By Ochereome Nnanna
Touting at the motor parks is a nationwide phenomenon. It was originally a group of largely uneducated young ruffians who clustered around the motor garages to work as commercial vehicle drivers, loaders and conductors. They later formed unions, notably the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN.
Fired up by drugs and alcohol, these hoodlums can do anything to make money. In Nigeria, the fiercest touts are found in Lagos, Oyo and Anambra states, which are great centres of road transport distributions. They are mostly known as agbero(“passenger carriers”, in Yoruba). Igbo also call them agboro which is just a corruption of the Yoruba word.
