There is dignity in labour. For pretty Oluwapamilerin Adunni Balogun, that terse, pithy statement is well-defined. ’Pamilerin (God fills me with laughter), 23, a 2017 Mass Communication graduate of Gateway Polytechnic, Ogun State, had found dropping out of school staring her in the face. But rather than deploy her beauty to indecent ends like prostitution in another name for labour, as many ladies do, to solve the problem, she would rather explore the unlikely terrain, for a lady, of commercial tricycle operation.
Adunni, as she loves to be called, prides herself as the Queen Rider, a sobriquet she said she was given as an ambassador for TVS Motor Company, a multinational motorcycle company.
And because of the elegance and finesse she has brought to her job, her passengers would give her another appellation of their own: Sisi Pilot, meaning, a young female pilot.
Adunni finished her secondary education in 2014 and gained admission in 2015 into Gateway Polytechnic.
She was in the thick of that programme when fate would lead her into the commercial tricycle business.
Adunni narrated, “Initially, I did not choose to ride a Marwa because I had been helping my mother at her shop since I completed my secondary education. But in 2016, when I was already at the polytechnic, my brother, a keke Marwa operator, had a fatal accident, which involved two other persons who were seriously injured. My mother had to spend all her life savings to ensure that my brother and the other two persons survived.
“When, eventually, we came out of the situation and they all survived, my mother told me she would no longer be capable of sponsoring my education. I cried bitterly because a lot of my mates were going to school then. Then, a male friend discussed this keke Marwa business with me, saying it could be fetching me some money.
“So I approached a company for a keke on hire purchase and was asked to come with my mother so they could be sure she was aware of what I was trying to do.
“When I got home, I told my mother about my intention. She rained abuses on me, saying she was never in support of it and I wanted to kill her. She shouted questions on why I would want to go into a business that my brother did not only do unsuccessfully, it almost killed him and ruined her financially.
“She discouraged me, but I encouraged myself because I had to pay for my school registration, which cost N56,000. As I was determined but my mother wouldn’t go with me, I hired someone else to act as my mother.
“Still, my mother warned me not to do the keke business. When I collected the tricycle, I gave it to someone to ride and deliver money to me. This I did so I could face my studies. I was to be repaying the keke money on a weekly basis and the first week payment was crucial.
“To worsen matters, the man I gave the keke to operate had an accident the very first week and the keke windscreen was broken. I was thrown into a dilemma because I must pay the instalment for the first week and also needed to change the windscreen, otherwise it couldn’t be used for any business,”
The grim situation threw Adunni into confusion, as she remembered she had been warned by her mother not to dabble into the venture. “I became very disturbed but was left with no other choice than to tell my mother what had happened. I begged her to help me with money so I could offset my first payment.
“She initially refused but later agreed and supported me with the first payment. Then she prayed for me. One of my neighbours thereafter advised me to learn how to ride a tricycle since the man operating mine on my behalf was always complaining. I heeded the advice and within two days, I was skilled riding it and was good to go. I began plying the road.
“My mother was shocked the first day she saw me riding the keke. She wept profusely. But then because she saw my unflinching desire to succeed in the business, she resorted to praying for me. That was how I became a keke Marwa rider,” she narrated.
Sisi Pilot, who has been in the business for three years, expressed satisfaction in the job. Being a female, she quipped, she gets lots more opportunities than her male counterparts.
“People honour me and appreciate me more than they do the male keke riders. In fact, in the course of riding keke Marwa, I have met many people who have inspired me in one way or the other,” she said.
Interestingly, the Queen Rider, who boldly scripted ‘Adunni o ni Marwa’, meaning Adunni, the Marwa rider on her tricycle, dresses gorgeously every Monday, with cool make-up to match.
beginning of a new working week and she has, as such, decided to make a grand entry into every week. “I also dress very well other days of the week because I believe that my keke Marwa is my office. Monday is, however, usually special,” she said.
Adunni is dreaming beyond mere keke Marwa commercial riding. She aspires to become a big business woman with a company that supplies tricycles to operators who would be paying for them in instalments at a cheaper rate.
Happy in the attainment that as a spinster, she has been contributing to taking care of her family since she began the keke Marwa business, she declared there was nothing to be shy of in what she is doing. “In fact, I ride with pride and I see many young ladies like me and even older women look at me with admiration,” she said. Indeed, God is filling Pamilerin with laughter.
Adunni advised youths to look beyond white collar jobs and be innovative. According to her, “It is not only white collar jobs that can fetch good money. Work hard, be focused, think right and you will get there,” she asserted.
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