CHRISMAS SEASON: READ WELL BEFORE GOING TO ONITSHA (BRIGHT GIZT)

With their big bags on their heads, they all walk, moving the items they had bought from the Main Market around Upper Iweka.

Women are usually considered as the weaker vessel, but these women have thrown that nomenclature away and had picked up their luggage, placed it on their heads and moved on.

It is not like they are avoiding paying a keke (auto rickshaw) man or a cab man to move their items, but the fear of some young men who are now extorting them, as part of hustles to raise funds for Christmas, has become the beginning of wisdom for them.

Upper lweka is a busy area in Onitsha, Anambra State.

It is popular for its numerous motor parks, food vendors, homeless people and dangerous criminals.

In fact, it was one of the locations Governor Willie Obiano cleared of hoodlums when he took over as Governor, but it appears security in the location is fizzling out.

It was 10:06 a.m. on Saturday, the sun shone fiercely and the environment was noisy.

People went about their businesses and impatient commercial drivers, blared their horn and cursed each other.

Operators of several transport companies, woo passengers through their big speakers which were positioned by the road.

Everywhere was rowdy and noisy.

However, safety is one thing that is missing in the mix.

Women who come to buy things are targets.

While the commotion lasted, a tricycle carrying some goods and a female passenger, manoeuvred its way through the heavy traffic from the main market, to upper lweka roundabout.

But its fast moves ended when some group of men stopped him.

The motor park touts popularly called 'agbero', barricaded the road. They pushed the tricycle to a corner while 2 amongst them dragged the goods down.

Be Careful Of These Men

Alarmed, the owner of the goods, a tall, dark slim, whom later turned out to be from Edo State, alighted. But her efforts to find out what went wrong was futile, as the men kept shouting in lgbo language "kwúó ùgwó ibu gí", meaning; pay for your goods.

Confused, the woman tried to understand why she was asked to pay for the goods she had already paid for with receipts to show.

She lifted her gown, dipped her right hand into the pocket of a green combat short and produced some receipts. 

At that moment, 3 angry members of the group tore a bag which contained baby clothing and scattered them along the dusty road.

One beat his chest severally and threatened to deal with anyone who would challenge him.

The woman, who referred to herself as Adesua, said she was a nursing mother that had come to shop for Christmas.

"I left my 5-month-old twin with my mother to come and buy goods."

She explained that she had paid fully for her goods and had the receipts with her.

"How can l pay them for goods they didn't sell to me?" she asked.

Sobbing, she held her breasts with both hands, and laid a curses on the men.

"E no go ever better for una wives and children!

"As una scatter my goods, na so una dead bodi go scatter for this road," she yelled.

She scooped sand from the ground with her right hand, threw it towards their direction and shouted; "Isé!" (Amen) to the curse.

An elderly man who identified himself as Papa Okazi emerged from the small crowd that had gathered and pleaded with the men to allow her go.

"Don't give Igbo people bad name, allow this woman to go home.

"For how long do you think agbero work can sustain you?" he asked.

The men appeared not to be concerned, as they surrounded and force Adesua to part with the sum of 1,500 Naira.

At that moment, the siren of a police van blared nearby, triggering a race. The touts ran helter-skelter while the police chased after them. 

For a moment, normalcy returned to the area. 

Also sharing his experience with the touts, Mr Onyemauche Offo, a tricycle operator, narrated how he fought with them to save his passengers' goods, the previous week.

"The idiots tore my shirt when l prevented them from extorting my passenger.

"They operate in every busy road within the state," he hinted.

The touts are not just out for Keke users, according to the keke rider.

He explained the touts would forcefully stop commercial vehicles conveying goods and extort the passengers.

"Failure to comply means that they will destroy the goods."

He, however, blamed Governor Obiano for withdrawing the vigilante groups that had helped to sanitise the state.

While he demanded that the group should be restored to the area, some drivers also think the police are in cohort with the touts.

They claimed that the police would arrest and release them almost immediately.  

"People especially none indigenes should be careful of these men during this festive period," Mr Offo advised.