I chose to succeed riding tricycle, says mother of three

In Lagos metropolis, the rate at which female folks are embracing the male-dominated jobs such as riding tricycle, popularly known as keke marwa for commercial purpose is increasing by the day.

From time immemorial, all tedious jobs are kept for men simply because they are believed to be superior to the women but this trend is fast changing, as women are gradually proving to the world that what man can do, woman can do even better and also excel in all fields as they now shatter barriers, move freely into various fields without necessarily compromising their roles as wives, mothers and even daughters.

With increasing rate of unemployment in the country, some women who see dignity in themselves, instead of going into prostitution or other illegal jobs have decided to chart a new course for themselves in a once male dominated job, riding of tricycle to earn a living.

Modupe Babalola is one of such, a craggy female tricycle rider who daily ferries her passengers to and from the routes she plies to make a living for herself and her family. Though the sight of female tricycle rider is no longer new in the city of Lagos but Modupe’s dressing attracts almost everyone’s attention to her and that stands her out among other riders.

Though, a tricycle rider but she dresses neatly, smartly and decently like an executive. To Babalola, her keke is her office, so every morning as she sets out to begin her work for the day, she sees herself as going to her office and dresses as such. The 32-year-old, mother of three, irrespective of the attire she puts on dresses so smartly that whoever sees her wants to travel in her tricycle.

Narrating how her journey to tricycle riding began, Modupe, who spoke in an almost flawless English, said it all started in 2017, when she was a sales girl at Alade market. “While I was working as a sales girl, I started seeing women riding tricycle as their source of livelihood. It caught my attention and I decided to try it out for fun but along the line, I discovered it’s a cool business and because I was tired of working under a boss and I also felt I needed time to take care of my home I decided to get a fairly used tricycle and that was how I settled for the job.”

The beginning like any other business, according to Modupe, was tough as her mother and husband refused her plan to venture into such hazardous work because of so many risks involved.

“I expressed my determination to succeed and shortly after I started the work, I got a new tricycle and with this same work, I have been able to support my husband in the area of rent and school fees while I have also been able to support my mother and members of my extended family. I am happy with what I am doing because I am not begging and I am able to meet my needs and that of my family, which is the ultimate in life,” she said.

Though, the job of riding tricycle she said has made her palm stronger than it used to be, she said once she stepped out around 8.30am in the morning, she rides for over seven hours every day. Again, she said the work, by its nature brings out the rider out of his/her shell. She said she constantly encountered and interacted with the tricycle union members, which she said  will make a quiet person open up, talk and even fight for his/her right if need be.

On why she chose smart outfit for her work, she explained, “I package myself well for the job on a daily basis because I believe that the way you dress is the way you will be addressed. My keke is my office and as such, I dress smartly to ride it. Many a times people mistake me for an office worker because of my dressing. I have different types of caps to fit any attire I put on. I believe that since my keke is neat, the rider should be neat as well. After all, when people are going to their offices, they don’t dress anyhow, so I must not dress anyhow while riding,” she stressed.

Commenting on her educational background, Mrs. Modupe said in as much as she loved to become a business administrator or an air hostess she could not acquire secondary education due to her mother’s financial constrain and could not get the attention she needed from her father as a child from a polygamous home.

“Be that as it may, I did not lose hope as I was still determined to make it in life, so I went for adult education for three years and that is what has been sustaining me but if  I have an opportunity to go back to school, I will study business administration because I love business, I love to count money every day, in fact, that energizes me,” she said.

The challenges of riding tricycle in the city of Lagos, according to her are numerous ranging from LASTMA trouble to the Union (agbero) to the bus drivers who see tricyclists  as rivals and then to her fellow riders, particularly the young ones who ride very recklessly on the road. She stressed the need for the young riders to be sensitized on the danger of taking alcohol or hard drugs before riding.

In spite of the challenges, this mother of three is making money from riding keke and she has no regret going into the job. Apart from riding tricycle, she is also a trainer under TVS, a company that manufactures tricycles. So far, Modupe has trained over 40 women in tricycle riding in Lagos. She is also multi-talented as she makes pop-corn for sale at events, decorations for events and also into photography.

She advised government at all levels to encourage women in business, rather than frustrating them. She also appealed to all women to be gainfully engaged so as to help their families. According to her, no woman should be idle.