Officials of TOW-TO-GO Inc. a vehicle towing company based in Lagos –
Nigeria, seen collecting the sum of 32,800 naira (almost $200) from a
supposedly wrong parking, at MM2 local airport, Ikeja - Lagos -
Nigeria, on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
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| May, 14th, 2016: A TOW-TO-GO Inc., counting extorted money |
It has over time evolved to be the norm of most traffic officials in
Lagos state, to hide and lay in wait for unsuspecting motorists to
commit an offense. Most times they engage touts who pose as agents, to
loiter around the Airport parking premises. Considering the fact that
there are no obvious signs or directives, as soon as they observe any
'innocent wrong move' from motorists, they rush out like hyenas to
instead of warning and correction at the first offense, they deflate
vehicle tires and make demand for huge sum of money that perhaps never
gets to the accounts of the authorities.
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| May, 14th, 2016: TOW-TO-GO Inc. Official |
In the absence of visible signs, ideally, officials or agents would direct travelers who want to leave their vehicles at the Airport garage, to the recognized parking lot. Otherwise, the first thing that would cross the mind of any first-timer to MMA2, would be to drive into the first entrance of the parking lot, located directly opposite the airport building, then proceed to pay the usual fee for leaving one's vehicle for a specific number of days. It is vital to note here that even in situations where any of the officials/ agents or touts around is approached on parking advise, they would tell the motorist that it is okay to park there.
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| May, 14th, 2016 |
And 'It's ok, it will be '...until you return to find your vehicle tires deflated by the officials, and you will be made to cough out a whooping 32,800 naira (almost $200) that was not bargained for, before the vehicle can be released. For what offense? ‘Wrong Parking’.
‘Wrong parking’ in a garage, in a parking lot, with no directives to specify the actual spots for visitors. With other vehicles obviously parked there. Come-on, how can an ignorant traveler differentiate between the parking space(s) for travelers and those reserved for officials where there are no directives. Perhaps travelers should be made to carry their vehicles along on their heads when boarding.
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| MM2 Car Park, Lagos, May 14th, 2016 |
In this scenario,
an incident that occurred at MMA2 on Saturday, may 14, 2016, at
about 1:30pm, comes to play. Need I mention that the victim missed that
flight and had to cancel the trip for another day, having
been financially exhausted while making reservations for the next
flight, and overly stressed by these officials.
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| MM2 Car Park, Lagos, May 14th, 2016:The supposedly wrong packing (in the parking lot/ garage) with deflated tires |
A couple of days
ago, Nigeria was tagged 'Fantastically corrupt' by the British Prime
Minister, David, Cameron. That unguarded statement received knocks
from Nigerians at home, in diaspora and sympathizers. As rude and
uncalled-for as the statement sounded especially considering the efforts
of the present administration to curb corruption, there is need for an
all inclusive efforts of Nigerians to join forces, through our
actions and in-actions, if we must see any feasible changes.
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| Receipt of payment issued for alleged illegal parking by Tow-To-Go Officials |
This call-out cuts across every sector of the Nigerian economy from the Customs at the Maritime and borders, to the Security Forces: Police and Army, to the Educational sector, Health, Aviation, etc.. and at Private and Government Organizations and Parastatals. All sectors must be practically involved. Let us clean out our acts and the world will respect us.
