say this at the risk of
their members in Ibadan attacking me. I wouldn’t put it past them, that is if
they manage to read this article.
It has now become an accepted thing to
see full grown able-bodied man collecting money by force (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) and sometimes traffic officers’ fee, etc.)
under the guise of National Union of Road Transport Workers from operators of
individually owned public vehicles (taxis, buses, danfos, molue) and motor
bikes (okada and NAPEP tricycles).
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
its members collect any fee, but the reality is that the police 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.
According to their own website (the
national one, I would guess, since I don’t see the notorious and illiterates
bosses in Oyo and Lagos States ever thinking of a website) which is idealist
and at least sounds people-oriented, “the NATIONAL UNION OF ROAD TRANSPORT WORKER
(NURTW) Union is an organization that represents employees’ interests to
management on such issues as wages, work hours, and working conditions”.
When you read something like this, and know what actually obtains, the absurdity
of the statement is disheartening.
.
Again, according to themselves, NURTW
was formed to “Protect, defend & promote the rights, well-being and the interests
of all workers in the union against discrimination and unfair labour practices”.
Service rendered by the Union to it
Members:
(i) Militant functions
•To achieve higher wages and better
working conditions
•To raise the status of workers as a
part of industry
•To protect labours against
victimization and injustice
(ii) Fraternal functions
• To take up welfare measures for
improving the morale of workers
• To generate self confidence among
workers
• To encourage sincerity and
discipline among workers
• To provide opportunities for
promotion and growth
• To protect women workers against
discrimination.
Compatriots, if you are familiar with
these obnoxious and vicious people and how they operate, the above “services”
that they claim to render to their so-called “members” are risible.
The notorious and demeaning
indiscipline and rowdiness in the City of Ibadan is a direct result of the
unruliness and lawlessness of this bunch of overrated thuggish illiterates
parading themselves as “union people”. They jump into the road, stopping their
“members” – taxi drivers and the commercial motorcyclists, okada” extorting
money from them; they often fight for control of the government-built motor
parks and taxi-stands, and nobody know what the forcefully generated money is used
for by this organization (but we know their vicious bosses take home a large
part of the money, which they may or may not share with their political hirers
and police). The fact is, their members, the real road transport workers do not benefit in any
form from this massive revenue, and our governments at all levels keep their
arms crossed looking at this menace to society and the peace and security of
the public. We all know why, of course, successive politicians and governors,
especially in most of the southern states are complicit in the use of these
thugs while campaigning for elections and other unreasonable vices they commit,
all in the “do-or-die” battle to get to power. The governors use them; the
senators and members of the House of Representatives use them; the members of
the states’ House of Assembly use them; local government Chairmen use them and
even ward councillors use these road transport workers as thugs and enforcers
to intimidate and even murder opponents, disrupt political rallies, intimidate
electors at polling booths on election days, rig elections by outright
hijacking of ballot boxes, and generally fomenting trouble during elections.
This is one area of our politics that
the government of our beloved country must look into, and check the functioning
of this forcefully generated revenue collected by men of the NURTW as it causes
so much problems on our roads; sometimes, the “agbero” would delay the movement
of the vehicle because of the money he wants to collect, so many times they will
forcefully remove items like fuel tank cover, engine cover, wiper etc.; there
are times when the agbero would fight the conductor and the driver so as to get
money. We know the authorities – governments, police, etc. - would have at one
time or the other seen or heard about this continuing incidence but they prefer
to look on at the sides while mayhem is being committed. The “agbero” can aptly
be described as the “foot-soldiers” of the top bosses of the union.
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?
According to an analyst who reacted to
reasons why the government cannot take a proactive measure in curbing
activities of these groups, “governments 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 they represent.”
Another analyst contends that it may
be impossible for any democratic government to proscribe or condemn the unions’
activities, 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’.
It is a known fact that the
partisanship of the law enforcement agencies had always been a serious issue in
tackling the menace of agberos in our society, and it has indeed been alleged
that the leadership of the police, as well as the politicians in and out of government,
are the leading sponsors of this menace in the country.
There is obviously government’s lack
of political will as being responsible for the persistent unacceptable acts of
violence by the groups. 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.
It is important that government at
various levels need to take firm steps to curb the lawlessness of the NURTW
(read 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 anybody 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.
Since it is claimed that 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 terrorized by NURTW members. 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. And all
activities of the union should be limited to its members.
We also need to go down hard on
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,
or rather rigged, as is often the case.
Postscript:
Recently in Ibadan, the capital city
of Oyo State, a group of thugs, wielding cutlasses, dane guns and cudgels, said
to be under the control of the “chieftain” of the NURTW in the state, overran a
large piece of land belonging to members of Ibadan Progressive Union (IPU) at
Bota Village, and “boned” all undeveloped plots, uprooting survey pillars and
threatening anybody that came near them. My late father, being a member of the
IPU, had bought some plots since the early 70’s, all paid for, with
Certificates of Occupancy. The NURTW chieftain is said to enjoy the patronage
and protection of the sitting governor and when their action was reported to
the Police Command, the police advised the owners of the illegally-claimed land
to “settle” with the thugs, because their (the police) hands are tied.
That is impunity and injustice for
you! A society where a police force cannot tackle common thugs!
Akintokunbo A Adejumo MSc, Dip Mngt, CIHM, MCMI, FITP
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