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VBCampaign:
Challenges of a “Marwa” Transporter in Ibadan

by Deji Yesufu

For Sheu Gaozu, a “Marwa” transporter on the streets of Ibadan, the race to “deliver” is a rat race against survival. And since he is left with very few available means to livelihood, he must take the bull by the horn.

Marwa or Keke transportation is a popular system of transport here in Ibadan. It involves the use of a tricycle to transport passengers from one destination to another.

The tricycle transport, Marwa, is named after the former military Governor of Lagos State, retired Brigadier Buba Marwa.

Marwa was Governor from 1996-1999 and had introduced the tricycle as a system of transport to aid low earning individuals to make a living in the state.

Soon enough this mode of transportation had caught on in Nigeria; especially in places where cars would not ply and where motor bikes were too dangerous to use for transport.

In many respect, Marwa has turned out to be safer and even more economical than the bikes that many use for transportation.

The story of Sheu, however, unveils the ugly side of Marwa transport business in Ibadan.

Sheu Gaozu acquired his brand new Marwa tricycle at higher purchase from a Microfinance Group. The vehicle cost them N650,000. Each of the vehicles were given to Sheu and his friends at N950,000.

They are required to pay back the money on the tricycle each week. This pay back is called deliver in local parlance. Everyone chooses what amount will suit him best. Sheu chose to return N16,500 at the end of each week. It would take him a little over 14 months to complete payment. If he defaults to pay, the tricycle would be collected from him and the money he had paid up till that moment would be forfeited. If Sheu completes paying the money on the bike, the vehicle becomes his.

Sheu does not think that the deal is impossible to surmount. The trouble is not in the deliver; the trouble is the reality of the streets!

Sheu plies his trade on the long stretch of road that links the popular Gate in Ibadan with New Garage, somewhere after Orita Challenge. When business is good, Sheu makes an average of N25,000 every week. His real pursuit daily is to get hold on the N3,000 – N3,500 deliver money each day. That way, he is confident that he can give at least N21,000 to the Cooperative Group by the close of the week.

Sheu has a mandatory N300 ticket he must purchase at Gate. This ticket costs N150. But for reasons best known to the Road Transport Workers at that end, Sheu and his fellow tricycle transporters must cough out another N150 that is not receipted. If his daily charges as a transporter had been N300 only, Sheu would have no problem. But this is the beginning of his challenge each day.

At every bustop, there are other monies that Sheu and his fellow Marwa riders must pay. This money is called “Owo-ita” – translated literarily: “outing money” or the money a transporter gives for coming out to work that day. This Owo-ita costs N50 and on the Gate/New Garage stretch of road, Sheu pays this money at Gate, Bere, Ojo-Oba, Idi-Arere, Molete, Challenge, Orita and New Garage. He gives the money when going and also while returning, thus sealing his due for that day. If he were to pay all these monies, it would amount to N800 each day.

This Owo-Ita is not receipted and no one knows who authorises the collecting of these monies and where it goes to. Rumour has it that even top politicians in the State get their share of these largesse.

Then at each of these bustops, there are police men and women who also collect their own N50. The police people on duty in the morning will collect their share and the ones in the afternoon will also collect their share. Amounting to another N800 daily. Marwa transporters must pay the police this money or their vehicles will spend the day at the police station and they would be required to pay another amount for its release.

The total amount doled out illegally by Sheu each day will be N1,750; instead of the paltry N150 he is to pay for his daily ticket at the Gate end of business.

So, beside N3,000 deliver money, Sheu must work to get another N2,000 to pay off his illegal dues before he begins to think about his own profit. He has to also service his tricycle every two weeks and this will cost N3,000. If the tricycle is not serviced, its lifespan will be shortened and he may not be able to complete his deliver money.

This cost is also besides the ten litres of Petrol he must purchase each day for his business. At N180 per litre, Sheu is spending close to N2,000 for fuel too each day.

To run his Marwa business, therefore, Sheu must make at least N7,500 each day to offset running cost, before he begins to work for his profit that day.

Sheu thinks business is not bad and that he still makes sufficient profit to take home and look after his wife and new born child; but this is done at a price to his health and even danger to his life. While the money demanded by the police cannot be avoided, the real drama of the streets are the stunts Sheu undertakes to avoid paying Owo-Ita.

Sheu says to make sufficient profit each day, he has to resort to “ogboju” or “were” to avoid paying Owo-Ita. Ogboju is to deal a strong face at the area boys that come for this Owo-Ita. Were is a show of madness.

Sheu knows the streets very well and the area boys know him too. He has had to fight his way to freedom on many occasions , to avoid his trouble, the area boys leave him to his madness. He recalls how one day he had worked very late and had still not made enough for that day. He was due to pick his wife and young child at her shop and was trying desperately to get passengers to his tricycle.

This area boy comes out of nowhere; apparently he was new to that scene. He demands that Sheu pays Owo-Ita. Sheu refuses. The area boy seizes Sheu’s foot mat. Sheu parks his bike properly and launches a physical attack on the area boy. There is a scuffle. The area boy realises that Sheu has were. He releases his foot mat to him. Sheu drives off with a passenger who had observed everything that had happened that night.

Incidentally, Sheu drops this passenger off right where his wife and child were waiting for him. The passenger looks carefully at him and says “looking at you, no one would know you could act the way you did back there…” Sheu’s wife asks him whether he had been involved in a fight again. Sheu ignores her question as he roars his tricycle to life and drives home.

This is just one out of many ways young men and women are trying to survive the harsh economic reality that they have found themselves in within Nigeria. When a transporter is supposed to pay N150 but ends up paying N2,000 as dues daily, he is left with such a little amount to add to whatever profit he must make to keep body and soul together.

And this challenge is not peculiar to Marwa transporters alone. The taxis and motor bike riders face even more challenges. Sheu states that he prefers to ride the Marwa because he has experience in this field of transport. Besides driving, he can repair the vehicle when it is faulty.

The Oyo State government would need to look into this situation. If the illegal Owo-Ita and monies collected by policemen is removed, transporters will make a lot more profit each day and the cost of transportation would even fall.

Government must consider this matter very carefully. If the ordinary man who is trying to eke out a living is continually frustrated from doing this legitimately, he would be forced to employ illegitimate means to survive. For others who cannot do this, when their frustrations exceed a certain level, they may turn against their oppressors – precipitating a revolution.

Source: http://mouthpiece.com.ng/challenges-of-a-marwa-transporter-in-ibadan/
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lawsbanks:
Carry ur marwa com lagos. Ur story will change. Simple

taylor89:




You rushed to gain FTC with just typing OK



Ran out of ideas of what to say



Thinking and rehearsing one of your nonsense quotes to spew



But unfortunately you have forgotten that god of THURsday is for thunder



Be careful

lawsbanks:
Carry ur marwa com lagos. Ur story will change. Simple

lamilare:
It is Maruwa not Marwa