Nigeria women challenge norms from behind the wheel

Amaka Okoli became a bus driver three years ago after losing her job as a banker in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital.

The 38-year-old now begins her day at 5:30 am to take advantage of the early morning rush hour and finishes by late afternoon to do her other job — being a mother of three children.

“It was rare to see a female commercial driver in Lagos but now it’s changing because we need to make money,” she told AFP.

Okoli became a driver a year before Nigeria slumped into its worst economic crisis in a generation, which has accelerated the trend in a sector traditionally dominated by men, experts say.

“I feel like I live two lives. One is being a bus driver where I must be bold and call out to passengers, and the other is the quiet life of a homemaker who tends to her husband and children,” Okoli said.

Driving a bus in Lagos is not for the faint-hearted.

The boisterous transit system is a key, if chaotic, lifeline for workers making their way through the mega-city’s seemingly unending streets.

Drivers and conductors on the black striped bright yellow buses scream out their destinations over the din of the traffic at passengers hoping to cram aboard.

Called “Korope” or “Danfo” depending on the size, the privately owned buses carry about 10 million passengers daily, according to a 2015 survey by the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority.

“Being aggressive is a part of the job because other bus drivers can try to cheat you when it’s your turn to carry passengers, or road users, because you are a woman,” Okoli said.

Concerns about bus drivers drinking alcohol on the job are rife and authorities conduct campaigns and try to clamp down on drinking and driving.

Speed violations caused about 56 percent of road accidents across the country between January and June last year, Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps said.

Yet, the chaos can also create opportunities for women.

“Passengers now prefer to board buses belonging to female drivers because they are cleaner and perceived to be more careful while driving,” Okoli said.

– Breadwinners –

Samuel Odewumi, professor of transport planning and policy at Lagos State University, said the rise of women commercial drivers was linked to the economic downturn.

Painful reforms which President Bola Tinubu says are necessary, including the floating of the currency and removal of costly petrol subsidies, have led to a spike in living costs.

“Families can no longer depend on a single income and in some instances, women have become breadwinners, and that has led to them exploring occupations that were culturally assigned to men,” Odewumi told AFP.

The government also plays a role, he said, with Lagos state authorities giving women 20 percent of the driving roles in its public mass transit programme.

– Modest income –

The trend is not limited to buses.

Women increasingly register their own vehicles in the e-hailing sector with companies such as Uber or Bolt.

Victoria Oyeyemi, president of the Ladies on Wheels Association of Nigeria (LOWAN), said the group began in 2018 with six women and now had more than 5,000 members.

“We felt the need to look out for ourselves, especially in a busy city like Lagos where we are all hustling,” she said.

The women are encouraged to steer clear of working at night to avoid the risk of robbery, but a strong sense of solidarity has evolved.

Members exchange work tips and business opportunities and run savings groups to pool money to help each other meet big expenses such as school fees.

Okoli acknowledged the mental burden of the job was as tasking as the physical, especially when she gets pulled over by traffic wardens to pay a fine — or a bribe.

After paying those, plus other levies and buying fuel, she said she only took home about 40 percent of her earnings.

“Due to the strenuous nature of the job, I only drive seven trips and so the money is not enough to meet my needs — but it’s better than remaining unemployed,” she said.