Although the use of motorcycles for commercial purpose had been on in some parts of Cross River State and Yola in Adamawa State since the 1970s, the resort to Okada as a popular means of commercial transportation across the country was in response to the hard times of the 1980s occasioned by the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the Ibrahim Babangida administration.
The IBB administration had contemplated taking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan but thought it wise to subject the final decision to a public debate. Nigerians generally rejected the loan and the government accepted the position of the populace but it then came up with the SAP to be able to cope with the economic realities of the time. The SAP, which was an austerity measure, birthed inflation though there was a reduction of money in circulation. This affected the income of many people, especially those in the lower strata of the society. As a way of making ends meet, many civil servants who had cars used them for commercial purposes in the morning and evening. Soon, motorcycle owners joined and used their scooters to convey passengers to earn extra income.
The name Okada was adopted from Okada Air, a local airline established by Chief Gabriel Igbinedion because of the ease with which the commercial motorcycles manoeuvre through traffic to take passengers to their destinations timely just as the airline.
As the economy improved in the 1990s, there was migration to the urban centres. This forced up rents in the cities. Those who could not afford the high rent had to move farther away from the city centres to less developed areas, some to put up their own structures, others to rent cheaper apartments. Since the roads were not paved, it was difficult to persuade commercial vehicles to ply those roads. Commercial motorcyclists saw an opportunity in this and concentrated on plying their trades in city outskirts. At this time, it was still a part time business for low income earners who sought avenues to boost their revenue. However, Okada riding has since become a fulltime business with even university graduates getting involved in it.
Okada riding, which started as a spare time engagement, is now considered a worthy business by the operators. According to Babangida Maihula, President of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle and Tricycle, Owners, Repairers and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), while speaking at the 2019 mini convention of the association, in Abuja, there are over 10million bike riders in the country. With a motorcycle rider delivering between N3,000 and N4,000 daily, the Okada business generates at least N30billion daily. This is probably why Damilola J. Micah and Gabriel O. Owagbemi both of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, submitted in a paper, Mainstreaming Commercial Motorcycle as Sustainable Source of Economic Survival, published in 2018, that “In the real sense, commercial motorcycle business contributes to the economy of those engaged in the sector and by extension an expansion of gross domestic product (GDP).”
According to sociologists, a number of factors have been responsible for the rising interest of Nigerians in Okada riding as a form of business.
Nigeria’s population grows at the rate of 3 per cent per annum, while the economic growth oscillates between 1.2 per cent and 2 per cent per annually. That means the economic growth cannot support the burgeoning population growth rate. In addition, Nigeria turns out about 1.5million tertiary institution graduates annually without any plan to gainfully engage them after school. Many of them after embarking on job hunting for a number of years are frustrated and are willing to take up any job, including riding Okada, just to keep body and soul together.
That is the story of Olawale Joshua, a Lagos-based Okada rider. He had high expectations after his graduation from the university with a second class lower division in Economics. However, after years of job hunting, his hope for a better life was dashed, he became disillusioned but rather than engaging in crime, he resorted to riding Okada to eke out a living.
According to him, “I graduated with a 2.2 in Economics from the university. But after five years of job searching, I decided to take up the Okada job. It is with it, I cater for myself, wife and son. So, if a better job comes, it’s welcome and if it does not, I am contented with this.”
