Is his dispatch rider using his head or has Lagos become so unfriendly for doing logistics/dispatch business?

I have a friend that runs a bike delivery business in Lagos. Every now and then, his rider will call that he has been arrested by task force for one paper or the other, that they have seized his bike, his key. That he should send money. This results in delays and expenses.

Every year, there are some papers he renew, there are others he renew every six months. Yet the rider comes with new papers periodically. The paper he was arrested for yesterday was mid-year permit by joint mid-year agency of Nigeria. I have googled that organization but found nothing about them. I mean he can't be forging these papers every now and then. The guy now has lots of papers and stickers and I know more will still come.

Is there a dispatch rider here or anyone that runs a dispatch business? Please share your experience and advice.

Hmmmm... front page

Most likely

Petrodirect:
Most likely

My thoughts exactly

Viruses:

My thoughts exactly

No, you're wrong. The rider is not the problem. That's how dispatch/ haulage / logistics is. It's a really big problem for the business and the government doesn't care because the people behind printing those things are usually their political touts and that's how they compensate them for using them to win elections. Those papers are 100% fake, there is no law backing it up, no agency of government it belongs to, neither is it under any local govt. It is just touts that go and print whatever rubbish that comes to their head from time to time, and then they go about harassing and extorting logistics / cargo transporters for money, and sometimes they bribe enforcement to help them arrest logistics transporters so it will look as if they are legit and have direct govt backing. And the reason why tour rider keeps having issues is that, when they print and sell a particular permit, once they see that most
logistics plying their hijack route have those papers, it means no more money to extort, so they will go and print another rubbish permit again with a different name,so they can be blocking and extorting people again. It's a huge problem all over the country, except in the North, it is even worst in the SE/SS region and a big setback for efficient and cost-effective logistics.

Openbusiness:

You are OP.. On point.

Openbusiness:

No, you're wrong. The rider is not the problem. That's how dispatch/ haulage / logistics is. It's a really big problem for the business and the government doesn't care because the people behind printing those things are usually their political touts and that's how they compensate them for using them to win elections. Those papers are 100% fake, there is no law backing it up, no agency of government it belongs to, neither is it under any local govt. It is just touts that go and print whatever rubbish that comes to their head from time to time, and then they go about harassing and extorting logistics / cargo transporters for money, and sometimes they bribe enforcement to help them arrest logistics transporters so it will look as if they are legit and have direct govt backing. And the reason why tour rider keeps having issues is that, when they print and sell a particular permit, once they see that most
logistics plying their hijack route have those papers, it means no more money to extort, so they will go and print another rubbish permit again with a different name,so they can be blocking and extorting people again. It's a huge problem all over the country, except in the North, it is even worst in the SE/SS region and a big setback for efficient and cost-effective logistics.

Until the day a dispatch company owner puts out a price on the heads of some of these touts, mafia style, they will not stop.

Openbusiness:

Those papers are 100% fake, there is no law backing it up, no agency of government it belongs to, neither is it under any local govt. It is just touts that go and print whatever rubbish that comes to their head from time to time, and then they go about harassing and extorting logistics / cargo transporters for money, and sometimes they bribe enforcement to help them arrest logistics transporters so it will look as if they are legit and have direct govt backing.

I'm sure you are right. I mean the name "mid-year agency of Nigeria" does not even make sense and the rider can't be forging and printing these certificates and tickets all the time.

Openbusiness:

No, you're wrong. The rider is not the problem. That's how dispatch/ haulage / logistics is. It's a really big problem for the business and the government doesn't care because the people behind printing those things are usually their political touts and that's how they compensate them for using them to win elections. Those papers are 100% fake, there is no law backing it up, no agency of government it belongs to, neither is it under any local govt. It is just touts that go and print whatever rubbish that comes to their head from time to time, and then they go about harassing and extorting logistics / cargo transporters for money, and sometimes they bribe enforcement to help them arrest logistics transporters so it will look as if they are legit and have direct govt backing. And the reason why tour rider keeps having issues is that, when they print and sell a particular permit, once they see that most
logistics plying their hijack route have those papers, it means no more money to extort, so they will go and print another rubbish permit again with a different name,so they can be blocking and extorting people again. It's a huge problem all over the country, except in the North, it is even worst in the SE/SS region and a big setback for efficient and cost-effective logistics.

Then logistics business owners should through their union go to court or make a formal complaint to the governor. They keep tolerating it that's why it is going on. Doing business in Nigeria is already hard enough.

SocialJustice:
Then logistics business owners should through their union go to court or make a formal complaint to the governor. They keep tolerating it that's why it is going on. Doing business in Nigeria is already hard enough.

Formal complaint to which governor , is it the governor that the political touts help them win elections by snatching ballot box and attacking opposition? You think the government is not aware of those touts on the road? They know but only pretend, and they are the ones that allow them which territory to operate in as compensation to make money for themselves.

Viruses:


I'm sure you are right. I mean the name "mid-year agency of Nigeria" does not even make sense and the rider can't be forging and printing these certificates and tickets all the time.

Of course am right. Check the document na, can't you see plenty grammatical errors and nonsense statements there? It was printed by political touts, many of whom have only primary school education

Openbusiness:

Formal complaint to which governor , is it the governor that the political touts help them win elections by snatching ballot box and attacking opposition? You think the government is not aware of those touts on the road? They know but only pretend, and they are the ones that allow them which territory to operate in as compensation to make money for themselves.

There should be a limit. Touts must collect money but there must be a limit. They can even decide to start making payments to Lagos State directly or to NURTW through regularised tickets.

If the 2 options above fail, then they can go to court to compel government to do the right thing. Nigeria is not as lawless as you will want to believe.

Guys, the rider just called now that he has been arrested for MOT permit. Yesterday was joint mid-year permit.

Please which one is MOT permit again? this is the snapshot he sent

SocialJustice:
There should be a limit. Touts must collect money but there must be a limit. They can even decide to start making payments to Lagos State directly or to NURTW through regularised tickets.

If the 2 options above fail, then they can go to court to compel government to do the right thing. Nigeria is not as lawless as you will want to believe.

The government is already EXTORTING their own in the form various levies like radio/tv permit some local councils print, like mobile advert permit etc, but asides the government, their political touts are also printing all sorts of rubbish and extorting legitimate businesses and the govt knows, they just don't care, because it is their boys extorting the money. but by federal law, even state laws, everything they are doing is illegal, and by law, if they die in the process of trying to extort the public, their death is in vain. That's why they usually pick bad spots with bad roads to hide and perform their wicked works, because they know they stand a better chance of not being hit by motorists around bad roads. Can you imagine the rubbish those illiterate thieves printed, MID-YEAR AGENCY.... what the hell is a mid-year agency?

If you stand your ground and get them arrested, their political godfathers in local councils will bail them out, then plus you will still settle police something, so at the end you spend more, not to mention loss of time involved etc, those are the things those bastards capitalize on and turn themselves to demons on the road. The best time for logistics business in lagos is night time, from 11pm - 4am, but there is one big challenge with this time, SECURITY, but everything else favors. Then another thing is the people you want to deliver to will be locked away in their houses sleeping, some will have turn off their phones. This is the problem with night logistics, so daytime is the preferred mode for now, you just have to use experience riders that know how to avoid the tout devils with govt backing on the road

Viruses:
Guys, the rider just called now that he has been arrested for MOT permit. Yesterday was joint mid-year permit.

Please which one is MOT permit again? this is the snapshot he sent

Welcome to Lagos! Government of the touts, by the touts for the touts, for 24/7 extortion , the number 1 killer of businesses in lagos is the LASG

And that was how those touts ruined today for the rider. Delayed for how many hours and finally took the bike to Secretariat.

Welcome to the life of a delivery service manager in Lagos.

Viruses:
Guys, the rider just called now that he has been arrested for MOT permit. Yesterday was joint mid-year permit.

Please which one is MOT permit again? this is the snapshot he sent

I think you have one of 2 problems here.

1. Your rider doesn't know enough. You also don't seem to know enough. Not an insult. Just that you are doing something no one taught you to do. You are going by your own wits and intelligence. The good news is that experience will teach you even more and you will get better as long as you don't give up.

So your guy doesn't know enough and these touts are taking advantage of him. It is the same thing I went through. I once had to pay a fine of 80k to LASTMA! What your rider should know is how to deal with these touts. Not everything na fight. Sometimes 1k will save a lot of stress. Other times, you need to have someone who can talk to them. A fellow tout but a senior tout. They call themselves "task force". You need someone like that on your side.

Some of these documents are dreamed up by these touts on a daily basis so you will definitely not know of all of them. That's why you need a senior task force person or LASTMA or MOT or something on your side that you can call in times like these.

2. Your rider is scamming you and you need a new one. No biggie, it has happened to all of us at one time or the other.

Viruses:
And that was how those touts ruined today for the rider. Delayed for how many hours and finally took the bike to Secretariat.

How did it go? Have you been able to retrieve the bike?

Palantir:


How did it go? Have you been able to retrieve the bike?

Yes the bike has been retrieved. If I tell you the process, you won't be wrong to term me naive. Thing is I don't have time to do all these runs myself.

The rider came yesterday and claims there's no receipt for all the payments made except one. Even that one is not with him as he had to drop it with them to process the paper. And when he's talking, he sounds so sincere that you just have to believe him.

When I asked, I heard that the paper costs 5k, but I spent more than six times that amount all together. I'm spending more than I'm making honestly.

Viruses:

Yes the bike has been retrieved. If I tell you the process, you won't be wrong to term me naive. Thing is I don't have time to do all these runs myself.

The rider came yesterday and claims there's no receipt for all the payments made except one. Even that one is not with him as he had to drop it with them to process the paper. And when he's talking, he sounds so sincere that you just have to believe him.

When I asked, I heard that the paper costs 5k, but I spent more than six times that amount all together. I'm spending more than I'm making honestly.

Lol. I'm laughing not because you have done anything wrong but because I see I'm not the only one who has suffered in this business. Heck I've decided to write an ebook on this!

Cheer up dude. We were all in this at one time and those of us that pushed through made it out the other side.

So I guess you have the ok paper now.

I hope we are able to pull through this. Discouragement is already setting in bit by bit.

Palantir:


Lol. I'm laughing not because you have done anything wrong but because I see I'm not the only one who has suffered in this business. Heck I've decided to write an ebook on this!

Cheer up dude. We were all in this at one time and those of us that pushed through made it out the other side.

So I guess you have the ok paper now.

Not yet, they said he should go and collect it this week Friday. So till then, we may not work. I'd like to have further conversation with you in private. Is that okay?

Viruses:

Not yet, they said he should go and collect it this week Friday. So till then, we may not work. I'd like to have further conversation with you in private. Is that okay?

Very ok

Palantir:


Very ok

I've sent you PM.

Thanks in advance.

More opinions are welcome