By Ugo Nweke

One of the frustrations one experiences plying the Nigerian highways is the excesses of local government revenue collection officials. Dealing with these public servants can be distressful, exasperating, and at times, scary. Be it in the East, West, North or South, their modus operandi is similar. They lay an ‘ambush’ for unsuspecting victims and when such victims have been ensnared, they pounce on them, menacingly demanding concocted or unspecified local government permits, just to extort from their preys. They prey on their victims’ helplessness at lonely and dangerous spots on highways and literarily hold them hostage until a ‘ransom’ is negotiated and paid.

Usually, they mount their own road-blocks at damaged spots on the highway. In some cases, however, they are apparently in partnership with a police officer who stops you for routine check, and practically leaves you at their mercy. Most times, these people claiming to be agents of the local governments prefer to be bribed. But when one insists on a receipted payment, they issue fake documents and receipts that provide no revenue to the local government they claim to serve. These public servants are often a special breed; roguish, menacing, and brutal. There is often absolutely nothing civil about them or how they operate

Most people who are coerced to bribe them, count it as an unfortunate encounter of a bad day, and move on. Others thank God that what they encountered are mere touts masquerading as local government agents, not armed robbers, or kidnappers, for these agents could have easily transformed into either. The impunity of these men, and the helplessness one feels forces one to pay something to end the nightmarish experience as quickly as possible. And the successes of their roguish exploits embolden them and encourage replication and multiplication of this scenario across the country.

The Nigerian constitution allows the three tiers of government to collect taxes and levies to run their operations and provide essential services for the people. However, there is need to harmonize these taxes to ensure that citizens are not doubly taxed in the process. There is something unreasonable in local government operatives collecting levies on federal highways. How can a motorist passing through Imo, Abia, Rivers or Edo states know that (s) he has to pay a Niger Delta Development Permit for “Youth Empowerment?” Why should Sagbama Local Government Council in Bayelsa state require a motorist driving through a federal road, to pay for Road Maintenance Route Permit, Federal Ocean Terminal Refinery Route Permit, or Interstate & Inter Local Government Permit? Imagine the sheer insanity of expecting motorists to determine and pay for countless other permits across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria. Shouldn’t there be some form of harmonization and streamlining of these levies?

Why should people passing through a state, as motorists or transporters, be required to pay these levies? In a context where nations are seeing the economic benefits of encouraging easy movement of people, goods, and services across national boundaries, these countless Local Government Area permits are doing the exact opposite within our country. Imagine the amount of time that is wasted, the stress on travelers, and the negative effects on our economy. Little wonder the World Bank, last year, stated that transporting goods within Nigeria is 500% more costly than in the United States of America.

These unwholesome practices which give rise to exploitation, extortion, and needless waste of the time of road users, need to gain the special attention and speedy corrective action of appropriate government ministries, agencies, and personnel. This development undermines the efforts of the government to enhance the ease of doing business especially for the small-scale businesses that drive the economy and employ many young people. The extant laws need to be amended to prevent ambiguities and avoid duplication of taxation between the tiers of government. Local Government tax collectors or agents must be banned from operating on federal roads. Violation of this should be treated as economic sabotage and a violation of the people’s fundamental right to free movement.

There must be a better, more civil, and more transparent way of collecting these levies from road users, than the practice of harassing and traumatizing the people, in these days when banditry and kidnapping are rampant. And even when these levy collectors are allowed to operate in parts of their local governments, the operatives need to be trained on civility. It does not matter if they are direct employees of the local government or contracted agents, they must be appropriately trained. Moreover, their employers must ensure that these operatives immediately put a stop to the rampant acts of vandalism and intimidation of road users. Furthermore, technology should be deployed to enhance transparency, improve efficiency, support harmonization, and avoid the vexatious duplication of taxation. Nweke, a Jesuit priest, lives and works in Ijebu-Ode.