‘Some Alfas In Ibadan Refused To Board My Keke Because I Am A Woman’ – Female Rider Laments

 

Life took a downward turn for Theresa John when her food business in Iyaganku area of Ibadan, Oyo State crashed.

In order to manage her new reality, she started riding a tricycle, also known as keke to make ends meet.

She told Saturday Tribune during the week that the harsh economic conditions in the country forced her to take the tricycle as hire-purchase and had been riding it for over a year now.

She revealed that she was not bothered by what people would say or the discrimination she faced because she was focused on meeting her needs.

She believed that it was not good for a woman to stay idle without getting engaged with something in order to support her husband in running the family.

“I have been riding keke for over a year now. I started because the way Nigeria is now, things are not moving as it used to. I was a business woman before. I was selling food at Iyaganku but when I saw the way things were moving and how the business was going I had to change my line of business.

“I took the keke as a hire-purchase and it was my needs I was looking at, not what people would say.

My husband was not happy with it initially but after seeing how the economy was moving he calmed down. This world that we’ve found ourselves in, it is not easy for a woman to just sit at home without doing anything or achieving anything.

“And again, the husband alone cannot be taking care of the family. So, after he saw how it was going, he had to calm down. But every day he reminded me that I would eventually stop riding the keke and I’d say amen, I’ll leave it but I’ll do it for some time before I quit,” she said.

Theresa said she had faced discrimination from some men because of her gender but she had always kept in mind her focus on why she started riding tricycle.

“I have many experiences when passengers especially alfas refused to enter my keke because it was me, a woman riding. When they stopped the keke and immediately saw that it was a woman, they said ‘God forbid, I cannot enter a woman’s keke.’

“Sometimes I challenge them and ask why they behaved that way and they said how would a woman be riding keke? It is condition that pushed us to start riding; before now when keke came to Nigeria newly, how many people had it let alone women riding? She queried.

“But when it is raining, they don’t look whether it was a woman riding it or not. So, when it was raining and they came to enter I told them ‘abeg this is a woman’s keke don’t enter oo,’ and they said they did not have a choice and I would insist that they had a choice.

“Some of them would say, ah iya, forget that thing, we no get choice today. But immediately after the rain, they would remember that they don’t enter women’s keke,” she said.

When asked how she handled some of the hard issues like changing her tyres, she said, “I have a jack because I cannot lift it like the men, so whenever my tyres are flat, I use the jack.”

With the rising cost of fuel, Theresa said keke riders are not sure how much they could make in a day’s job as compared to the past.

“I close by 6pm except when I am chartered and the journey is far. That’s the only time I may ride in the night. Depending on the market of the day, sometimes we make up to N10,000 and when the market is poor we make even less than N5,000 but with the new cost of fuel, we cannot say this is how much we can make per day,” she told Saturday Tribune.

She said she was grateful to God for surviving all three accidents she had had which were her unforgettable experiences since she started riding the tricycle.

“I’ve had three accidents but glory be to God because I came out unhurt and my keke was also intact. The first accident was when my break failed; the second one was around Iyaganku.

I wanted to climb something and the keke somersaulted. The third accident happened around Apata. But, I thank God that nothing happened to me or my keke. I just had to change my side mirror and that was all so, I am really grateful to God for that,” she said.

As she works hard to provide for her family and children, they are also praying to grow up and take the “workload” off her and take care of her.

“My children are also praying for me to stop riding keke. They always say I should pray for them so that they would grow to take care of me. They said the workload is too much for me,” she said.