Notwithstanding the stress and hazards known with Nigeria’s transportation business, a female graduate, Miss Joy Ihezie, has joined multitude of men who ride tricycles, popularly known as Keke for survival.
Joy is aware that life is full of challenges and obstacles; therefore, she has decided to withstand the challenges that are associated with her transportation trade.
She explained that she had taken up teaching jobs in some private schools after her graduation in 2015 but noted that her salaries were too meager to sustain her, hence her decision to quit the pedagogical industry for riding tricycles.
After graduating from University of Calabar, Cross River State in the department of Sociology, Joy took up Keke riding as a means of survival while looking for better opportunities.
She explained in an interview that when she started the tricycle business, many of her passengers feared that she would ride them into an accident while others encouraged her.
The lady, in her late 20s, who hails from Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State, has been riding Keke around the nooks and crannies of Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State where she resides.
Joy said, “After my graduation and NYSC, I looked for a job but the only job I could easily see is teaching in a private school. Teaching is something I like doing, anyway but the salary is very poor. Then they paid me N15, 000. Later, I got one that I was paid N20, 000. Again, later, I got one where they paid me N40, 000 and the stress was so much. The workload was so much. It does not equate to the amount of effort I was paid.
“One thing that pained me is that apart from the stress I go through in teaching, the director of the school would always talk me down as if I was not adding any value to the school. It was at that point that I decided to quit the teaching job.
“After I quit my teaching job, I was still not ready to stay idle. So, in 2021, I decided to go into Keke riding by going into hire purchase. This Keke tricycle you see now was under hire purchase for a period of a year and six months at One Million, Two Hundred Thousand Naira which I have liquidated. So, for now, the Keke I ride belongs to me.”
On the challenges she has been facing on the job, she stated, “I know Keke riding is very stressful. Sometimes I get skin burns. My body becomes so black. It also comes with a lot of body ache. I know it is not something that will be easy but I am managing it. There are also hazards on the road like accidents. But all in all I like the job, despite these challenges. I make an average of N3, 000 to N4, 000 daily.”
Joy narrated how frightening it was for her at the beginning, saying, “Initially, it was frightening. Some passengers were scared while others were excited. When I started the business, many passengers were afraid, thinking that I might drive them into an accident or something like that. Others saw it as an opportunity to be driven by a female Keke rider. It was a two-way thing.”
“Some of my male counterparts are happy while others are not. Some will always encourage me, saying yes, it is good that you come out to see how difficult it is to make money. Others make jokes of me, asking me “so you feel you can drag this work with us.” So it is a two-way situation. I have some friends in the business who are happy with me for my doggedness,” she added.
She said her parents expressed mixed feelings about her choice of trade, disclosing that, “When I told my parents about going into Keke business, my dad never supported me. He kicked against it saying it cannot happen. He said how can his graduate daughter engage in Keke tricycle riding? What will people say about him and his daughter? But my mother encouraged me, saying there is nothing wrong with the idea.”
Joy stated, “Despite my current job as a Keke rider, I still have an ambition in life. I am not going to stay in this business long. I would like to own my own school where I will impact positively on society, care for children and give them necessary knowledge.”
She advised Nigerian youths to be productive no matter how small by engaging in lawful jobs, noting, “I want to advise Nigerian youths especially graduates not to wait for white collar job. They should go out of their way and find something to do. They should not stay idle. There was one of my lecturers back then in school who would always tell us that it is not everyone that will get a job after graduation. So, I advise them to engage in whatever is legitimate to earn a living. They shouldn’t wait for a state job, federal job or private job.”
