What a man can do, a woman can do, if not better. It is no longer a new thing to see women doing the jobs regarded to be meant for men. After all, everyone can do anything as long as the heart is set on it.

I had a discussion with my good friend, Comfort. She talked about her experience on the Lagos road where she saw a beautiful lady running a ”Keke Napep” business. Comfort sees it as an opportunity for everyone in the country to stand up and do something, especially fresh graduates.

The situation in the country is no longer a joke, the truth remains, Nigeria needs help. Our fresh graduates must definitely stand up to the current situation in the country and pick up whatever job they can find. The story of this Keke Queen is truly an inspiration for many.

Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Okeyi Ojotule Comfort.  A graduate of Theater Arts from Kogi State University, Kogi. I served in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and I have vast interest for the media which includes both print and the mass media.

That’s really great. What do you do currently?
I’m an event manager for a sound and entertainment company – ”The prestigious Shuga Entertainment.”

Where is the company located?
At Ojodu Berger, Lagos State.

I saw your comment on one of my posts about “Keke Queens”. Can you share more about that?
I have been hearing about female tricycle riders until I saw one in October 2018, while I was in another Keke.

I was so excited to see this. Although I was unable to drop that day, I managed to trace her to the place where I saw her the next day. I was directed to her house and I did meet with her.

She welcomed me and we had a great conversation. She talked about her business. It was indeed an interesting one.

After meeting with her, I said to myself that every woman who is into the Keke Riding Business must really have an interesting story.  Since then, It has always been in my heart to do a documentary that will tell the whole world their courageous story because driving Keke is not an easy thing to do. It is mostly regarded as a job for the men.

There I tagged her the “Keke Queen”.

Do you mean she drives keke to earn a living?
Yes, she does.

What did you actually learn from her that has triggered this passion for Keke in you?
The courage to make that decision.

That type of courage is rare and sometimes in life, you just have to take that risk. She told me how she was mocked. She shared how she was in debt.

She told me she didn’t even learn how to ride it before it was leased to her, and she had to pay a certain amount of money in a week.

Her first day at work, she was scared. So many mixed feelings were bottled up. So many unanswered questions.

But despite this, she took the risk and today, she earns a living from it and also contributes to solving transport issues in Lagos state.

That takes a whole lot of guts. Would you ever have done the same?
Yes,  it definitely takes a lot of guts. I learnt from her story and I can do the same now if I find myself in a situation that would warrant that.

We are in a society where women are sometimes restricted from doing some tasks. What do you see to that?
I’m a strong advocate for equal opportunities. The excuse for restricting me shouldn’t be because of my gender, but because I am incapable.

Have you ever had any experience of such at work?
No. I haven’t.

Let’s hope you won’t experience such at your place of work. How many years did it take you to get a job after graduation?
2 months.

What’s your advice for every job seeker out there?
Don’t just pick up anything because you want something. It should be something you enjoy doing.

Finally, don’t give up on your search. You may get frustrated along the line, but never give up. The job that meant for you will come.

And lastly, what will you say to a young girl reading this interview?
Being a young girl in a Nigeria society, be it a student or a job seeker comes with its challenges. They expect you to follow the give and take rule that have already established.

They want you to give out your body in exchange for whatever you want. It occurs most times. But, hey, stay put. Don’t give up. Do not succumb. Do not let them say “she’s just a woman or just a girl”.

Be ready to work your way to success. Don’t stick to the status quo. Don’t let them marginalize you. Bring out the best in you. Together we all can change the world.

Thank you, Comfort. It has been a wonderful time chatting with you. You are indeed a great woman on a great mission. I wish you success in your endeavours.
You are as well Chinedu. It’s a rare privilege and I’m grateful. Thank you for granting me audience.

The Nigerian closed borders appear to be close to its reopening. The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama, said a consensus has been reached to that effect by the three neighboring countries, Nigeria, Niger, and Benin Republic.

A four hour meeting held last week gave birth to the hope that the borders will be opened under the watch of joint border patrol. The communiqué of the meeting revealed that the countries have agreed on a provision of such a measure of security around the border areas, as the solution to many of its problem which smuggling and human trafficking are paramount.

Onyeama disclosed that a meeting has been billed for 25 and 26 of November, where the security personnel designated by each country to make up the joint patrol team will deliberate on the modalities to be implemented in order to minimize, or if possible, halt smuggling activities completely.

He said there have been some measures agreed upon which includes establishment of a committee by the three countries that is made up of ministers of Finance, Trade, Foreign Affairs, Customs, Immigration and National Security Adviser. They must work together to contain the prevalence of smuggling.

“Also, the establishment of Trade Facilitation Committee among the three countries, comprising ministers of Finance and Trade in order to promote intra-regional trade among the three countries as well as put in place sanctions against smuggling of goods and to ensure persons from the three countries enter/exit each other’s states with valid Ecowas recognized travel documents through recognized control posts,” he said.

The Minister explained that the Committee will do more. He said they will formulate inter alia measures and actions that would facilitate and improve other measures already taken to curtail smuggling of rice and other contraband goods.

Other challenges regarding goods and services that are not approved in the Ecowas Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), were also discussed besides the issue of free movement of people with valid Ecowas means of identification and the operation of illegal warehousing along the border lines.

“The meeting acknowledged smuggling of goods as well as human trafficking as a collective violation of Ecowas protocols on ETLS and free movement that pose severe economic and security threats to intra-regional trade and free movement. Border closure always has an impact at the end the day, it is about the mischief we are addressing.

“The mischief in our case is in the area of food security and also security itself through smuggling of small weapons and light arms and human trafficking. The mischief we are addressing is much more important than the cost. The costs are high, the benefits are high,” he said.

The impact of the border closure is telling terribly on both countries that the need to act fast in addressing the challenges that resulted in the shutdown cannot be over-emphasized. apart from hunger emanating from high cost of food items, businesses within the countries in West Africa have suffered massive losses estimated at over N5 trillion.

While Nigeria is exerting the big brother muscle over the other countries, its businesses are suffering even more. Exporters in Nigeria are expressing fear that they may not stay in business if this situation continues for long. Land borders command the highest percentage of intra-African trade and provide cheap alternative for SMEs that operate beyond borders. So the longer the borders stay closed, the higher the price businesses have to pay.

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported year on year headline inflation at 11.61 percent in October 2019, from 11.24 percent in September, the highest in 18 months. Food inflation came at all time high at 14.09 percent in October, from 13.51 percent in September. The major contributor to these increases is the closed borders. Apart from the claim by the Nigerian Custom Service that it is generating N5 billion daily, courtesy of the closed borders, it has been losses on all sides.

There have been reports of heavy smuggling activities in the Nigeria-Niger border that are orchestrated by the customs and security agents who are supposed to be the watchdog. It is perceived as an indication that closure will not solve the problem of smuggling in the borders.

While there has been applause about the proposed multi-national joint task-force that will patrol the borders and effect the needed security that will tame smuggling and human trafficking, there is also concern that eventually, corruption will get in the way and things will go back being business as usual.

Earlier this week, residents of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria woke up to the news that keke (popularly known as tricycles) will not be plying some routes it had earlier plied.

This came as a surprise as workers and commuters who depend on the services of tricycles to get to their various places of work and destinations were disappointed.

School students were not left out.

The authorities claim that operators of tricycles in Abuja have violated the law by transporting commuters to areas where they lacked jurisdiction. They work in city centers instead of the villages and within estates.

So it is safe to say that they have been restricted; not totally banned. They’ve been protests and agitations against the new move by keke operators and commuters.

There are about three sides to the keke matter.

1. The FCT Authorities
2. The Keke operators/Drivers and their Associations
3. The passengers (citizens)

On the part of the authorities, they believe that the activities of keke breaches the law. They maintain that keke operators have stepped beyond their boundaries and territories as they now work in city centers instead of the interior routes and villages originally mapped out for them.

The Belief is that keke is largely used to perpetrate crimes and they are responsible for a number of accidents on our roads as some of its drivers are either uneducated or lack basic driving education. So to ensure a peaceful city, the restriction on keke is necessary.

Apparently, the reality of the ban/restriction have prompted certain thoughts on the minds of Nigerians living in Abuja.

If you ask me, I will say that the restriction on keke is harsh considering the period we are in. A lot of these young men are struggling to make ends meet. The economy is also not smiling. The manner of implementation does not go well with the citizens, those who are at the grassroots and largely affected directly or indirectly by the ban on keke.

First, thousands of young able bodied men will become Jobless overnight. It is not news that a lot of families depend on the keke business. It has now become a source of livelihood for them. The ripple effect is that these men may take to crime and other vices and this ultimately threatens the security of Abuja. This is simply because the market has been deflated. They cannot make as much money as they used to. The FCT Authorities should have designed a system to support and upgrade the keke operators to taxi drivers via a balance and carry scheme or something.

Stranded passengers are not left out. They now trek long distances to get taxis plying their routes. And the sad part of this development is that operators of taxis have increased their prices since the ban, such that distances normally covered by keke for 50 naira now cost 100 naira for same distance with taxi. Other distances normally charged 100 naira by keke operators now goes for 200 naira with taxis. The taxi operators have literally become insensitive to the plight of daily commuters and I think the authorities should wade in on this to cushion the effect of the ban of keke from city centers on commuters.

I think that the authorities would have done better by announcing to keke operators and indeed the general public a reasonable deadline of say January 1^st, 2020 to restrict the activities of keke from city centers. This way, all parties involved will be able to plan effectively for the new policy. Some keke operators may decide to relocate to other states were they can operate at best. Others will take time to simply migrate to another business. Some will still continue on the business. The deadline would have exonerated the authorities and put the keke operators on the spotlight when they fail to comply by Jan 1^st, 2020.

As regards the provision of palliative transportation system, Abuja residents have not really seen the positive effect of the shuttle buses as most of them come out around 10am in the morning after commuters have gone to work. I mean we need these buses as from 6am-7.30 am in the morning on work days.

It is vital to note that keke has not been banned totally from Abuja. They’ve only been restricted to the villages and the estates and are not required to operate within the city centers. I have faulted the mode of implementation and I believe that we can do better as a people.

Chukwuka Nwbuogor writes from Abuja. Nigeria.