By Elochukwu Nicholas Ohagi
Sir I write you today with great concern, and to intimate you on how difficult it has become for people living in Onitsha, and those coming to Onitsha for pleasure or business, to successfully carry out their day-to-day businesses without intimidation and bullying from touts in and around the commercial city of Onitsha.
Forgive me for making this letter public. It’s due to the fact that reaching out to you in person is practically impossible for me. So I crave your indulgence.
One might say it’s what Onitsha is known for right from ages, but I still remember when you came in during your first tenure and how you armed yourself with the will power and courage and sanitized Onitsha to the extent that one can have his handset in his back pocket in Upper Iweka, sleep and wake up without his phone developing wings.
You practically made Onitsha safe for all and sundry, but unfortunately today, things have not just gone wrong, but have practically gone out of hand.
I heard that way before you became Governor, that you were dealt with in the same Upper Iweka upon your return from abroad, something that made you to embark on sacking of these touts and nonentities in and around Onitsha after your swearing-in as the Executive Governor of Anambra state.
Sir, every body is surprised and asking what exactly is really happening in Onitsha? Could it be that the people who should be intimating you about these things aren’t doing their job? I heard you hate toutism and have even made sure youths in Aguleri and Umuleri shun Indian hemp and any form of ‘igba oringo’. Sir, why not replicate such gesture in Onitsha?
The activities of these groups of touts have seriously created major problems to the good people of Onitsha. They have bullied and intimidated customers to the extent that many customers now fear coming to Onitsha for business, thereby killing business activities.
You cannot move goods from pole to pole without encountering these touts. They make lives miserable for people and also extort money from them. Due to this same problem, we have witnessed huge relocation of people from Onitsha to Asaba.
Sir, I know that there are modalities the state government uses in taxing her people. We know of some few tickets the government use to internally generate revenue. This is not what I am talking about.
I am not complaining about those yellow uniformed men and women on our roads. No! I am writing to you concerning the maltreatment the people receive from touts in Onitsha.
They beat up people and humiliate whomever refuses to part with his or her own money. Sir, as a School Teacher, I have fallen victim of their intimidation on many occasions . Many people have. They make life difficult for people especially the poor.
Sir, I don’t know if you heard about the fracas between this uncultured touts and G.U.O bus driver. Just inside G.U.O park. They forced themselves into the park and wanted to extort money from the passenger. When they were resisted, they broke the head of one of the drivers.
In another different occasion, a poor Okada man lost his live in the hands of these touts. There are many uncountable ugly stories emanating from the activities of these groups of never do wells.
Sir do you know that these same touts have devised another method of stealing from the people? On Sundays and at times on Saturdays, these touts will carry posters of a dead man and starts stealing from the people. Its now a weekly thing.
They move in groups , harassing, intimidating and forcefully stealing money and valuables from people. Sir, these ugly stories never present Onitsha as a wonderful commercial city it should be. Onitsha should as a matter of fact be competing with Lagos.
The activities of these people is seriously de-marketing Onitsha. They have also become bad influences to the kids growing up in Onitsha.
Sir, I pray you come to our rescue and end toutism in Onitsha.
Elochukwu Ohagi is a Philosopher, Teacher, Writer, who writes from the commercial city of Onitsha.
