By OUR REPORTER
Days after the general elections that produced Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President-elect and Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as Governor-elect, albeit through globally acclaimed worst elections in history, transporters known as LT-buses operators plying Oshodi-Ikeja-Sango Ota on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Lagos State are currently protesting.
They are protesting against what they described as too-much charges by agbero, who they said work for the MC Olu-Omo led Lagos State Parks and Management Committee.
Some of the LT-buses packed in one of filling stations at Amje area, during the protest against agbero, on Wednesday March 29, 2023.
Some of the the drivers, who blocked the expressway with their buses while others parked in filling stations discussing in groups, were heard saying to passengers that had to disembark from buses as a result of the protest that: “We are fighting for you, the passengers because you do not know why we overcharge transport fares. It is because of over-taxing by agbero”, they were saying in Yoruba and pidgin.
One of them carrying placard that reads, “We say no to driver brutality”, in his hand said the money agbero collect from their hands is too much.
At the portion mainly affected by the expressway blockade, Alakuko-Ajegunle bus stops axis, several drivers were seen showing their displeasure at the way government of Lagos State has given agbero too much powers that agbero, who illegally collect money from them while destroying their vehicles and inflicting injuries on them, cannot be arrested by the police.
One of the placard carriers, who spoke pleading with pressmen present to help carry their voice aloud, said: “We are tired of too much money agbero collect from us. This is a fight for the people, who do not know why we charge high transport fares and also a fight for ourselves because we are doing business but make losses.
“We make losses because by the time we struggle to meet up the money for delivery, money for fuel and money for agbero, we end up going back home in the night with virtually nothing,” he said in Yoruba.
He added that, “This is so because of the too much money agbero collect from us. They are agbero, who tell us how much we should charge to passengers so that they can earn more. We have government but we cannot complain to the government.
“The only thing we have seen now is that, I stead for the government to listen to us, they have just sent police loaded in about three vans to this place and they are threatening us with gun to free the road. So, this is not about us, passengers should not look at us as causing difficulty but it is about the government causing the problem,” he said.
He added that, “If the government truly love the people, why do they only have to send police to threaten us with guns to clear road without even having to address the grievances that led to the blocking of the road.”
The DEFENDER reports that not too long from the time of extracting words from one of the protesting transporters, police sporadic shootings started sounding leading to people scampering for safety of their lives.
Message to the state police command for reaction was yet to be responded to as at the time of filing this report.
