@Bilqees
Trouble makers per excellence Sometimes last year, I bumped into an old friend on my way back from an event. Seeing her after a very long time was really a delight. We talked about this and that for sometime until she suggested that we proceed to her shop that was nearby. There, we could sit down comfortably and talk for as long as we wanted. As soon as we had arrived, we met her apprentice in a serious argument with three young men and we immediately inquired what the fuss was about. One of them boys who looked very unkempt from head to toe, with a cigarette dangling from his battered lips introduced himself and his companions as messengers from the government. Lol They were actually " revenue collectors" who threatened that to lock up her shop if she defaulted. I and my friend couldn't help but laughed at thier threat. My friend told them that would be impossible as she had already paid her business tax to some of their members who had visited her just a week ago. But they insisted that the previous payment was for state government. Now they are here to collect the local council's levy. The young lady protested thst no notice of payment was issued to her . But the thugs maintained that it was an insignificant levy that doesnt require a notice. Other trader usually paid with little or no pressure, they said. No doubt the money was a very paltry sum, but I insisted they give us a payment notice and a receipt too. From the look of their faces, they felt very uncomfortable with what I had just said, but they had no choice than to issue us the evidence of payment since we were ready to pay. It's very possible that these thugs might squander all the revenue collected without remitting a single panny to the government. Another group of such youngmen might return the following week and start harrasing you again . So, it's very important for a business owner to demand for a proof of payment which shouldn't be just an ordinary paper with a random signature but an authentic document with the government logo and stamp. These people could be very smart you know. Actually, they are not actually government officials per se, but thugs who had been recruited by the government from the streets so that they don't fall back to the criminal life due to idleness. Needless to say, these "revenue collectors" lack decorum and ethics as they go about harassing hardworking traders on the streets and drivers in a bus station. Their job is more of extortion than revenue generation. They are popularly called ***agbero*** in the local language. In Lagos State, the government had delegated alot of powers to these nuisances and the citizens have come to see them as an arm of the government. An unemployed youth could even decide to take this up as a career. Lol There's this story of a notorious thug who gained massive political fortune due to his loyalty to his political godfather in the state. Whenever an election is approaching, his exclusive responsibility was to mobilize the disciples who would go at different polling units bullying and alienating voters who are loyal to the opposition party. In some cases, lives are lost and properties are damaged. Sometimes, a fierce and bigger competitor might decide to bribe their leader who would in turn send the boys to go intimidate a new or smaller business rival in the vicinity on a regular basis. This could be in the form of demanding a very high and outrageous tax which would definitely crumble an infant business even before getting started. In such a case, the victim would have no choice than to move to a less competitive and more friendly business environment since he lacked the financial muscle to hire a tax attorney neither does he know anyone in the government who could help him. Even though I have limited knowledge on how tax system works, I think it should be determined according to the business size and gains and payments should be transparent according to acceptable international standards. ******************************* Thanks for staying with me 💖💖💖
28 comments
i'm confused, you speak about Lagos as though you live there. Do YOU?
" investigative journalism " 😀
Now I am confused, is it you who have done that or me trying to do that with my comment?
Lol. I mean I already heard alot of stories about Lagos being the headquarter of agberos. I don't have to live there before I could come up with a story. By the way there's no where in Nigeria that there's no touts. In fact the ones we have hear in the north are even worse, kidnapping, banditry could also be their side hustle.. that's why I said that.
Oh, it is clearer now. Should you ever need Superman, just call out to me. I will hear you
ahh. No problem 😁
I listened about Lagos. Its pretty good to see you from there.
It's a very beautiful city, believe me 😁
We had people like this around 5-6 years ago but now the cases are decreased and they pay tax according to their monthly income. In some places this tradition is still going on where the political leader thinks he is king because it's upto them to stop this dominating environment of thugs. Gladly he isn't in my place.
That's thesame over here too. But we just hope and pray that the government put an end to their unscrupulous activities and find better jobs for them
From reading your article, I got to learn things I had no idea of, I honestly thought it was just the agberos lying about their jobs or work, collecting money from bus drivers and bike riders just to gather enough for their gin and cigarettes. From this; which you typed up there, I got to know that they are actually recruited by the government. The rate at which they collect taxes from bus drivers is quite on the high side.
Their organization is called national union of road transport workers, NURTW, heard about it before ? Well, since the government can't provide better jobs for them, they just have to keep them engaged so that they don't become a menance to the society. Funny enough, they still constitute a nuisance
Oh! Now I understand better, I've heard of that before, just didn't know those agberos were under them. Thanks for the educative highlight. Exactly they still do, I guess they would always be agberos no matter what one does to change them.
Extortion is rampant everywhere. What you did was wise, to demand receipt. Every transaction should have proof with videos even lol!
Lol. We all know that they are very dishonest
This is my first time learning about this :)
They are quite a handful in my region
These are parts of the double taxation that businesses surfers. And the so called tax collectors on behalf of government don't even care the challenges these businesses undergo. It is really sad!
Really sad dear. One of the numerous struggles of a banana republic
Oh my gosh, this is a mess! Collecting taxes without a receipt can form a vicious circle, because of which the merchant may go bankrupt. These things must be better organized.
This is just one of the numerous struggles of a developing nation like ours. I think the government should as a matter of fact provide better alternative for these youths. They could better chanel all that energy used in oppression to farming and which would make them more appreciated when they feed the Nation instead 😆
I wonder why the government does that. Tax payments should be done either online or to authorized payment centers not thugs and without receipts issued, chances are, payments would end up elsewhere and the business owner is the one at the losing end.
Let's just say the government is afraid to leave thrm idle so that they don't eventually turn into robbers and kidnappers like their friends, since there are no jobs. Nevertheless, they still constitute a huge nuisance to the society.... Exactly dear. That's the best practice in order to prevent the siphoning of tax payers money by this crooked youths.
Hay, I just hope they won't harass business owners when they go to collect.
Luckily I have never seen this kind of things in real and I don't want to see though. I must say that you're a brave girl, if I were there then I can't imagine what could be happen then.
Don't mind them, they can't do nothing. They can only continue to intimidate you when you start pleading.
I usually come across people like that, especially on the road. I am very sure they don't remit those money they collected to the government, coz if they do remit then they won't be carrying the revenue collection on their head as if their life depends on it
Lol.At least, they are still better than their friends that have turned criminals