Graduates as Keke NAPEP operators

Against the wide spread belief that Keke Napep operators are mostly school dropouts and uneducated youth, Chinonye Ndeokwelu explores the world of Keke Napep operators as she unveils the hidden truth surrounding handlers. I was told to get educated if I want to make it in life. I was able to train myself with Keke Napep job at Benue State Polytechnic until I finished my HND two years ago. My biggest regret is that I wasted money training myself. I have nothing to show for it.”
Those were the words of Musa Idris, a 29-year old graduate, who started operating Keke Napep in 2003. He was brought to Abuja by an uncle from Maiduguri and left thereafter to fend for himself. Keke Napep was a life saver for him as he was taught to ride and handed one to manage himself with.
The Keke-NAPEP (National Poverty Eradication Programme) project was launched in 2001 as a model poverty eradication strategy by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was aimed at converting the legion of area boys from an idle and wasting national human capital into a gainfully productive work force and creating mass gainful employment through the establishment of large numbers of small-scale transportation business particularly for the youth.
Generally, the project is mainly viewed as a poverty eradication initiative because it possesses attributes which include: composite and mass gainful employment, sustainable wealth creation , provision of affordable mass transit services; and providing opportunities for other ancillary mobile business services such as vending potable water, mobile food canteens ,mobile grocery shops and post delivery. Furthermore, the project provides a practical opportunity for technical entrepreneurs and related small businesses to facilitate a smooth, appropriate technological transfer for the evolution of a Nigerian-made keke.
Idris however gave further insight. According to him,”After my service year my first attempt of finding a Job was to join the army. I wrote the exams, went for the screening but all to no avail. I have submitted applications to no fewer than 200 offices across Nigeria. No response yet. I studied Personnel Management but it’s all a waste. “
He lamented further: “It’s not my intention to be a Keke Napep rider. I’m doing it to survive. I’m tired of the way things are done in Nigeria. I have gone to school to acquire education to better my life and yet, there are no jobs. Sometimes I regret the pains I went through to see myself through school.
This work is not a small job. It’s not something a human being should be doing. It’s a very hard work; it’s harder than farming. If you carry three people, one behind and one in front, vehicles can cross you or either way. It’s very heavy. You use your strength to carry people around,” he lamented.
Out of the estimated N3,500 that Idris makes in a day, he remits about N2,000 to the Keke Napep owner, buys N500 fuel and N1,000 will be his income.
He explained that with the sum of N1,000, he buys two gallons of water to wash himself and do chores as the area where he lives at Dei dei has no water supply. After buying his dinner for N300, he is left with N700. He spends N100 for breakfast before starting the day’s job. Out of the N600 he is left with, he saves N500 with a microfinance contribution collector daily and keeps the remaining N100 for emergencies.
In a similar situation, Mr Ade Adesina, who started riding Keke in 2011, believes the business has made a headway for him in diverse aspects. He explained: “I finished my ND in 2008 at Federal Polytechnic, Bida. To complete my HND, I had to look for a job to save up money. I got a job with a microfinance bank where I was paid N10,000 monthly. It wasn’t enough to ‘further’ my education. I was therefore introduced to somebody who gave me Keke on higher hire purchase of N250,000 in which I finished paying by instalment in 2012. “
As the first child of six children, Ade, who is currently driving Keke along Garki road, further disclosed that the business had helped him in sustaining his parents, his siblings and himself. However, the young man lamented that the viability of the business was hampered by the restriction placed by the government on keke drivers in specific areas.
“Before, I made N5,000 a day but now I make about N3,500 a day with hard work, as a result of the restriction to specific areas now. Keke has helped me a lot; if I had continued with the microfinance bank, I wouldn’t have been able to save money to further my education. I am only at home now because of the ASUU strike.”
Shedding more light on the business, Musa Ibrahim, Chairman of Keke Napep, Abuja Municipal Council (AMAC) lamented the challenge of restriction. He said: “There are areas where government decided we should not go and we agree with them, like Maitama, Wuse 2, Area 11, Airport road, Berger, Mabushi. But in areas where the masses and the less privileged people are living, the government should create a route for keke to work to help serve the poor masses better.”
He explained that, before now, government used to assist through NAPEP but at the moment, it no longer came to their aid. “We have more than 500 registered people that are waiting for keke to ride and some of them are graduates,” he added.
While calling on the Nigerian public to come to their aid, he said: “We the leaders are calling on people to assist us like the government, banks and individuals. We are asking them to partner with us so that the business can move forward. The way the drivers get keke to ride is only through the government, banks and individuals.”
At the moment, keke is sold for N400,000. Handlers are expected to pay within the speculated time given to them by the owners. They pay back N12,000 every week until they are able to conclude payments.
Mr Ibrahim continued: “In our office, we have a lot of people that are waiting for keke now. Some graduates come to us after their university education and youth service. Some come to us during school holidays to ride keke for a while.
“We don’t just give keke out, we train operators. It is very simple to drive, especially for those that know how to ride a motorcycle. The experienced ones among them learn how to ride within a week, others take a little longer. A trainer takes them around to show them where to go and where not to go, where to park and where not to park.
“Within the FCT, in AMAC, we have more than 8,000 people that are operating keke at the moment. It is not easy to employ more than 8,000 people, I don’t think there is any ministry that has up to 8,000 people employed. Unlike the Okada operators, keke riders hardly have accidents. We are controlling our riders. We can hardly see any violence among keke operators. You can’t commit a crime and run away because it can’t move very fast.
Some graduates are no longer interested in government jobs. They prefer to continue riding keke because it is a nice business for them which is sustaining their living. Among us we have some police officers that ride keke as part time job when they are not on duty.”
The world of operators is facing another challenge—the recent linkage of some of them to Boko Haram operatives. In fact, the controversial killing of a Boko Haram suspects in Apo area of Abuja has heightened the sense of fear within the group. But the union of operators denied any link, positing that they were only interested in securing their livelihood.
While Ade is quite happy with the impact of Keke Napep job in providing for his family, Idris is totally drained, as his expectation of living a better life after the successful completion of his education is now a mirage.
The young man has therefore concluded that: “If I am still living like this by the middle of next year, I will leave Abuja and go to my village to stay.