community news :Quagmire on Lagos roads

Village square reports 

WHO IS COLLECTING FEES ON LAGOS ROADS

Lagos residents are in a quagmire as they continue to bear the bunt of paying more transport fares despite experiencing terrible pains in traffic and bad roads. Is an understatement to say illegal fees collection has taken over every nook and crane in the Lagos community, with every space filled with drug addicts and thuggery

Our correspondent who interacted with commuters to hear their views gathered that most of them complained that despite the high rise in diesel (Ago) and scarcity of PMS ( petrol) the street urchins known as agbero sometimes influence transport fares and continued collecting of levy at all the parks is another factor which seems to be beyond the state government with speculations that the government had lost control of transport sector in the state .

In almost every part of Lagos, this group of people is seen in every available space where commercial transport operators exist, this group of people collect levies and residents wonder who this group of boys reported to by doing their acts unchecked 

Some months back, the Lagos state government suspended the activities of the national union of road transport workers which was speculated as a habitat for causing a nuisance in the transport sector of the state and replaced it with Lagos motor park managers but nothing has changed, and rather getting worst.

At Oshodi for example you see this group of boys without any means of identification intimidate and threaten commercial drivers or anyone who picks passengers and refused to oblige to their request.

On Oshodi Apapa express road from Oshodi Lastma office to downward, the bridge behind gigantic Oshodi terminal  over twenty-five boys collect different fees daily  from commercial drivers with force and no law enforcement to check their activities and where they exist, they use some of the boys to collect money like "security money" and deal ruthlessly with those who refused to play  their game despite the road leads to the international airport 

The same applies across the state, iyana Iyana ipaja, Kola bus stop, Lagos Island, Badagry, Epe, Ikeja , Mushin etc 

What is the role of the park managers of Lagos state and how is the accountability of this revenue accounted, for now, the Lagos state government should have established an E-payment for the transport sector to take off this miscreant from our roads and make Lagos roads more decent and rehabilitate's the roads to make our them more motorable.

Lagos state government should wake up to her responsibilities and work more on the blocked drainages which have been a major factor in the flood which the state keeps experiencing yearly.

More enlightenment should be done on refuse disposal and make laws to punish defaulters, KAI officials have gone to sleep on their responsibility and only visible with a display of black maria parked at the major bus stop which they used to intimidate people to settle them as usual with agents of government on Lagos state roads.

Most of the pedestrian bridges across the state have become a symbol of the museum. People abandon them because they assumed it was not safe from criminals whom they claimed  harassed them and had used the bridges as their home.

Who is in control of this illegal fee collected on Lagos roads? the residents continue to ask and wait for the Lagos state government's actions and response.