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Area boys also known as Agberos are loosely organized gangs of street youths, composed mostly of males, who roam the streets of Lagos State. They extort money from passers-by, public transporters and traders, sell illegal drugs, act as informal security guards, and perform other “odd jobs” in return for compensation. Area boys have existed in the city of Lagos since the early 1980s. However, under various names, types of Area Boys have been traced back to the 1920s. In 2007, the total number of area boys in Lagos was estimated at over 35,000 by a member of the Lagos State Judiciary; as of 1996, the number of them operating on Lagos Island alone was placed around 1,000. A 1996 study of area boys on Lagos Island by Abubakar Momoh showed that only 26.4% of area boys were from Lagos State, while the rest were natives of Ogun State (22.6%), Kwara State (14.2%), and Oyo State (14.1%), amongst other states. Most were between twelve and thirty-five years old.
These area boys often work with local council officials and the Omo Onile (landowners’ children). From shop owners, they collect daily levies ranging from N50 to N200. Street traders and cart pushers are also not exempted from the collection. Every truck or trailer entering markets, like Ladipo and Mile 12, is forced to pay N500 or more at unmarked collection points. Thrice daily (morning, afternoon and evening), these aggressive boys collect levies ranging from N20 to N300. Their demands come under all sorts of names: Security Levy; Police Levy (collected on behalf of nearby traffic wardens or policemen on patrol); Loading Levy (for picking up passengers at bus stops); and Union Levy (for the National Union of Road and Transport Workers). Of these charges, none – except those collected within parks – is ticketed. A refusal to pay could result in physical assault or damage to vehicle.
Movement of delivery vans and trucks within the metropolis has become a nightmare, motorists groan under the weight of so many permits and licenses, with some vehicles having to display as many as 15 stickers on their windscreen! And many not properly coordinated. Many of these funds don’t get to the government coffers.
Successive governments in Lagos, since 1999, have often dismissed the activities of touts as illegal, but none has made a lasting attempt to send the extortionists off the road. The Lagos State Environmental Law 2012 prohibits all forms of thuggery, touting, and extortion. Similarly, the Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012 outlaws collection of tolls. Enforcement of these laws, however, has simply become impossible.
A Sociologist at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Mr. Oluwole Ayodele, believes touts are an expression of society’s socio-economic problems. As solution, Ayodele recommends a multi-prong approach that cuts across all levels of governance and the society. He says there is need to re-examine family life and child upbringing practices, so as to discover the point where values were misunderstood and misapplied to produce the effects the Agbero now display.
He urges the government to stabilize electricity generation in order to stimulate employment creation, which in turn will enable youths to channel their energies to productive enterprise. The state government should revive and build more rehabilitation centres where youths who have embraced the values of Agbero can be equipped with vocational skills. The unparalleled gap between the rich and the poor needs to be bridged to foster natural justice, equity and good conscience in the distribution of natural resources.
The Lagos State House of Assembly, has mandated all local council authorities to refrain from using touts as revenue collectors, even as employed officials are expected to be properly licensed, and with valid identity cards.
If adequate societal welfare and support structures are put in place with the more aggressive enforcement of the police force on the practices of Agbero, with time this menace will be a thing of the past.
It will be very hard to get rid of these guys