Nigeria’s bad roads and other transportation infrastructure are fuelling illegal taxation, human rights violations and inflation. The development is also worsening ease of doing business, food wastage and environmental disaster. KINGSLEY JEREMIAH, in this report paints a picture of the ordeal. 

On the fateful day of September 10, 2023, Rabiu Musa embarked on a routine journey from his home in Jos to deliver a shipment of tomatoes to a client in the oil-rich city of Port-Harcourt. Little did he know that the trip would turn into a tragic encounter with the Nigerian Police, leading to his untimely demise.

As Musa set out, anticipation filled the air for him and his fiancée, eagerly awaiting his return to finalize their scheduled wedding. Having fulfilled the necessary customary preparations and paid the bride price, Musa’s journey was meant to mark the beginning of a new chapter in his life. However, the harrowing reality of the Nigerian roads, plagued by corruption and illegal taxation, awaited him at Lokpanta, in Abia State. This is the reality of most truck drivers in the South South and South East regions of Nigeria.

The catalyst for the unfortunate turn of events was a mere N200, a dispute over a bribe demanded by a police officer. Despite Musa complying with the initial N200 demand, the situation escalated when the officer insisted on collecting N400. This disagreement led to a shocking act of violence, with the police officer striking Musa’s head with a gun, leaving him to bleed to death.

Musa’s father, Umar, shared the heart-wrenching details of the incident from a makeshift location in the Lokpanta area of Abia State, surrounded by sympathetic members of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

“My son was killed because of N200. He gave the police officer N200 already but he insisted on collecting N400. The officer then got angry and smashed his head with a gun. My son bled to death,” Umar said.

Umar, also a truck driver, sought justice for his son and embarked on a journey to the State Police Headquarters in Umuahia after being directed by the human rights radio in Abuja, where he first sought justice.

The initial police report signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police, M. Yilchen from the Sawmill Police Division in Lokpanta indicated a serious accident. Although the officer was arrested and detained, the police did not admit publicly that Musa was killed by one of them.   However, Musa’s family and the NURTW vehemently contested this account, maintaining that he succumbed to injuries inflicted by the police, ultimately losing his life at the Lokpanta general hospital.

Munsu Saliu, also a truck driver, found himself caught between checkpoints on the journey from Otukpo in Benue to Obollo-Afor in Enugu State. After offering N100 to a police officer at a checkpoint, located less than 400 meters from an Army checkpoint, he encountered trouble when he extended a similar amount to the Army personnel. Mistakenly, Saliu was meant to give the Army personnel N1,000, and this oversight resulted in a brutal beating that left him half-blinded.

In Ologbo, Edo State, a group, armed with sticks and other dangerous objects, establishes a presence due to the poor road conditions, making it difficult for travelers to evade them. These individuals, unknown to the government, operate as a parallel authority, setting up unauthorized checkpoints and extorting N2,000 from articulated vehicles.

Mohammed Musa, a truck driver transporting animal feeds and other goods between Port-Harcourt and Kano, faced a similar ordeal along Etche road while exiting Port-Harcourt.

Confronted by illegal tax collectors, often referred to as ‘agbero’, Musa pleaded that his container was empty after offloading the consignment he took from Kano. Despite presenting the required ‘emblems or stickers’ usually collected from federal, state and local governments, the situation took a turn for the worse when the collectors demanded N5,000. The demand escalated into violence when Musa couldn’t provide the full amount. That unfortunate situation has left Musa with a knee injury, which he feared may persist for the rest of his life.

Ibrahim Buhari-Medawa was brutalised on his way from Taraba through Calabar because he could not meet the demand from ‘area boys,’ who wanted illegal tax from him. Trouble started when he could not provide the N2,000 the ‘Agbero’s,’ were demanding. To his shock, they climbed over his vehicle, forcing him to alight. While he was struggling with them, one of the agberos went down, fetched a heap of sand and slapped it into his face. At the time of this interview, he was yet to fully recover from the accident.

In Ekpoma, No N50,000, No Access
Gawal Ozhizu set out from Lokoja on October 10 with the anticipation of reaching Lagos in three days. However, the harsh reality of road conditions on the Auchi–Benin road turned his journey into a prolonged ordeal. Spending two days to cover the distance from Lokoja to Ekpoma, Ozhizu encountered numerous challenges, including shelling out approximately N20,000 in illegal taxes to the Police, Army, and tax force personnel stationed along the route.

The journey from Lokoja to Ekpoma, spanning about 187 kilometers, typically takes no more than three hours. Typically, drivers would have to survive the bedlam at Okpella where the multi-billion naira revenue generating BUA Cement is located. After that they would have survive the
bedlam at Ewu, all because of the bad road. The worst of their nightmare is at Ekpoma. On reaching the Irrua junction by the Irrua Specialist Hospital, most of the trailers would park because a mere five kilometers that would take them from Irrua junction to the entrance gate of Ambrose Alli University is a no-go area. The condition of the road is too bad and drivers would have to decide on a 50/50 chance if they want to proceed. They only know when they enter the route, they cannot predict when they would cross towards Ambrose Alli University.

The alternative route is to follow the Ekpoma township road, which has been barricaded by the state government in revolt against the federal government for not fixing the federal roads in the state. As one approaches Irrua junction, trailers, in a very long queue, are parked on both sides of the road to decide which route they would follow. If they take the straight trunk A road, they could spend an average of five – 15 days on the same spot, if they must take the township road, they would pay between N30,000 to N70, 000 in illegal taxation.

In Ekpoma, so-called “area boys” capitalise on the situation, demanding exorbitant fees ranging from N30,000 to N70,000 from truckers. These illegal tax collectors, operating under the cover of darkness, would open barricades in the midnight hours to allow trucks to proceed through the township road instead of getting stuck on the federal road.

Financially strained, Ozhizu’s company refused to bear the burden of these unlawful charges, compelling him to navigate the treacherous five-kilometre stretch before Ambrose Alli University. Sadly, his vehicle got stuck in a section of the road where vehicles go almost five feet into the ground due to dilapidation. Once a vehicle gets stuck, no other one can pass until the vehicle gets repaired or towed. The severity of the situation rendered it impossible to predict how many days it would take to cross this short distance, with tankers at risk of spills, containers delayed, and the section becoming a tragic graveyard for perishable goods and animals.

Abdulgafir Abubakar, carrying scrap iron from Auchi to Lagos, found himself stranded at Ekpoma for three days before this interview and he was not sure how long he would be there. The illegal tax collectors had demanded that he pays to access the township road, but he was unable to afford the N50,000 demanded by the local “tax-force” for passage. He spent N7,000 daily to feed himself alongside his two motor boys. That cost is added to the overall operating expenses of his company and eventually passed to the consumer.

Musa Haruna faced a similar plight, spending four days on a trip that should have taken only 30 minutes. The demand for N50,000 just to cross the outskirts of Ekpoma added to the hardship faced by truck drivers.

A member of the NURTW at the Auchi unit, Musa Habib, revealed that the alternative routes within the city, previously used by truck drivers, were barricaded on the orders of Governor Godwin Obaseki. He insisted that the governor’s directive led to a surge in demands from N1,000 to a staggering N50,000 for access to the alternative routes constructed by the state government.

This dire situation has left truck drivers struggling to feed their families, as they face unprecedented challenges and limited means of alternative income. Sunday Momoh, carrying  perishable goods, feels the impact on his family, with children out of school due to financial constraints.

Ahmed Muniru, stuck in Ekpoma for 16 days, highlights the desperation as he seeks resources, including water from villagers, just to survive. The prevailing challenges on the road have not only disrupted livelihoods but have also exposed the vulnerabilities of those dependent on this transportation route.

A truck driver with TotalEnergies, Oluwatosin Awojobi was not spared from the nightmare of the Benin Auchi Road. Awojobi was leaving Benin to Kaduna before being held in Ekpoma, he was asked to pay N30,000 to use the township road but his organisation declined bearing such cost. As such, he had spent two days at the same spot. Sadly, the company still has to feed him daily to keep him on the road.

A driver, who identified himself as Bala said he paid the cost because he was carrying livestock and any delay meant that he would need more to buy feed for the livestock. He was also scared that the livestock could die the longer they stay on the road in a bad condition.
It was a similar situation for Gomel Kaneng, who was carrying tomatoes from Jos to Benin. He decided to offer touts in Ekpoma N30,000 to save his perishable goods.

Security situation in South East fuels illegality 
On the morning of October 25, a Peace Mass Transit vehicle, identified by company number 2757, embarked on a journey from Port Harcourt to Enugu around 8am. Facing roadblocks and congestion between Etche and Amala in Imo State, the driver navigated through the village to avoid the stuck trucks on the main road. This detour, however, led to encountering approximately 50 illegal checkpoints manned by young boys within the community.

Taking advantage of their self-imposed authority, these individuals demanded tolls ranging from N100 to N200 from motorists. Within 10 kilometres, a motorist travelling this section would have spent an average of N7,500. Remarkably, this cost is almost equivalent to the fare charged by operator per passenger on the Port Harcourt to Enugu route, which is about N7,300.

Similar challenges exist along other routes, mirroring the situation from the main gate of the University of Port Harcourt to Yenagoa in Bayelsa and from Benin to Warri. Notably, checkpoints are frequent along this journey. From the front of Emerald Institute, where the Choba Police are stationed, especially in the evening, motorists will encounter five checkpoints before reaching Elibrada on the East-West road heading towards Yenagoa and Warri.

Passing through Elibrada, there is another checkpoint in front of Runmi Police Station, at the Runmi section of the road. There is a common style deployed along this axis; a tyre is usually placed in the middle of the and two bamboo poles placed to barricade the road. At every point, you will have to ‘drop something for the boys or the officials.’ This has been normalised. As one leaves Runmi, there are a staggering 26 more checkpoints motorists would come across before arriving at Yenagoa Motor Park in Tombia. These checkpoints contribute to both delays and financial burdens for travelers, highlighting the pervasive issue of illegal toll collection and the challenges faced on various road networks in the country.

Nigerian road network in shambles, government says N18.6 trillion needed
Movement of people and goods is critical, but Nigeria’s 195,000 kilometres of roads are in deplorable state. Earlier in November, Minister of Works, David Umahi, said the Federal Government needs an estimated N18.6 trillion to fix only the federal government roads in the next four years. Umahi’s position is a total departure from the estimates of his predecessor, Babatunde Fashala. Fashola had earlier projected that N1.3 trillion was needed to fix the roads as of 2022.

Typically, the road structure in the country is divided into trunk A to C. The A roads link regions and states and make up the primary grid. These roads are constructed and maintained by the Federal Government. The state government handles truck B roads, which link the major cities in states and then connect with the trunk A. The trunk C roads are built and maintained by the local government.

In recent years, the federal roads have become a dangerous death trap as government officials remain unaccountable for the billions of dollars made from crude oil and abandoned roads and infrastructure development. The sad development means that, while no new roads are being constructed, maintaining the existing ones at a time the government is borrowing heavily to run its basic operations paints a gloomy picture of the dilemma.

In some cases, political considerations play a significant role over economic situations such that roads are repaired based on the region of the country that voted more for an incumbent government irrespective of the impact the road network may have on national and economic development.

Limited rail, road networks, waterways, absent pipelines
In Nigeria, the road serves as the primary mode of transporting goods and people with over 80 per cent of the country’s commodities relying on it due to the dilapidated state of railway, pipeline, and waterways infrastructure. The challenges encountered via road networks are evident as one approaches Oshodi, moving towards the Mile 2 area of Amuwo-Odofin local government in Lagos. The long queues of trucks stretching into the Apapa port area provide a somber illustration of the strain on road infrastructure in the country.

As it is in South South and South East, so it is in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital. As one approaches Oshodi into the Apapa area, the number of illegal tax collectors sometimes outnumber the vehicles heading to the port. They hang themselves on vehicles, outnumber and overwhelm motorists to enforce their reign. It was such a situation that led to the death of a number of drivers at the Mile 2 area of Lagos on the 5th of September 2023. The result of that incident created a crisis for the Lagos Task Force, tanker drivers, and touts at Mile 2. The clash went on for days.

Railway infrastructure, amounting to a mere 3,798 kilometers, is severely underutilized and not fully functional in Nigeria. This exacerbates the heavy dependence on roads for transportation. Simultaneously, Nigeria’s pipeline system spans a total of 5,001 kilometers. This includes 4,315 kilometers of multi-product pipelines and 666 kilometers of crude oil pipelines, forming a network that interconnects 22 petroleum storage depots and four refineries. Despite this extensive pipeline grid, logistical challenges persist, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive infrastructure improvement across various modes of transportation in Nigeria.

Railway only moves a few people within Lagos. It was recently linked to Ibadan. In Abuja, people can connect to Kaduna using the rail line while from Southern city of Warri they can connect to Itakpe in the north central state of Kogi. The impacts of the railway on industrial development remain dismal.

Similarly, Nigerian oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had said only about 30 per cent of the pipeline infrastructure is functioning. Although surveillance contracts on the pipeline run into millions of dollars, the pipelines are not safe to transport products as they are frequently breached. Besides, the lines were built years ago and needed replacement as rising rates of oil spill and pipeline explosions have led to loss of many innocent lives and properties, raising serious concerns over the integrity of the assets.These challenges leave business owners to road transportation and it puts undue pressure on the road infrastructure which has no proper maintenance plan.

Nigeria’s shoddy tax system that robs Peter to pay Paul  
Legally, Nigeria has over 60 different taxes enforced on businesses. A new Tax Reform Committee set up by the new administration admitted to this in November last year. These taxes are collected by the Federal, state and local governments. To many businesses, like the transporters, the multiplicity of the taxes create loopholes and touts capitalise on this. The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele said these taxes would be reduced to 10.

The challenge is that while the tax net in Nigeria could be expanded as many people within the informal sector do not pay tax directly to the government, those within the tax net face multiple taxation from the federal, state and local governments.

Chairman of NURTW Monitoring Committee, South-South, South East Heavy Truck, Muhammed Giwa said over N194.4 billion is paid yearly to illegal and multiple taxation by the 1,800 trucks within the South South and South East corridor.

Each of these trucks spend about N300,000 before getting to the northern region, especially Otukpo, which is a major diversion point into the upper North, and Okene, if they are traveling through Benin Road or Ore, which borders the region into the Southwestern states.

By implication, the drivers would have paid N540 million daily, N16.2 billion monthly or N194.4 billion yearly into the pockets of individuals or groups due to these illegal tax activities.

Providing a series of documents and petitions, which include accident scenes and injured drivers, as well as ‘motor boys,’ Giwa said there are rising cases of truck drivers being dragged from the steering, as batteries are removed from trucks while on motion to collect taxes.   He noted that while taxes are better collected at loading points and designated government offices, states and local councils are looking away as illegal task forces break windscreens, kill and injure truck drivers.

“We are suffering from illegal and multiple taxation. We have reported these issues several times and nothing is done about it. We have approached state governments and told them to hand over their tickets to us so that our members can pay directly to them. They accepted and we have been paying for the stickers and emblems. But after that, members of the task force, usually armed with iron, wood and other dangerous weapons, will still stop us along the highway to collect taxes, which are obviously illegal. You can’t stop a moving truck if the roads are good. They take advantage of the bad roads,” Giwa said.

In other climes, tax payments have gone digital, eliminating middlemen and unauthorised individuals. But the situation is different in Nigeria and the impact of this situation is telling on the national economy.

Rising inflation, food prices amid worsening ease of doing business  
As of December 2018, the consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 11.44 percent (year-on-year) from the 11.28 per cent it was in November that year. In December 2023, the inflation rate in Nigeria moved to a record high of 28.92 per cent against the 28.20 per cent it was in November of 2023.

Cost of logistics formed the basic part of this component that kept the prices of food items on the upward trend. The state of road, illegal taxation and the increase in the price of diesel is not only increasing the haulage cost but fueling hunger and poverty as the measures by government to tame the situation have not achieved the desired result.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Food Price Watch report released in the last quarter of 2023, indicated a continuous increase in food prices, detailing how the prices of beef, tomatoes, beans, garri, yam and other food items increased within the period.

Currently, Importers pay between N1.8 million and N2.3 million to move a 40-feet container from Apapa or Tin-Can Island Port to major markets in Kano, Kaduna, and Abuja in the North and Onitsha as well as Nnewi in Anambra State.

This represents an increase of between N600,000 and N1.1 million when compared to about N1.2 million previously paid by importers to move the same cargo during the same period last year.

Importers of 20-feet containers who used to pay between N500,000 and N600,000 now pay about N900,000 and N1 million as transportation costs to move their containerised imports from Lagos to Kano, Kaduna, and Abuja in the North and Onitsha and Nnewi in Anambra in the South East.

The price index for dry cargo of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) showed that 30 tonnes from anywhere in the northern region to the southern region averaged N900, 000 four years ago but the price has increased by over N1.1 million to an average of N2 million.

Drivers, who lift tomatoes in a Peugeot Boxer with capacity to carry 30 baskets from Jos to Port-Harcourt as of December 2023, charge about N650,000. That’s about N1,000 per kilometre for the 609 KM trip. The fare was only about N300,000 in 2021. Loading a 30 tonnes capacity truck of tomatoes from Jos to Abia State in the Southeast region was about N500,000 in 2021 but the cost has jumped to N1.1 million.

A truck driver, who plies the route regularly, Umaru Musa said he pays the Police, the Army, ‘agberos’ and other illegal tax collectors N350,000 from Jos to Umuahia in Abia State. By implication, apart from the rising cost of his vehicle repairs due to the poor state of the road and high diesel, he passes the burden on the illegal tax to consumers. If he’s going through Enugu-Port-Harcourt Highway linking Iriebe-Mbara, Akuma-Lokpanta Road, Musa would be traversing 688 KM. By paying N350,000 illegal tax, Musa would be paying N509 as illegal tax for every kilometre.

Rising death tolls, food wastage and oil spill 
On October 1, 2023, five people died in a fuel tanker explosion along a dilapidated section of the Sapele-Benin road in Delta state. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe said eight buses, two tankers, five trailers, two cars, and one motorcycle were burnt because of the incident.

On 6th of the same month, a tanker laden with the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)
exploded on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway. That development left motorists stranded for hours.    On 13th of October 2023, barely seven days after, 11 vehicles were burnt to ashes in another tanker explosion at the Iganmu part of Lagos. Earlier in July the bustling community of Ore, Odigbo Local Council of Ondo State, erupted in agony after a tanker crashed and exploded, leaving 15 people, including two pregnant women and children burnt to death.

As tankers are veering off, killing people and destroying properties, so also are trucks. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said that in 2022, out of the 1,259 emergency calls it received concerning vehicle disasters, 368 incidents involved truck/tanker accidents, 536 other vehicle accidents, and 46 trailer accidents.

Between January 2021 and October 3, 2023, 81 persons died in tanker explosions and fire. There are similar situations across the country’s 26 states. Most tankers in Nigeria carry 33,000 litres of petroleum products. By implication, Lagos alone records 12.1 million litres of petroleum products spill per year. With a similar situation happening across the country, Nigeria may be dealing with an avoidable product spill of 423.5 million litres yearly. These developments raise serious environmental sustainability concerns.

President of NARTO, Othman Yusuf links the menace to the country’s bad road as most trucks go down at bad sections of the road, adding that the development meant billions of naira lost to the economy at a time.

United Nations’ supported food and nutrition analysis shows that 25 million Nigerians are at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023. According to the UN, about six million of these food-insecure Nigerians today are children under five years old.National president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim said the state of the road is fueling waste of farm produce across the country.

The development is also preventing the fertiliser and seeds as well as other interventions from getting to rural areas where farmers need such to improve their crops.  Ibrahim believes that the country may continue to import food, adding that the current plan of the government to fight food insecurity may remain futile as it has been in the past.