Some Lagos commercial bus drivers popularly known as Danfo have sent save-our-soul (SOS) messages to President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu alleging that officials of the Lagos State Park and Gardens Management Committee headed by Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo are extorting them by demanding exorbitant fees as operational permits.
The drivers embarked on a protest, which started at the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway and spread to other parts of Lagos State.
The protest culminated in commuters being stranded
on Wednesday morning in several parts of Lagos
Some of the drivers who spoke to NATIONAL WAVES expressed their anger over what they described as multiple taxations.
A driver, Mr Oladele Aberuagba said “This is quite unfortunate. Can you imagine the harrowing experience we go through in the hand of these agberos. They are at every bus stop extorting money from us. We pay a fee at our loading point, and then for us to drop passengers at bus stops is a problem because you will be accosted by MC Oluomo’s boys who demand money. This is unacceptable”
He further said all attempts to make the agberos have a change of mind about extorting them failed.
“We pleaded with these agberos to reduce the collection of multiple taxes, but they refused, we have no choice other than to embark on protest”
Aberuagba urged President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to call the agberos to order.
During the protest, Commuters were seen trekking long distances to their various destinations as the bus drivers refused to operate, citing extortions and alleged brutality by the state-backed officials.
The bus drivers and their assistants were seen carrying various placards protesting against the alleged extortion.
The inscriptions on the placards read, “we are tired of Agberos extortion”, “we can’t continue working for Agberos”, “we pay over N25,000 daily to agberos extortion”, “Extortion killing us,” among others.
Another driver, Musiliu Onafowokan, said extortion by Agberos was killing drivers in Lagos as their profit margin was being eroded on a daily basis.
Onafowokan said, “As drivers, we can’t meet daily responsibilities anymore, we pay so much to agberos on a daily basis and we can’t make ends meat again. We can’t meet our responsibilities at home as well.
“Our children can’t go to school anymore. We are working for the agberos. They destroy our vehicles if we don’t pay on time, it’s better government do something about it so fast because we won’t stop protesting until something is done.”
Also speaking, Sikiru Mustapha urged the government of Lagos State to stop the extortion of drivers in the state.
He said the activities of Agberos led Musiliu Akinsanya, known as MC Oluomo, should be called to order.
His words, “The burden on us is too much. We pay through our nose on a daily basis. If the government refuses to see this hardship, we won’t stop protesting. They use their touts to disturb us, they threaten our investment, and we are at their mercy on a daily basis.
“They collect money from us from all bus-stops. The suffering is too much, and we can’t continue like this. We can’t be working and be like beggars.”
A driver who claimed to be an HND holder but resorted to driving commercial bus on account of his inability to get a white collar job said ” My brother my name is Tolulope Adepoju, I’m an HND holder, I took to driving commercial bus when I could not get a white collar job, now, I cannot make ends meets because agberos are extorting money from us and living large at our expense. I work from 7am to 8pm, yet I go home with peanuts because agberos collect 50 per cent of what I make in a day. It’s as bad as that. I voted for Tinubu and Sanwo Olu in Lagos. They should please come to our aid”. said Adepoju (National Waves)
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
