The daily Activities of touts around major cities in the country are becoming more brazen, posing threats to commuters and other road users due to their unruly conduct and mode of operation.
The glory of every city is in the serenity of its environments including the roads and motor parks which is often the first point of contact with visitors, tourists and investors, but there is an ugly trend threatening orderliness in the nation’s city.
There have been complaints about how these urchins constitute security threats to residents our cities, especially in many black spots around the city centres.
Most touts, violent and aggressive behaviours are caused by the hard and illicit drugs they ingest before embarking on the day’s job and as such take laws into their hands and care less about the life and properties of travelers.
Sometimes, Police authorities will issue stern warnings on touts to vacate the roads and motor parks and the go low for a few days after which they resume their regular and usual harassment, abuse and terrorisation of commuters and innocent citizens going about their normal businesses.
Governments across the country are not unaware of the infamous activities of road and motor park touts otherwise known as ‘Agberos’. In some instances, some state governments have had to proscribe them for their anti-social activities. In spite of this, it is baffling to discover that rather than diminish, their nefarious activities will rather continue to rise.
There are alleged issues of complicity of law enforcement agencies. This has always been a serious issue in tackling the menace of ‘Agberos’ in our cities. It has been alleged that the leadership of the police have links with leading sponsors of ‘Agberos’ in the country.
Also, lack of political will on the part of governments across the country to tackle their menace is another serious encouragement for the touts. Some ‘Agbero’ top shots are alleged to be well connected to the corridors of power, hence, the reason they are not afraid to break the law. If, indeed, it is true that some of them have strong backers in high places as being alleged, such backers desist from such recklessness.
Therefore governments at all levels need to take firm steps to curb the lawlessness of ‘Agberos’. They need to stick to tough-line policies in order to ensure that no group or individual in the society continue to act in ungovernable manners. The police and other security agencies should hunt down, arrest and bring to book any ‘Agbero’ involved in anti -social activities. Nobody, no matter how highly placed or connected, should be allowed to go scot-free while inflicting pains on other members of the society.
It has become a thing of necessity and urgency for relevant agencies to closely monitor the operatives of the transport unions so as to avert the incessant deadly clashes and deal with errant members if they infringe on the law and the rights of other citizens to operate freely.
It is also vital for relevant authorities in the country to appraise the activities of the various transport unions in the country. The transport sector is too vital to be left in the hands of lawless men. No group or individual must be made to operate above the laws of the land. The time for the appropriate authorities to act against unruly ‘Agberos’ is now, lest they become another monster that will consume the rest of the society.
