The rise and rise of #Agberos in Lagos

Photo by Sheyi Owolabi on Unsplash

I was born in Lagos in the late 80s in the ever-busy Island maternity hospital and grew up in the clustered buildings of Ebute-ero my grandparents and theirs have lived there and I recalled attending Holy Trinity Anglican church recently for a memorial service and took a walk after to see where I grew up and was accosted by some “Area Boys” popularly called Agberos.

“Biggie, how far? Drop something for boys naa….Alaye, filee!!!”

I gave them the mint 200naira notes with me and I could recognise a distant cousin, sitting not quite far from them. “Boda Ahmed, se eyin niyen” (Bro Ahmed, is that you?) and he walked towards me, screaming in excitement as he’s not seen me since my wedding and before that over 20 years ago. He asked all the boys to return my money and they did reluctantly and asked them to escort us both to Aunty Kuburat’s restaurant(his sister) and reiterated to them that I am family and must not be harassed in any way.

He told me he handles the Ebute Ero park and was doing fine, I asked him some questions and not until today would make sense to me. Elections were just concluded and lots of people were divided across religious, partisan and ethnic/tribal lines. Some of the discussions were centred around MC Oluomo, leader of the NURTW(Lagos chapter) and his growing influence in the state and beyond. But, was he the first? who was before him? what structures are in place? how is it run in other states? Here's your cue to grab something to eat and drink.

Adebayo Ogundare A.K.A Success

Pre-2000s NURTW

At a rally in 2019, the Lagos State Treasurer of the union, MC Oluomo, was stabbed while some other persons, including journalists, escaped death by the whiskers. Incidentally, in the Second Republic, that same Lagos birthed the transformation of the road transport union with the name of NURTW, into a deadly anvil in the hands of a sadistic political class, thus heralding its ascendancy as the kingpin of politics. At the cusp of that Second Republic deployment of motor park irritants in unholy wedlock with politics, was an Ekiti State-born man called Adebayo Ogundare, aka Bayo Success, a notorious member of the union whose knack for violence was legendary(Cable.ng)

Photo by Joshua Oluwagbemiga on Unsplash

But this story started way before that, way….way before that. My story starts way back in 1930s, three decades before Nigerian independence. The road transport union had been a major contributor to the social harmony that Nigeria enjoyed in the informal sector.

By 1934, Nigeria had begun to feel the union’s importance and growing influence, especially with its formation that year, prompting it to have offices in many cities in every corner of the country. Not only did it defend the collective interests of its members within the colonial setting, but in the 1930s, the NURTW was also at the forefront of the fight and resistance against attempts made by the colonial government to impose higher duties on vehicles. The colonial government had intended to use the high taxes to combat the challenge of vehicles competing with the railway. (multiple sources)

During this period in Lagos, one leading transporter of renown was W.A. Dawodu. S.O. Ojo and Maiyegun operated from the Abeokuta sector. While transporters like Timothy Odutayo Kuti, known as Abusi Odumare, plied the Ijebu flank, baba Alado of mushin, Alamu otegbeye of Agege, Majiyagbe Rasaki of obalende, Ajilo of Ojota and one Dr Orisadipe Obasa who resided in Ikeja gave the sector noticeable form in Lagos. Obasa, in company with his wife Olajumoke, a renowned and wealthy road transport owner, both owned buses operated in Lagos as early as 1915. The intrusion of John Holt and the Miller Brothers, who earlier operated from the Ijebu lagoon market called Ejinrin around 1917 (remember Ebenezer Obey’s evergreen vinyl and lyrics, b’okokan o r’Ejinrin, egbegberun e a lo? If a vehicle declines to ply the Ejinrin route, thousands of others will) also gave transport business a lot of respect. In Ibadan, Salami Agbaje became a major motor transporter and so successful at it was he that the colonial government had to shut its own transport services in Southern Nigeria. During the 1937 general motor strike, Agbaje’s transport company was said to have actively participated in it…Why these backstories? It is important to show the correlation between the union and activism.(multiple sources)

Vawulence and the new NURTW

Photo by Habib Ayoade on Unsplash

Post independence however, the NURTW had begun to morph into a bastion of violence and disorder. Around the 1970s, municipal buses had been taken over by danfos owned by private owners. As against the practice in the 1950s when local councils handled motor park management, parks were taken over by illiterate and hemp-smoking transporter union members and thus emerged the first manifestation of the albatross of violent and uncontrollable motor park warlords who were amenable to all forms of notoriety. This park politics led to schisms and antagonism and thus the transformation of parks into central hubs of political disorder which helped to fuel this typecast was the politicization of parks.

The strong man and leader of the unit then was Adebayo Ogundare, popularly known as Adebayo Success. Success was an uneducated transport worker from Ekiti State that found fame in Oshodi due to his boldness and ability to organize the mostly erratic, trouble-loving motor garage boys.

The contest for power by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN)-led federal government of President Shehu Shagari with its seat in Lagos and the Unity Party of Lagos state government headed by Lateef Jakande, became a hot testing ground for the might of politics. The ruling NPN secured the gritty brawn of Bayo Success and gave him the task of winning to its side all motor parks in Lagos. This he did by mobilizing a huge clientele of motor park drivers, he was given the required support to handle their street activities, mobilization, harassment and sometimes cohesions. He rose quickly through the rank within the party and was a prominent face wherever the party had a campaign or political meeting. At some point, he can be seen standing behind Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the presidential candidate of the NPN in the 1979 general elections, he was that powerful, he was given a Mercedes Benz that looked exactly like the official car of the president which was always parked in front of his office in the Brown Street/ Oyetayo area of Oshodi.

When the government of Shehu Shagari was overthrown in 1984, Success was one of the people picked up by the new military government of General Muhammadu Buhari and thrown behind bars. He was reported to have fallen ill several times while in incarceration. He was later released by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida who ousted Buhari from power. Success breathed his last at the Lagos state General Hospital, Ikeja on October 11, 2002. He was 61.

Popular musicians like Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and Kollington Ayinla sang about him(these two dislike eachother), that was a way to show prominence in those years.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jenbJILCGMI

Ok, let’s start naming…names! After Adebayo Success retired, Baba Daniel took over the union in Oshodi, Baba Daniel brought in Mc Oluomo(Yes, that MC), Talo Skibo, General, Nah Yam & a host of them.

Most of the union topshots today didn’t start as Tommy Shelby(Yes I love the series Peaky Blinders) but started as street guys collecting ticket money from market women in Oshodi and environs. The leader then is Ajagbe Bomboy with his brother Austin…Oh, it gets interesting. These two are Igbos! I recall people agitating recently about Ibos during the past elections.

Let’s talk about Bomboy briefly; Bornboy is an Igbo man who ruled Oshodi then, and they all reported to Baba Daniel. Back then, Oshodi is very volatile & a hotbed for violence as they snatched phones and neck chains freely. Then there were different factions with their territory, we had Lion junction, Dikort, 36 Kiniun, 52 Tambolo & host of others. We had different factions of dangerous boys in Oshodi. Ojurin at okomola was been controlled by Kunle fighter and Jamani. Jalisco stadium, Oshodi was actually the base of “awon alagbara”(Strong Men) that comprised different sets like, fatai okuta, Bomboy and his brother Austin, Skippo and sir jerry

Bomboy

But the reign of the moments then was the 36 kiniun group that comprises of Taloskibo Sule Nayam, the late afobaje, the late Osha Okalawon, Aro boxer, Lamide pure water, school boy gbolahan, ponle Tyson, muri justo tablet etc. They were all under the tutelage of Bomboy as the king of boys. Now carnival started reigning back. Mc Oluomo created his own group called lion junction alongside one of his confidants Itu kadoso.

MC Oluomo and Singer Saheed Osupa

The 36 kiniun guys had branches called shiroko boys led by papi kamoli and Omo Olope boys led by omo oba Samuel. Lion junction was led by Itu kadoso while Oluomo was deputy. Oluomo lion junction always held their carnival every 29th of Dec and Saheed Osupa was their fav musician then. While 36 kinniun always held their carnival every 23rd of December. But these carnivals/Rave couldn’t be done without the endorsement of BOMBOY(Ugochukwu Dum Obiora). He was the king of boys then.

Bomboy attended Ikeja grammar school he was a giant and a street boxer trained by Boda yemi. Boda yemi was a professional boxer and trainer in Oshodi where he trained a lot of boys in oshodi. He was the coach of Sule Nayam as well.

MC and his rise to fame

Among all these guys aforementioned, the most troublesome and notorious among them was Taloskibo Olorioko 36kinniun. He was the first person to challenge the status quo. Taloskibo 36kinniun and Mc oluomo’s lion junction were the biggest rivalries in Oshodi. The only time they were both challenged was when some guys in Mafoluku led by one Ologundudu challenge the 36 kinniun guys and the amount of violence that day was ridiculous…I remember this one because I passed Oshodi just after and the amount of destruction I saw…hmmm.

Itu Kadoso

Taloskibo and his squad of 36kinniun had their first carnival in 1997, a time when MC Oluomo wasnt a top shot but he was rising gradually in ranks. Oluomo and his brother Itu Kadoso only control their own territory of oshodi. Though Itu Cardoso was also a very Strong man and even inspired the popular radio show of Gbenga Adeboye’s Itu baba ita. Itu Cardoso was not a pushover when it comes to the scheme of things in oshodi. He was a strong man at that any threats from any angle to their lion junction he will face it head on. He was a proper son of the soil from the famous Agedegudu’s family that owns oshodi town. He died in 2013.

When Bomboy started collecting levies from market women . He would toll from Bolade up to oshodi-apapa express way, with him we had Sule Janta, Mufu Shango, late Esi Oluwo, Taju oritona etc. Oshodi road and oshodi-apapa express way was the turf of mc oluomo and itu kadoso. But no one dared to challenge AJii (Bomboy) because Aji Was the champion and King of Boys, nobody dared to challenge him. After Bomboy went back to his town to contest for LG Chairman, Talo Skibo took over but his reign didn’t last as he was arrogant & stingy, so he was removed.

That was how Mc Oluomo took over the leadership of Oshodi’s faaction of the NURTW. Mc Oluomo is someone who’s seen as cool, generous as he distributed the junction among all the factions so it makes it easy to assume the leadership position easily. Soon, Mc Oluomo became NURTW treasurer, so from treasurer he assumed the leadership position as the interim Chairman Lagos NURTW because election was not held because of crisis between him & Kunle Poly(Maybe some other day I’d dive deeper on the Lagos Island faction and the beef between Kunle Poly and MC) Mc Oluomo became prominent due to his generosity towards people and not actual violence, as many I asked said you won’t see him in front of those street fight unlike Itu. MC was known for money on musicians who sang his praises(from KWAM 1, Pasuma, Osupa, Taiye currency, Malaika and many more), helped many Nollywood actors, popular with fine ladies & most of his boys thrived under his reign hence, became loyal. When Tinubu became governor in 1999, he disbanded the unionbut NURTW took Lagos state to court and won becos they were a registered trade union(Contrary to the belief that the then Governor established and empowered the Union). The then Lagos State Government was forced to micromanage them and adopt them which is the best way to reduce their vices in society & somehow, it worked. If you knew Oshodi then, you’d know a lot has changed since 1999. The truth is the factions of the Lagos NURTW isn’t even as notorious, The real dangerous union was in Ibadan during the time of Akinsola Tokyo, then Elewe Omo & Mukaila Auxiliary.

Photo by Godson leonard on Unsplash

Tokyo ruled like military govt and park takeovers were bloody and didn’t exempt civilians. There was a time a coup was planned to overthrow Tokyo, he was in his office with a female friend, the assailants breached his office, he escaped but the female was hacked to death and all the cars in the compound were destroyed. It was always infighting from Molete to challenge to academu to oremeji to Apata and notably, Iwo road. It took the intervention of NURTW in Abuja to suspend Tokyo and forced him out of office as he’s been ruling for over 20yrs. This led to the emergence of Elewe Omo and the violence didn’t stop until now Late Gov. Ajimobi banned them & normalcy returned to Ibadan.

Whew….I think I can stop here for now before I get in trouble! Eko oni baje!

P.S: I didn’t do any grammar or spell check o, please forgive me. Do leave a comment if you can.

Credits:

Cable.ng, Twitter (@fattylincorn_01, @Letter_to_Jack, @Princekunle, @4Qhen), Facebook (@We the yoruba people), Google, Unsplash and more