Last Friday was a day to remember for operators and owners of tricycles known in local parlance as Marwa and who are also supporters of Alhaji Abiola Istijabah, chairman Tricycles Owners and Operators Association of Nigerians, Lagos State chapter.
It was the day alleged loyalists of Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya popularly called MC Oluomo unleashed mayhem on them , attacking with all forms of dangerous weapons.
The fracas began in the wee hours of Friday, according to reports and eyewitnesses spoken to by our correspondent
Lekan Adeyi, a resident of Ayobo , a suburb of Lagos where the attack began in the wee hours of last Friday told our correspondent that members of road transport workers loyal to Akinsanya had earlier taken position around Ayobo , attacking TOOAN operators on sight, this spate of attack forced the divisional police officer of Ayobo, one Mr. Musedik who TOOAN operators accused of being partial in favour of MC Oluomo to call in officers of Rapid Response Squad, RRS men who simply moved and effected some arrests.
But many who spoke to our correspondent accused the RRS men of arresting only tricycles operators loyal to Istijabah, but there was no independent confirmation of this allegations.
But a police officer who does not want his name mentioned pooh-poohed the accusation saying police only arrested those found disturbing public peace.
Efforts to speak with the divisional police officer proved abortive as his line was switched off, and text message sent to him was not responded to.
Jonah Akiode, a road side mechanic around Ayobo who claimed to have witnessed the fracas said ” it was unprovoked attack on Alhaji Abiola Istijabah boys. These Oluomo’s boys came from every angle and started attacking tricycles operators with cutlasses, bottles and other dangerous weapons. They destroyed tricycles.”
The attacks quickly spread to Ekoro, Kola, Abule Egba and Meiran. At Kola, the attackers were said to have attempted to set ablaze a petro station but for the presence of some police men from Alakuko Area Command, the place would have been razed down.
Many tricycles operators allegedly sustained various degrees of injuries ranging from broken heads to deep cuts in various parts of their bodies.
Scores of vehicles belonging to Istijabah were allegedly either destroyed or vandalized .
The attackers were also said to have moved to the following parks; Ayobo, Maigida, Ishefun, Amule, Oluwaga, IPAJA, Ikola, baruwa, Gate and Egbeda where they successfully took over those parks without resistance from Istijabah boys.
According to sources, Alhaji Istijabah had allegedly cautioned his boys against engaging in any form of violence.
Efforts by this medium to speak with Alhaji Abiola Istijabah were not successful as calls placed to his lines were not answered, neither did he respond to text messages sent to him for comments.
Sources said oluomo boys took advantage of the fact that Alhaji isitijabah was not at home during the time the boys loyal to Oluomo led by Taofeek Bakare allegedly destroyed his commercial vehicles and most of his property
Mr Taofeek Bakare aka Tao olori is said to be currently standing murder trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos State , and is fingered to be one of the ring leaders who unleashed the terror on most of the property of istijabah saying that they have order from above.
A community leader in Ayobo, Alhaji Jimoh Oguntola lamented that the incessant turf war between the different camps of road transport union in Lagos has been a cause for concern.
He blamed the current crisis on the inability of the Lagos State government to amicably settle the rift between Istijabah and Oluomo, adding that the real cause was the reluctance of Oluomo to obey the directive of the national headquarters of the NURTW to allow tricycles operators and owners under Alhaji Istijabah to operate unhindered.
He said, “as citizens we can not allow the lack of amity between the two transport unions to plunge the state into chaos. It was Ayobo and its environs today ( Friday), it may be the turn of other parts of the state tomorrow.
“No one is above the law, and Lagos State should not keep quiet in this regard but acts fast .
“The festering crisis in the road transport unionism is uncalled for, and it is the responsibility of the state to call all the parties- Mr.Akinsanya and Alhaji Abiola Istijabah , chairman of the Tricycles Owners and Operators Association of Nigerians , Lagos State chapter to a roundtable talks for amicable settlement.
David Ayodele , trader at Kola bus stop who said he witnessed the attempt to burn down the petrol station belonging to Istijabah said ” forceful takeovers of parks is not the way to go, if anything, it will further aggravate the crisis and cause tensions and apprehension that can affect businesses and the activities of law-abiding citizens of the state.
“Lagos State government should act as an impartial arbiter to resolve the crisis, and the police authorities should warn their officers not to take sides, but to maintain law and order, no matter whose ox is gored . When law enforcement is viewed as taking sides, it will further fuel unnecessary crisis, complicating unresolved matters at hand .
“There is no way the state seen as model of economic development and social progress can continue to play that role if it doesn’t insist on amicable settlement of the feuding parties in the road transport union.
Abbas Sanyaolu , a public affairs commentator appealed to governor Babajide Sanwoolu to wade in once and for all. He said the government should have looked for an independent person to manage the parks in the state instead of appointing Alhaji Akinsanya given the crisis on ground that had earlier pitted him against Alhaji Istijabah.
“Fracas over parks is a tinder box in Lagos, and it can quickly spread out of control.
Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has been doing well ever since he came to power in 2019, and nothing should be allowed to derail the train of progress of Lagos he has set in motion. But to be candid, he ought not to have appointed Akinsanya as chairman of the parks since the crisis on ground had not been resolved.”
He said the resolution of the crisis should also entail a rapprochement with the national headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers which had already expelled Mr Akinsanya.
He stated that Akinsanya is a model to some on account of his sartorial elegance and as such, should continue to inspire youth in that regard, and as a leader of sort, his deposition should be how to deepen tranquility in the state, create more opportunities for members of the union to be economically fulfilled.
He said same goes to Alhaji Abiola Istijabah, who according to him is a gentleman,who has also been inspiring in his comportment, and has also empowered thousands of members of tricycles operators and owners association in addition to his other philanthropic work.
The duo are inspiring and should embrace peace in the state, he stated.