In this report, our correspondent tells the stories of teenagers who clean cars on the streets of Lagos. They are often seen in traffic, where they rush to the cars as soon as they stop. Weekend Trust gathered that the boys make more money where there a traffic logjam.
On the major roads of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, these teenagers, barefooted and shabbily dressed, are seen on a daily basis cleaning cars in moving traffic. And where there’s a logjam in the traffic, it offers them more opportunities.
The teenagers, mostly boys target luxury cars. They station themselves close to the points where such cars will stop for a while due to traffic. Once those cars stop, one of them will hurriedly splash water on either the windscreen or the door in an attempt to signal the driver of the effort to clean the car with water mixed with detergent.
This attempt might be rejected or accepted; which will determine if the boy has made a profit or loss due to the water and detergent slashed. Sometimes it is reversal of fortune as the drivers might at the end of their service, just drive away without parting with money.
In an interview with Weekend Trust, a few of them spoke about their challenges.
Nwachukwu Stephen is 17 years old. He said he engages in the job to support his family and that his daily income ranges between N5000 and N7000.
“I am doing this work because of insufficient funds at home. My father works with a transportation company while my mother sells food items in the market. What they make is not enough for the family. So, I do this work to support the home,” he said.
Stephen, a senior secondary school student at Egan Senior Grammar School, said he started washing cars when he was 15-years-old, adding that he was influenced by one of his friends.
“I started this job two years ago when I saw one of my friends doing it. I make between 5,000 and N7,000 daily, depending on the number of vehicles I am able to clean,” he said.
Although Stephen is unclear about what he wants to become in the future, he told Weekend Trust that he is hopeful of a better tomorrow.
Faud Mohammed, also 17-years of age, began washing cars five months ago.
“I started washing cars on the road in March this year. Nobody introduced me to it,” he said.
Mohammed, a senior secondary school student, who attends a public school at Mosholashi, Alaguntan in Alimosho Local Government Area, said he went into the business without the knowledge of his parents, adding that the amount of money they make is not only dependent on the kind of cars they clean, but also the willingness of the owners/ drivers to appreciate the effort.
He said on the average, he takes home N2000 daily, adding that his daily expenditure is less than N500. He said he pays N10 for a bucket of water and that the detergent cost less than N200.
“There is no specific charge to clean a car. The car owners give willingly to me. Sometimes I make close to N2000 per day. Some might give me N100, N200 or N500. I buy water for N10 per bucket and I spend N50 for five buckets in a day.
“My parents are not aware that I work everyday after the close of school. I use the money to buy clothes and other necessary things,” he said.
Emmanuel Omoniyi dreams of studying Accounting at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and he has started the practical aspect by engaging in a trade and managing his resources.
The 18-year old boy who sat for the 2024 West African Senior Secondary Certification Examination (WASSCE) is working towards securing admission into a university.
“I finished my senior secondary school this year. I want to study Accounting at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU).” he said.
Emmanuel started the job three months ago and he said his friend introduced him to it.
He added that his daily income ranges between N2000-N3000 depending on the car owners/ drivers generosity. He said his mother is aware of his exploits.
“The reason I started it is because I want to earn money. My father is not aware but my mother is aware of what I do and I use the money to take care of myself,” he said.
Samson Ebenezer,12, said he saves N500 daily in his piggy bank from the money he makes cleaning cars.
Ebenezer, who is a junior secondary school student of Ifesowapo Secondary School in Aboru, said he was introduced to the job by a friend. He, however, added that he hopes to learn a vocational skill.
“I was influenced by my friend. I am doing this to make a living for myself. I am in JSS 1 in Ifesowapo Secondary School. I save N500 daily. I want to go for training on how to make aluminum,” he said.
He said his father is a commercial driver and his mother is a food vendor.
Commenting on the trend, a human right activist, Funke Ajayi, expressed displeasure, describing the young boys as victims of the society.
“It is the society that has made them so. They are not supposed to be doing that now. You know that an average Nigerian is living in abject poverty, so they believe that by going out to the road to clean cars, they will be able to meet up their daily needs.
“We cannot condemn them because they are searching for what to eat and it is even better for them to do it than to steal”, she said.
She urged the Lagos State government to devise a way of taking young boys and girls off the street in order to forestall societal disorder.
“I am not encouraging it, but that is the situation they have found themselves in. I urge the government to look into it and address it,” she added.
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