On the streets of Lagos, there is a yoruba adage, that it is the strong man who eats the food of the street.
This is translated to mean that only the strong hearted can survive and eat enjoy the riches of the street. There is money on the streets. It all depends on where you are looking.
Lagos is a funny place, but it is definitely the land of the wise, that is why they say if you don’t learn in Lagos, you won’t learn anywhere else. Today, permit me to dwell on street people for this special report. I will tell the story of some of the street people that I know.
There is a guy called MC Oluomo, he has become stupendously rich and powerful just by being a street boy. He is a strong man. His word is law in Lagos. When push comes to shove, we all in Lagos are street boys. One way or the other.
He controls the NURTW In Lagos. He has been at it for a long time. He started small and grew in influence and today. He is untouchable. Actresses fall over themselves to date him. Musicians know their bread is buttered when he shows up at a party.
The NURTW officials, these are the agberos who control the garages and bus stops of Lagos, they call them a fancy name these days. We are all in the system, we know how it is going. They do not own buses but they tell bus owners in Lagos how much they must pay them to load passengers per trip and per day. At the start of business, the NURTW collects some thousands of naira for you to put your bus in the garage.
Each time you load, you also pay a certain amount. No argument. Along the way to your destination, you are also required to pay certain amount for passage, no story, no argument.
They have a gang of enforcers. You either pay or they seize your spare tyre, side mirror of Wiper. Policemen do meddle in what they do. Lagos is mind your business, face your front. The police also have their own business to mind.
They control the streets. If a driver gets too stubborn, they gang up and give him the beating of his life. Drivers just pay up, cry in silence and take some pittance home. The NURTW bosses are lords. They live like kings. They own big houses, multiple cars and own hotels and night clubs, multiple wives and concubines. They are strong men who eat the food of the street.
Election time for them is serious business. I hear they employ native doctors, armed thugs and everything to ensure they win and take over the turf with their boys. They are very organized.
From bus stop to bus stop, they have their domains well mapped out. Nobody encroaches, you will be playing with fire. Every sectional leader is expected to deliver a certain amount at the end of the day to the unit chairman. No story. He will take his own, give some to his executives, put aside money for entertainment and pass on the rest upstairs. The money must go round. It is street money, nobody spends it alone.
They are very strict and time conscious. The operatives know work starts at 5; 00 am. If you are not at your duty post and the union loses money, you are in soup. If you deliver below the expected amount for the day, you are in trouble. The bosses know how much you should deliver every shift. They know how many bosses ply the route. They have statistics…
They are smart and very organised. They have unseen watchers who note everything that happens. You can’t bamboozled them. You go chop slap. It is there business and they mind it with all they have. Police do not interfere. Everybody knows their place and the system rewards them adequately. They have mastered the streets.
Let’s proceed to the Lagos bus conductor.
He is wild and brutal. He is a graduate of many fights and beatings. He is a nut case. Born again people don’t do bus condoctor in lagos. Agbero will slap and punch you if you don’t pay them fast when they demand. Try to fight with one and six of them will be all over you like ants. It always ends with a swollen lip or eyes. Nobody to complain to. The mob always wins.
The conductor has become a mad man. Tell him you don’t have money to pay your fare and he will scream, ” you dey whine me abi? Come go down make I see you.”
Dare him. He will seize one of your shoes or your bag unless somebody in the bus is kind enough to pay your fare. That is the street. It’s a jungle. These days area boys will tell you the street is not smiling,it means, things are tough outside. Very true. No free money.
Street people know how to take care of their business whether in Abuja, Aba, Onitsha, Uyo, Kaduna, Port Harcourt or Benin. If you are part of them, you must obey the rules and do proper accounting. No story, no excuse, no argument. You are among wise men, you too must be wise and hard or you stay at home with your family and starve. We are not playing here, they will echo and it’s true.
Justice on the street is swift and instantly executed. It’s either banishment, fine or some strokes of the cane or slaps. It’s a tough, hard world. They survive by their own rules and standards and there is peace.
If the street can be equated to the larger Nigeria it would have been so splendid. If justice was instant and swiftly executed it would have been so nice. But no, the street is smarter than the larger Nigeria yet we call street people uneducated and local. How can that be? We talk too much grammar and they laugh at us. What street people will not allow in their sphere is what we live with everyday and hail the perpetrators as champions. And at the end of the day we say all is well.
Check any family that has a headstrong son or daughter. The elder ones avoid him. They give him his due from the inheritance. They know he can start wahala and abuse them and they cannot do anything to him. Some bit of madness pays, particularly in Nigeria. I know.
First of all, it’s public knowledge how much each state and local government in Nigeria receives from the federation account. Most of it end up in private accounts. We don’t even bother to ask questions.
Appropriation is made and funds allotted for roads, mass housing, pensions, salaries, health, recurrent expenditure and developmental projects. How many come to light?
Various people are put in charge of execution and supervision of these projects. Money is released. Most of these people in breach of the public trust walk away with the funds meant for hospitals, roads, schools, markets etc. And nothing happens.
Pensioners who have diligently served the nation will be made to stand in the sun and rain for days doing stupid verification. Somebody somewhere is enjoying the delay.
He puts the money in a bank to yield interest and later keeps most of it for himself. The pensioners are not paid. They starve, can’t buy their drugs, or take care of their families…they are frustrated, most of them die of heartache. Their hard earned money is in the account of one big man. He will marry wives and collect titles from various kingdoms. He is spending blood money. Who will tell him that?
Every year appropriation is made for hospitals and health centers in each state. Civil servants draw up a budget and the funds on paper are released for drugs, equipment servicing or purchase and other incidentals. Very good.
The oga at the top takes a chunk, he passes the file down and along the way the others make deductions. By the time it gets to implementation, hardly nothing is left. They go home feeling good, building houses and renting them out while the poor come to the hospitals and are unattended to.
The pharmacy is empty, they end up buying expensive drugs outside. They are referred to undertake expensive tests outside because the in-house diagnostic centre has packed up, but the people in charge own theirs and it functions. Death piles up. Blood money continues to ‘prosper ‘ a few in the system. We look, shake our heads and say it is well. How?
It’s election time. We all gather, come out early to queue. Around mid day, some guys arrive in buses, they scatter the queue. They come with all kinds of weapons. They hijack voting materials. Everyone runs into their homes, nobody wants to die. Later in the evening, results are announced, their candidate wins. It is well we say. How dumb?
In this country it’s been like this forever. We are so docile, but I believe our leaders have charmed us. There must be something they spray into the air that makes us so stupid. Can it be too much religion? But the Bible says be as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent so why are we not wise? Why do we just stand and watch while we are sold into slavery? They say the church is praying, Muslims are praying, even the traditionalists are praying. Yet, they manipulate us. They turn us against ourselves. They steal all that belong to us and keep for generations yet unborn. And we look and say it is well. How can it be well ? It’s a wrong affirmation. Evil cannot be good. You cannot be inside water and allow soap to enter your eyes. That is stupid. We are a rich nation. When will we start to enjoy the benefits of being citizens of a rich nation? Citizens of the United Arab Emirates do not do menial jobs. They do not sell in the markets or drive taxis or push trucks. Foreigners do all the menial jobs. Citizens are well treated by their government. They receive a monthly income. You will find them in jobs like immigration, customs, police, telecoms, airlines etc. They don’t migrate to go and wash dead bodies, take care of old people or sweep streets. When Emirati people travel abroad, they go on holiday or business. They do not go to slave.
Why is our own different? When will we start to hold our elected officials responsible? When will we tell the charms, enough is enough? When will we start to open our mouths and start asking questions as a collective? When ooh, When?
What we accept as normal, street people will never allow. They will break heads and bones, and we call them uneducated and uncivilized. Where is all our advancement and education and religion? In being stupid and docile?
By; Al Humphrey Onyanabo (The StoryTeller)
Tel; +2347054674906
Email; nigeria360online@gmail.com
