Touting: Can Soludo Win the War?

By Ikeugonna Eleke

One of the major promises of the Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to the people before his coming to power was to make the state a livable homeland. This, one would envisage, involves an Anambra that is free of unwanted elements which includes touts who intimidate, extort and most times even rob unsuspecting persons at parks and markets across the state, but especially in the commercial hub of Onitsha.

But Soludo has geared up to ensure that the state, especially Onitsha, its commercial nerve centre, is rid of these unwanted elements. During the last Ofala Festival of the Obi of Onitsha, Soludo boldly told the people that his government was making plans to phase out touts in Onitsha, insisting that people must be able to conduct their businesses without fear of being intimidated and molested.

But for critics of Soludo’s government like Mr Chibuike Uloka, a public policy analyst; even though there are touts in Onitsha and other major cities of Anambra State, the bigger challenge facing Anambra people are what he refers to as official touts.

These are agents of the state government recruited by the Soludo Administration and constituted into teams of taskforces for various revenue drives, traffic offences and many others. These able bodied men with various uniforms have been caught in viral videos bullying innocent road users and business people, to the extent of subjecting them to physical torture.

Recently, a video of revenue officers surfaced, showing an SUV driver being dragged out of his car and dumped in a mud in the middle of the road, while his car was driven away. Just this week, a helpless tricycle operator, who was also shown to be physically challenged, was captured in a video, not only being dispossessed of his tricycle, but also physically assaulted for coming close to beg the officials that he had not refused to pay, but should be given some time.

These and many more have generated an uproar among Anambra people, with many decrying the level of touting in Anambra; even among government operatives. Chibuike Uloka, reacting about the level of touting in Anambra, said: ‘Recently, reports from Anambra State have highlighted the unruly behavior of touts and Agbero acting as revenue agents in the state.

They are engaging in blatant abuse of citizens, causing suffering to motorists, traders, motorcycle riders, and tricycle riders. Rather than condemning the rise of these touts and Agbero in the state’s commercial hubs and rural areas, Professor Charles Soludo’s deliberate silence is encouraging these rogue individuals to continue their offenses against those in need of protection from the state.

‘When Soludo declared his intention to disrupt the system and introduce new ways of doing things, many thought it would be a positive disruption with beneficial effects. Unfortunately, we had no idea that these disruptions and new methods would translate into incivility, abuse of power, oppressive taxes, and little relief for the poor.

Human rights abuse has become prevalent across Anambra State. Touts and street urchins empowered by the Soludo regime show no restraint in mistreating the less fortunate, as the government appears to grant them impunity to assault the vulnerable,’ Uloka lamented.

Meanwhile, the governor has made good his words to redeem the state, especially Onitsha, from the grip of touts. This was seen in the launch by Soludo of what he called the Anambra Special Anti-Touting Squad, which was codenamed SASA.

These are agents of the state government recruited by the Soludo Administration and constituted into teams of taskforces for various revenue drives, traffic offences and many others.

These able bodied men with various uniforms have been caught in viral videos bullying innocent road users and business people, to the extent of subjecting them to physical torture.

Speaking during the launch which held in Onitsha, Soludo said: ‘The launch of this squad is an acceleration on the key promise we made to the people living in the greater Onitsha area which consists of Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Ogbaru, Oyi, and Idemili to restore Anambra State, known for law and order, back to its full glory as the Light of the Nation. When we assumed office, eight local governments were taken over. Thanks to the combined efforts of our security agencies and the vigilante service, those local government areas have been liberated and normalcy restored.

‘We have told the youths to come out from their hideouts and the bush. We shall help to rehabilitate and integrate them into society to be useful to their families, communities, states, and nations. While dealing with hoodlums on a larger scale, we will be dealing with touts in Onitsha greater area and Anambra State as a whole.

We are fighting a war to bring back the soul of our society governed by law and order, not a society anyone does what he or she likes arbitrarily without recourse to law and order. Touts disturb customers who come from every nook and cranny of the country. But this journey is to rescue Onitsha as a commercial hub and Anambra State in general,’ the governor said.

Most people who have reacted to the formation of SASA have lauded its formation, but stated that the problem is that the main touts terrorizing the people of the state are government agents whose activities have been legalized with uniforms, even though they are also touts themselves. For Uloka, the recruitment of the SASA operatives may well be an upgrade of dangerous touts, who, he alleges, Soludo will use to fight for his reelection bid.

Uloka in a statement said: ‘Recent events have clearly demonstrated that the current regime is heading towards a state of chaos. Street touts and urchins, known as Agbero, have taken control of the state, disrupting economic activities and enforcing oppressive and unrealistic tax remittances.

Reports of regular abuse have become a daily occurrence, leaving many victims in their wake. Recently, the Soludo regime launched the Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad through the Ministry for Homeland Security, perhaps another recruitment of untrained, unprofiled, and faceless individuals with no apparent background, and possibly for political purposes as the regime gears up for re-election in 2025.

‘Incidents such as the murder of Peter Udenkwelle in Agulu, assaults on a tricycle rider in Nkpor, and attack on a GUO driver in Awka have garnered attention on social media, and among ndị Anambra at home and in the Diaspora. It appears that these incidents also led to the creation of yet another Agbero group by the regime to counter the existing one which the regime had initially recruited in a similar manner.

All of this underscores the fact that the Soludo and APGA-led regimes have lost touch with reality. They lack the ideas and policies needed to address the suffering, poverty, and poor governance that have plagued Anambra State for the past 19 months.

‘The recent formation of the anti-touting squad has led to a sharp increase in the recruitment of touts in Anambra State, totaling over 53, 000 in just 19 months. These individuals receive little to no compensation but are empowered to assault and abuse citizens. Professor Charles Soludo’s administration promised to create 100, 000 jobs annually for the next four years and make 1, 000, 000 youths millionaires.

Instead of fostering industries and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and vocational training, many young people are being pushed into becoming touts and street urchins, causing further disruption to struggling businesses and economic activities.’

Contrary to Uloka’s complaint, however, the Soludo Administration has insisted that it is working hard to rid Onitsha and all the major towns of Anambra of touts. Soludo had during his speech in Onitsha at the Ofala Festival, stated that the activities of touts in Onitsha had slowed down business in the city, with many who would have come for business avoiding the city because they feared that they would be robbed and maimed if they visited.

Meanwhile, as a resolve to the commitment of the state to rid the state of touts, the state government recently parading 64 persons who were arrested by the newly formed Anti-touting group, SASA.

The suspected touts and other criminals were arrested around Upper Iweka, Bridge Head and Chisco Motor Park, Onitsha. The SASA Director of Operations, Mr. Solomon Onwuemene, while parading the suspects in Onitsha, said the arrest would continue until Onitsha metropolis was rid of criminals.

He said, ‘Following the inauguration of the Anambra State Special Anti-Touting Squad (SASA) in Onitsha by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the squad has swung into action and arrested 64 suspected touts and a suspected one-chance robber in various parts of Onitsha. All those arrested will be tried according to the law to serve as a deterrent to others,’ he said.

The formation of SASA, despite misgivings in some quarters, may actually be the game changer in ridding Onitsha of touts. This is because, before now, the touts feared nobody and operated openly and brazenly, leading people to even suspect they might have been working in cahoots with some corrupt police personnel.

The initial arrest of touts by SASA, it is hoped, will serve as a warning to others to desist from their nefarious acts. But, whatever the case, time will tell whether the Anambra State Government can win this war.

Additional reports from Jude Atupulazi.