Honestly, if you are living in Nigeria, Lagos environs, in particular, you need no introduction about who an Agbero or tout or hooligan or Areaboy is. Or do you need it?

Well, for the benefit of those who don’t know here goes:

Who is an Agbero? Who is a tout? Who is a Hooligan? Who is an Areaboy?

Hooligan, Tout, Thug, Areaboy, or Agbero are all synonymous. As in, the five words are related; they are similar.

An Agbero is a Yoruba word in Nigeria used to describe someone that has the traits of a thug/ hooligan/ tout/Areaboy.

These Agberos are males and females, but mostly males. They are always loitering outside ready to oppress, extort and possibly steal. They oppress mostly motorists at parks and while on transit, forcing money out of their pockets as they see it as their entitlement.

Any motorist that doesn’t give them money is usually beaten (mostly with dangerous equipment o) or the agbero may decide to vandalize the motorist’s vehicle.

Are Agberos always aggressive?

Agberos would most likely be aggressive if they are on the road to collect money, and you don’t give them money.

But away from money collection, some of these agberos are nice and sometimes concerned about the plight of others. 

I remember the other day I was finding it difficult to cross the road, one of the agberos had stopped the vehicles for me and helped me to cross to the other side of the road.

Agberos can be very protective, yet destructive.

In the process of trying to protect theirs, they end up destroying another’s.

What do you all think?

Images sources

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