ONITSHA: Unknown Men Harassing People & Motorists

by AnaedoOnline
A+A-
Reset

In explanation to the existing discomfort and the fear of the unknown at Onitsha, In August 2020, my wife and I drove into Onitsha to buy some items but were arrested by some men who claimed to be government revenue collectors. Do you know who rescued us? A Yoruba man resident in the market. It is ironic!

Even though I grew up in Nnewi, some 20 kilometers from Onitsha, I don’t usually like to drive into the boisterous commercial city. I would either park somewhere in Obosi and go into Onitsha by public transport, or I would take public transport right from Nnewi.

However, because the items we wanted to buy were many, we decided to drive to Onitsha with a Toyota Sienna vehicle. The vehicle would make it easy for us to transport them home after purchase. Because I was driving, I would ensure that they were not damaged while driving home.

When we got into Onitsha (or rather Nkpor), we wanted to leave the car at the office of a friend, Mr. S. Olatula, on LIMCA Road for fear of harassment by thugs.

Our plan was that we would take a taxi to the area where the items we needed were sold. A taxi would bring us and the items back to LIMCA Road, from where we would take the Obosi route or Nnobi route out of Onitsha. But Olatula felt that would create some inconvenience for us and told us to go with the car to make the purchases.

He saw our hesitation and told us to call him if anybody harassed us. It sounded strange for a Yoruba man to tell a son and a daughter of Anambra to call him if anyone harassed us in our own state. I wondered if as a businessman in Onitsha for many years, he was that powerful to be able to confront any thug in Onitsha.

The second challenge was whether he would come quickly to wherever we were before some damage was done. But we trusted him and drove off.

Just about 500 meters from the spot where we parted ways, trouble started. It was at the roundabout by Zik’s Mausoleum. That was where we met the unknown men dressed in black T-shirts. We had stopped by the traffic light at the roundabout, waiting for the light to change to green.

Suddenly, some men stood in front of our vehicle. What was the problem? They said it was a Toyota Sienna and needed some unclear permit. We told them it was not a commercial vehicle, but they said it did not matter.

They asked that we open the door so that they could take us to their office to pay for it. We said no. The one behind the vehicle took our number plates, gave us a phone number to call, and told us to come to a certain address to pay and collect the number plates.

We called Mr. Olatula and he soon arrived. Then, he called a soldier from the Military Cantonment, Onitsha, which was beside Zik’s Mausoleum, a few meters from where we were.

The soldier came and went to where the men were some meters away from us, waiting for their next victim. He told them to return the number plates. They returned them sadly and told us that we were lucky; that they would have dealt with us so badly we would have hated ourselves.

What was our crime? Nothing. Our only crime was that we came to invest in Onitsha with our hard-earned money. Many cities and states spend huge money to advertise for people to come in to do business or just to come for a holiday.

Here, we were coming to Onitsha (without any advertisement) to spend our money, only to be harassed and then rescued by a man from Ondo State in our own state! And the people who did this don’t do it at night or in some nondescript place. They do it every day at one of the most central spots in Onitsha.

Later, I contacted some officials of the Anambra State Government about this incident. They promised to look into it. I also heard people complain to an Anambra State official on a radio program about that same spot. He said those men were not working for the state government and promised to resolve it. I assumed that those men would have been arrested.

I passed by the same spot recently and to my greatest shock, I saw the same men on the same spot harassing motorists. What it means is that these men wake up every day and report at the roundabout opposite Zik’s Mausoleum to harass motorists. Will they be that bold to operate on the same spot every day if they are not working for any government or backed by some powerful group? Or, are they above the law and above government discipline?

In Delta State, such men also stand by the roadside in Asaba, banging on the bodies of Toyota Sienna vehicles driving towards the Niger Bridge. Those who are unlucky to stop get fleeced by these unidentified thugs.

I don’t know what crime Toyota Sienna committed that it should not be driven on our roads. I wonder if it emits more smoke or spoils the road faster or occupies more space than Toyota Landcruiser or Tundra or Nissan Armada or Honda Pilot or Range Rover Sport. Is it a crime to drive a Toyota Sienna vehicle by a private citizen? What is special about a Toyota Sienna?

Is the state aware of these men? Are they working for the Anambra State Government or for any of the local government councils in Onitsha or for themselves?

If so, is it in line with the quest by the Anambra State Government to promote the ease of doing business and welcome investors and visitors to the state? If this is about revenue generation, does the amount of money these men bring in equate to the bad name they give to Anambra State?

If they are not working for the state, what has been done to stop them, since they do this in broad daylight on the Onitsha-Enugu Highway, which is a federal highway?

I heard that those men collect as much as N50,000 from their victims and end up ruining the day of such people, creating a terrible image for Onitsha and Anambra State and Igboland in general, given that Onitsha is the major gateway to Igboland and the old Eastern Region.

I don’t like lawlessness and impunity. No state should allow some people to be a law unto themselves and tarnish the image of the state in the minds of visitors. If indeed these men don’t work for the government, it should not cost much to apprehend them, try them, and sentence them.

By the time news goes round that people who engage in such an illegal activity risk being jailed, those who engage in it will think twice before doing it.

If they are working for any tier of government on revenue generation, then, it is a shame to let such men out to harass motorists. That is not revenue generation.

That is harassment. Such men operated on Lagos streets in the late 1990s. They became a nuisance to motorists and were withdrawn by the respective local government councils for a more effective way of generating revenue.

They also operated in Ondo State along the Sagamu-Benin Expressway as well as on the federal highways in Benin City until around 2008. I was their victim in 2008. I wrote about them and the bad image they brought to Edo State and Ondo State respectively. Luckily, they have pulled off the roads.

Whoever these unknown men that harass motorists in Onitsha are, they need to be stopped forthwith by the Willie Obiano government.

follow us

Post Disclaimer

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.

You may also like