Working Lives – The Uber Drivers of Lagos (Part 2)

Ayotunde: The Handsome Ladies’ Magnet

I studied Chemistry at the Obafemi Awolowo University. I am about to obtain an MSc in Chemistry. I started working for Uber in 2017. I was working in Ibadan with an equipment firm. We set up labs for schools and also in manufacturing companies. The pay was nonsense, so I left for Lagos. I grew up in Lagos, so it wasn’t too difficult for me to find my bearing.

I work for a minimum of 10 hours a day. Sometimes I do more. It depends on my energy levels. I try to sleep for at least four to five hours every day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my weekend; that is when I catch up on things. Saturdays and Sundays are for making more money. The most frustrating trips are short ones. The fare is often not more than N500 but for some reason, it is the people who take short trips who try to boss you around the most. Sometimes you would have to wait for about 10 to 15 minutes before they show up. But you also meet good Nigerians while driving Uber. I have become very good friends with some of them offline.

So far, my worst day was when I picked a surge trip during one of the festive periods. It was a 3.4 surge actually from Oniru to Ikeja. After I ended the trip, baba talk sey ehn, I no get money oo. I didn’t bother to argue with him, I emailed Uber immediately and they refunded me. Weirdest experience was when a lady I carried hopped from the back seat to the front while on motion and started to shoot her shot. Good looks matters too oo. I have learnt a lot especially how to manage different kind of characters. One of the present challenges at the moment is that of Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) disturbing us, most times I just try to avoid certain areas. I wouldn’t say traffic is part of it. Yahoo Plus guys try to steal our cars. Even though it is not a 100% guaranty, I still try not to work late into the night. Once it is 8pm, I start looking for someone who wants to take a trip to my area. I don’t allow more than one person in the car at night. I even prefer females. If it is a guy, I insist he sits beside me. I don’t allow guys to sit behind me at night. I’m looking forward to getting a pepper spray, though. I am confident of making steady income. People will always need to move. But I have plans anyways. If the situation of Nigeria remains the same, mo ma japa lo si Canada ni oo (I will run away to Canada)…this country cannot comman kee me.

Kassim: The Engineer Who Used to Drive 20 Hours A Day

I have a B.Sc. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Lagos. I started driving Uber immediately after school in 2018. While I was in school, I worked as an Automobile Mechanic and a General Merchant. But right now, I am a part-time Youth Corper and a part-time Uber driver. At first, I was driving with Taxify. I worked round the clock, doing 20 hours daily. But now, I work with Uber and they have a 12-hour clock limit. Drivers are advised to take breaks on the job to prevent fatigue. My rest days are Tuesdays. I rarely sleep on the road, except if there is going to be a big night event and I know there would be a surge. So, I sleep around the event venue to get rides. I am a man, so my folks don’t have an issue with it. But my mum always calls me and tells me to be careful.

You cannot stereotype people or passengers. I have carried different types of people and they never have the same behaviour. I have carried women who would be very nasty on the ride and the next day women who would be so friendly and open. I have carried a guy who was so impressed by my service and at the end of the trip he tipped me N20,000 and I carried a lady who connected me to people for off-Uber trips. I made over N100,000 in three days. I carried a young lady from Lekki Phase 1 to the airport and the journey was so fun and interesting. She talked to me about where she was traveling to and why and even went further to share useful information about the traveling process to me. One night, I was stopped by the Police and they found marijuana on my passenger. The police officers told her to pay a bribe of N200,000 and because she had exceeded her withdrawal limit, she transferred the money to me to help her withdraw it. On getting to the ATM my card got stuck and the police were not willing to leave us. They held us till the bank opened the next and I went in to withdraw over the counter and we paid them off. Once, I carried a scantily dressed girl. She was practically half-naked. She sat in front beside me. Anytime I looked at my side mirror, I would see her private part and it was very distracting. I had to ask her to close her legs.

I have learned three important lessons on the job. Never judge people by their appearance, learn how to take charge of any situation you find yourself and never react to situations based on emotions. While you are on the job, you are your own security. Relying on the government or Uber to ensure your safety is a wild dream. You are the only one who can ensure your safety by making timely and right decisions. For example, not going to some specific locations after dark, not picking suspicious passengers at night, etc. A few months back, Tomi Waziri, a rider who works for one of the e-hailing apps, lost his sight after he was attacked by robbers. He had been awaiting his NYSC call up letter. The company compensated his family with N250,000. Everyone understands these are Nigerian issues, nothing to do with the e-hailing apps themselves.

As an Uber driver in Lagos, what you earn depends on you – how many hours you work, your positioning, if the car belongs to you or you are delivering to someone etc. But on an average, one can’t make less than N10,000 a day. The highest I have made in a day is N40,000. I am not one to set a timeline for my goals because most times people end up not achieving them. Right now, I am trying to conclude my service year and secure a good job. One can’t do this Uber work forever as it comes with advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is the networking opportunities it provides which one can leverage but the disadvantage is the security challenge and Uber has to do more to handle this issue.

Gbenga: The Anger Management Expert

I studied Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering at the University of Lagos. I started driving in 2017 for two platforms – Taxify and Uber. I was not doing anything actually. I had just finished school and was searching for jobs until I stumbled on the taxi platform. It is my first job. There are some days I work 20 hours, some days I don’t work up to 5 hours and some days I don’t work at all. Some days, the trips come in back-to-back so no time to take any break and some days can be very dry. But I take some days off to rest during the week. As an Uber driver, you don’t have a closing time. You can work 9pm and decide to close for the day or keep working till 12am or even 1am. When I first started the job, I was staying with a friend. So anytime I closed late, I would sleep outside because his parents would not allow me to come in so late. However, I moved back to my parent’s house and they gave me a curfew of 10pm. So when it is 8pm, I would only accept a trip request of someone going to my area.

The worst set of customers a driver can ever carry are the ones that complain about everything. Some would transfer aggression on you, and you would almost be tempted to drop them on the bridge and let them find another ride there. I have also had some really nice riders that we would have good conversations and become friends from there. They would gist with you and make you feel like you have been friends with them for a long time. They make you enjoy the job and not feel like a driver. I remember carrying a lady from the airport and I wanted to put on the radio and she said no that she wanted to gist with me and we did till she dropped. Not those ones that would sit at the back and start nagging about your AC or your speed.

I also remember a very bad experience. It was my first ride of the day and I was carrying an elderly grandma and her children to somewhere around Iba. The children didn’t know the route, but the grandma knew. So, I told her to direct me and she was like, why would I do that? The taxi driver is meant to know the route. So, I decided to use my map and it took us through a very bad road where my car got stuck. So, I had to pay some boys to push it out. The annoying part was when she now started complaining that why didn’t I pass through some other route and I was shocked like so you knew the way and you made me go through all that stress. At the end of the trip, she started complaining that the fare was too high. I was so angry I shouted at her to pay me or I would report her. That is my worst experience so far.

I carried this young girl and she was putting on a net gown. The net had holes and it was not lined. Every part of her body was exposed from her breasts to her private part. That’s the weirdest I have seen. I have learned to be patient and be slow to anger. The job comes with a lot of people ready to frustrate you. When you ignore some of them, they later realise their fault and feel bad and some might tip you or make you a regular customer. It used to be only traffic, but now Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) has become another thorn in our flesh. They recently started harassing and impounding Uber driver’s cars because of a Lagos state permit that Uber as a company is meant to have. I take extra precautions like avoiding late-night driving. And I pray for God’s protection daily to keep guiding me. I also avoid trusting riders to pay me later. Some of them will not pay and some will send fake transfers to you. Now I confirm payments before I let the rider leave. What you earn depends on the individual’s limit, the time you start work, your strategy and the hours you put in. I don’t see myself driving Uber or being in Nigeria in the next 2 or 3 years.  I am planning to relocate to Canada.