COLONIALISM, AGBERO OVER
COMMERCIAL BUS DRIVERS
Are we under the colonial masters? Was the question,
that pop up boldly in my mind witnessing the brutal act of injustice melted out
on a commercial bus conductor at the popular Ikorodu roundabout garage/park.
The garage boys popularly call "Agbero" who was said to had just
resume afternoon duty to collect booking money from the Lagos colour commercial
buses, in the quest to make enough money and even out run what his colleague
that handed him the batting had remitted. He summoned all his strength into
action, became aggressive with conductors, he refuse to take a no for an
answer, "you must drop something was his preferred slogan", within
the hour, he was already counting thousands, so he increase his tempo with
whisky of the brand named Yahoo and crown it with two sticks of cigarette. His
eye became like a pool of blood, voice turned bass and louder and ready to give
the job a good shot. His victim arrived the scene, ketu! Ketu!, the conductor
calling passengers, (ketu! Two more chance) on hearing that, the iron man,
(Agbero) swings into action approached the conductor, Owo mi da? ( where is my
money), the conductor replied, this is my first trip i don’t have any
money now But on my second trip i will pay you. The response wasn't good enough
for the Agbero hearing, i will give you jabs o! (agbero) The conductor pleaded,
please be patients till my next trip. the next thing was blood gushing down the
conductors mouth after three hard punches and two of his teeth flew into the
air. Trust Lagosians, people gathered immediately expecting more actions of the
unpleasant scene hoped to get a good picture of the part two. Other area boys
stormed the scene took the iron man and the conductor to the inner chamber to meet
their chairman for settlement.
Then i ask myself after
a short silence, what is our environment turning into? What was brought to play
during the Colonial masters, our parent pay taxes by force after all sought of
maltreatment is still ruminating in the blood of some Nigerians. Two teeth lost
for nothing, what an injustice. What is our government doing concerning this
social menace.
How long would the act
continue? Is their activities legal? Should agency be set up to cater for
drivers and conductors? Or better still scrap Agbero, what is your take on
this?
