Oyo State: Drivers Union And Agbero Can Never Be Eradicated By Ayodeji Ajogbeje

Why must NURTW and agbero be eradicated? Do you have another job for them? Do you think they are agberos by choice? Is driving not a profession? Is an agbero not a driver in training or a driver that doesn’t have a car currently?

Why must drivers cum agberos be treated with disdain and disrespect? Do you have another/separate set of decent (so called) people or graduates that will continue or take up 24hour driving job or services all over the state? I said it earlier that the big grammars with strange policies is one of the major problems with Nigeria leaders.

If the current set of drivers will remain at least 75% of the drivers in Oyo state for the rest of Governor Makinde’s probably 8 years government, let’s leave jokes, let him not be deceived or pushed, he cannot eradicate drivers’ union. All that the government needs to do is to integrate the drivers’ union to her government. Help them resolve the problem of leadership. Make sure they have a single duly elected/ selected leader among them that will be officially recognized by the government. Support the leadership. Make legislation that will ensure that all drivers and bus conductors (agbero) in the state will be officially registered with the drivers’ union on unit or park basis. The drivers’ union will transfer the names as registered (on parks or unit basis) to government for the issuance of government identification cards. No driver or bus conductor will be allowed to operate in any garage or park in the state without government issued reg. I.D. CARD.

Set up a joint tax force that will include law enforcement men, staff of the ministry of finance, state exco of the NURTW and IGR department of the state to monitor operations of the drivers/conductors inside/outside their parks and the remission of tax. Lo ba tan. You can consult me for more on this. Be warned that the money the government is aiming at currently for coming up with the idea of park managers will not be enough to manage the level of crimes and insecurity in the state when all these drivers and agberos finally become idle.

Drivers are like students. Their union is like student’s union. Injustice to one of them is considered (to them and to the law) injustice to all. Their body NURTW is duly registered with federal government. Their solidarity is solid. Their strength is in their number. They are in everything and everywhere. In fact, they are in every home. If you have a car, God forbid you lose your job, driving is one of the first things you consider for financial breakthrough, pending the time you will get another job.

Let’s respect and love our brothers and few sisters that do it 24/7.

Ayodeji Ajogbeje writes from USA via Ayoajos2003b@gmail.com