AREA BOYS; A NIGHTMARE OF HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS IN LAGOS STATE

Ask any truck driver in Lagos state what their nightmare is and without missing any word they will tell you its “Area Boys”. It so obvious! Two weeks ago i was going towards “Mile 2" and suddenly i discovered that a truck that was moving ahead of us suddenly stopped and before the driver could come out of his truck to identify what the problem was, about 20 Area boys ...
 have surrounded his truck. The driver tried to inform them that it was just a minor issue with the truck’s battery but the so called “Agbero’s” insisted he has to pay them N20,000 before he can adjust his batteries, shocked by the demand the driver probed further what the money was meant for, but to everyone’s surprise he got a terrible slap as a response. To cut the story short, they removed his battery, jack and fire extinguisher and the situation became messy, it is only God that knows what might have happened afterwards.

Another incident happened at “Meran” that is like 3 mins drive from “Abule Egba”, a 40ft flatbody truck developed a gas filter problem and the driver had to park just to find a way of resolving the problem thinking because it was on aSunday that the “Area Boys” might not be around to disturb him. To the drivers surprise, he noticed that some 5 boys came around from no-where asking him what was wrong with his truck and he immediately told them the problem that he is resolving it and that he will soon be leaving. After 5 mins, about 30 Area boys had surrounded him and demanded that he has to pay them (infact they demanded a N50,000 bounty). The driver demanded what the money was meant for (but it seems he was lucky this time around) they told him it was meant for the purpose of securing his vehicle during the time he had parked. Whatever happened after the exchange is now history. The list goes on and on of the bottlenecks the “Agberos” have caused truck drivers on Lagos roads.

The “Area Boys” phenomenon in Lagos State is a serious social problem that needs government emergency response. It is very true that the fear of “Area Boys” is the beginning of wisdom for truck drivers because it helps put drivers on their toes and it ensures that their trucks is in good condition before plying the road, but it seems the “Agberos” have now taken over the responsibility of government institutions like the Lagos State Transport Management Authority(LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) , Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) etc and have now turned it into a daily job and legitimate right which has ultimately birthed criminality and lawlessness within the megalopolis of Lagos State. It is also believed that some government officials responsible for bringing sanity to our roads have now become collaborators with the so called “Agberos” on “on-the-street” revenue sharing formular.

If indeed Lagos State is aiming towards becoming one of the best mega cities in the world, there is need to look into how to absorb these “Area Boys” into government constructions works in roads, housing, hospitals etc The government needs to take them out of the street and re-orientate them to be more responsible and productive in other sectors of the economy. The government needs to cut that chain of renumeration that seems to encourage them to go back to the street. There is need to cancel all source of money collection points on the road and bus stops across the state so that if the opportunity is no longer available, then the available job will be preferable for them. The “light up Lagos project” has shown that crimes can indeed be reduced, we need more loudable projects to keep the “Area boys” of the street and back to factories.