THEY are everywhere. They   daily create different pictures in the minds of different people.

Some people see them as touts, others see them as thrift collectors and a few, who are familiar with the operations of local governments in the state, see them as council workers. In actual fact, they conjure a picture of an uncouth gang of hoodlums on the mind of a stranger in Lagos State. They are the council rate collectors generally referred to as “council” by commercial motorcycle operators in Lagos State.

The activities of these council staff in Lagos State, especially as they affect the operations, of commercial motorcyclist are daily becoming subjects of discussion among road users in the state. The council workers who have been appointed to rake in revenue for local governments and LCDAs in the state, have assumed the status of demi-gods to okada riders.

Ayo (not real name)  a resident of Sango Ota in Ogun State, on a particular day, had taken his motorcycle out to buy spare parts for his vehicle at the popular Jankara spare parts market in Ijaiye Ojokoro, when he ran into the council staff along the way. His pleas, that he was not a commercial motorcyclist, fell on deaf ears of the council touts.

“I was rushing to get some spare parts for my vehicle, when they stopped me not too far from Jankara market. I even told them that I could pay for the ticket when they told me that it was 200 naira. They, however, insisted that I pay one thousand naira or have my motorcycle impounded,” Ayo narrated.

He also said that, “I was not ready to argue with them and even told them to let us go to any nearest police station but before I could say anything , they jumped on my okada and rode it to their council secretariat, where I was forced to pay 1, 500 naira for not collecting council ticket.”

The council touts have continued to come out with new tactics in their efforts to squeeze money out of commercial motorcyclists in the state. They also go as far as usurping the duties of law enforcement agencies like the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Federal Road Safety Corps and others, who are saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the use of helmet, seat belt and other traffic offences.

Bankole, a security officer with a leading national newspaper in the state, had on several occasions encountered the council touts of the different local government and Local Council Development areas in Alimosho area of the state. The security man, who rides a motorcycle, had on several occasions been apologised to, yet they continue to arrest him.

  “They are not different from the police. They always find an excuse to extort money from you. It is either they tell you that you are not using your helmet or that your rider's card is old. They just look for a way to squeeze something out of you,” Bankole stated.

The security officer, while recounting some of his experience with the council workers stated thus, “My brother, it is better for the Lagos State government to organise a seminar and educate the local government chairmen on how not to generate revenue. We know that the purpose of putting these people on the roads is to make money for the local governments, but they should learn to be courteous.

“I have had encounters with many of them. Is it those at Idimu, Ikotun or Ejigbo? They are all the same. Their appearances suggest that they are touting. Their mode of operation clearly shows that they are not cultured. They do not in any way reflect the ideology of the state government on the rule of law,” Bankole bemoaned.

On his last experience with them, the security officer stated that, “I was on my way to the office, when they stopped me and asked for my rider's card. I showed them and to my surprise, instead of them allowing me to go, one of them asked for my helmet and enquired why I was not putting it on. I frankly told him that it was not their responsibility to ask for helmet.

“They delayed me for more than one hour and I had to call somebody from my office to speak with them, but the way and manner they spoke showed lack of decency on their part. The person had told me to give the phone to one of them but what they said suggested that they were not well trained. At the end of the day, their boss apologised to me after I insisted that it is not their duty to ask for helmet. One thing is they will continue to demand for it,” Bankole stated.

Several motorcyclists spoken to by the Nigerian Tribune on their impression of the council rate collectors said that “they are touts”.  The okada riders stated that the money the supposed rate collectors were diverting into their private purses would have added greatly to the revenue of the local governments.

A  commercial motorcyclist at Abule Egba area of the state,  simply called Friday and who plies Fagba, Iju and Alagbole routes , said the best thing is to get your rider 's card and always use your helmet. He also added that even with that, you must still be “tipping” those council boys.

When asked further on what he meant by tipping and what purpose it served, he stated that “there are times, when they seriously need money and if you are not their friend, no matter what you have, they will always find a way to take you to their council and when your bike gets there, forget it, you will pay at least one thousand five hundred naira.”

The rider's card is less than two thousand naira and the council money is between fifty and one hundred naira but what the council touts demand from any perceived offender just for a single day   is almost enough to get the rider's card for a year.

Officials of some of the local governments and LCDAs admitted they had been receiving reports on the activities of the council workers. Some of them however confessed that those people were not directly employed by the council. They stated that the councils gave the contracts out to individuals who in turn employed those that were regarded as council touts.

When some of the council personnel were informed that some of these so called council touts do display council's identification cards, they responded that “anybody can get an I.D. card.”

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