As Nigeria’s cities swell with urbanisation and its population booms, e-hailing platforms have become a lifeline, offering jobs to people across all age brackets. But beneath the wheels of opportunity lies a curious and troubling reality—while some drivers grapple with soaring fuel costs, others face an unexpected and uncomfortable challenge: passengers turning their vehicles into mobile love nests, among other vile adult activities, writes VICTOR AYENI.
When Muyiwa Falona steered his car through the grand gates of a four-star hotel nestled in the heart of Mojidi Street, Ikeja, Lagos, the soft beep of the e-hailing drivers’ app signified his arrival.
A devoted father of two, his journey into the world of e-hailing cab services began in 2021—a decision borne out of desperation and necessity but sustained by love.
The frenetic business of ferrying strangers through Lagos’ labyrinth of streets has revealed to him a range of human experiences: the good, the bad, downright ugly and utterly bizarre.
Yet, despite the challenges and chaos, his unwavering determination and commitment to provide for his family have remained his driving force.
It was this deep sense of responsibility that kept him navigating the streets of Lagos day after day, braving and enduring the valences of human behaviour.
“There’s hardly anything I haven’t encountered on this job,” Falona told Saturday PUNCH, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and resilience. “I’ve seen it all—rude passengers, kind ones, flirtatious types, and even ‘Yahoo boys’ (Internet fraudsters). I’ve endured things that would easily push the average person to their limit.”
Pausing to recall a recent experience, he continued, “Just last week, I picked up two young ladies who booked a ride at Freeman Street on Lagos Island. These small girls dared to start vaping inside my car without even asking for permission. The arrogance was unbearable.”
Falona’s eyes flashed with the memory as he added, “I was so angry that I pulled over and told them to get out of my car. I’ve let people smoke in my car before, but only after they asked for permission—like the two guys I drove at night a while back. But this? This was outright disrespect.”
A health and safety expert, Emmanuel Bernard, however, warned that exposure to passive smoke in a confined space is harmful.
“Scientific studies have shown that the concentration of toxins in a smoke-filled car is 23 times greater than that of a smoky bar. So it’s dangerous to your health to allow anyone to smoke cigarettes or weed in your car,” he warned.
Recounting another shocking experience, Falona recalled an evening ride when his cab was booked by a young man and a teenage girl. “Normally, when two passengers sit at the back, I mind my business,” he began, shaking his head as if still puzzled by the audacity of the incident. “But that evening, I noticed through my rearview mirror that the girl had started performing a sex act on the guy. I couldn’t believe it.”
Disgust flickered across his face as he continued, “I had to pull myself together and tell them to wait until they got to their destination. I’m certain if I hadn’t stopped them, they would’ve gone all the way in my car. No, I won’t tolerate such behaviour. What is happening to young people nowadays?” the Ondo State-born driver asked his tone a mix of disappointment and disbelief.
Falona’s encounters—ranging from shock to anger and outright disgust—paint a vivid picture of the all-too-familiar realities e-hailing drivers experience daily.
A growing sector
Capitalising on Nigeria’s underdeveloped public transport system, rapid urbanisation, and growing population, e-hailing platforms have been known to offer services that provide users with an alternative to traditional taxis.
These e-hailing cab services use mobile apps to connect passengers with individual drivers. They feature real-time tracking, fare estimation, and cashless payment options.
Checks by Saturday PUNCH revealed exponential growth in e-hailing mobility services, increasing from two operators in 2014 to about 26 operators in 2022 across major cities in the country.
First launched in 2014, an American-owned e-hailing cab service, Uber, began its operations in Lagos, Abuja, and Benin City with aggressive social media marketing.
In 2015, hailing cab platforms such as Jekalo, Afrocab, and Gomyway emerged and started their operations in Lagos and Abuja.
Similarly, in 2016, Bolt (formerly Taxify) entered the Nigerian market and began operations in Lagos, Ogun, Ibadan, Benin City, and Owerri.
That same year, other e-hailing services such as Holy Cab, Palmdrive, Oga Taxi, and GIG Mobility were launched.
InDrive, another popular ride-hailing app, started operations in Lagos in 2019.
Enforcing rules
Amid the thriving business, which has provided many drivers with a flexible work schedule and enhanced passenger comfort, some cab operators admit to being compelled to enforce certain rules for passengers.
One such e-hailing cab driver is Mr Richard Oseni, a married father of three, who disclosed that he engages in the service part-time because he manages two other businesses.
“There is money in this job if you are not lazy,” he told Saturday PUNCH. “But in doing this work, you will realise that many abnormal people are roaming the streets dressed nicely.”
“There was this lady I picked up one afternoon. Guess what she did? She ate amala and ewedu inside the car and placed the takeaway plastic with the remaining soup under the seat. The next lady I picked up mistakenly dipped her shoe into that ewedu soup. I was so angry and embarrassed,” Oseni recounted.
Also recounting his experience, an e-hailing driver who gave his name as Olayemi said he has had occasions where he parked the car to clean out food packs, biscuits, and candy wrappers left by passengers.
“I have my rules placed in the car,” Olayemi noted. “You can’t eat in my ride, and you must not touch any button in the car. If you break any of the rules, I’ll drop you on the highway.”
For some customers, however, hygiene is an endearing characteristic they look for in the ride they book, which they also seek to maintain.
“There are times I get to eat in e-hailing rides. But I take proper precautions while eating so that I don’t leave traces of dirt in the car—to some drivers’ commendations. Observing personal hygiene is inborn; unfortunately, not everybody has it,” an entrepreneur, Deji Oladokun, told our correspondent.
Recalling his trip in an e-hailing cab a few years ago in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, a father of three, Promise Orji, said the car was neat and had chocolates, snacks, menthol lozenges, a water bottle, and a magazine.
“The driver told me, ‘Feel free to take anything.’ It was such a wonderful trip. Although the trip was cut short when I finally woke up to my son calling, ‘Daddy, I want to pee,’” Orji said.
Ratings and misconduct
To enforce acceptable behaviour and curb abuses, various e-hailing platforms have passenger and driver rating systems.
After each ride, drivers rate passengers on a scale of one to five stars. These ratings often reflect a passenger’s behaviour, including punctuality, communication, and overall conduct.
Similarly, passengers rate drivers based on their experiences during the trip, which may include car cleanliness, driving behaviour, navigation, and overall friendliness.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that drivers with ratings above 4.6 stars are often eligible for incentives and bonuses, while those with ratings between 4.0 and 4.5 stars may face reduced incentives.
However, drivers who fall below 4.0 stars risk having their accounts deactivated on the e-hailing platforms.
“The ratings are there for a purpose,” an e-hailing cab driver, Kolawole Abiona, told our correspondent. “If a driver behaves badly, passengers will rate them poorly. I know a driver who was yanked off a platform because of numerous complaints about his car hygiene.
“That is why we want to ensure that customers observe hygiene and proper behaviour, too. Drivers can get yanked off once their one-star ratings reach a certain level.”
Some passengers who spoke to Saturday PUNCH noted that rudeness, stressful engagements, unnecessary familiarity, or flirting could prompt them to give drivers poor ratings.
“I’ve only encountered one rude driver,” an accountant, Bosun, said. “The guy parked far from my pick-up location, and I had to walk to meet him with a heavy bag on my shoulders. This man still spoke harshly to me.
“I was in a hurry that day, so I couldn’t cancel the ride, but I gave him a one-star rating to let him know that what goes around comes around.”
However, an e-hailing driver, Kenneth Emechebe, argued that in ideal situations, drivers are not expected to leave their cars to assist passengers with their luggage.
“It’s a display of courtesy,” Emechebe explained. “If a driver helps you with your bag, it’s out of goodwill. I don’t carry heavy bags in my boot because I can’t keep fixing my shock absorber. I’ll politely tell you to use the courier option.
“It could also be part of security measures. There have been cases where drivers were attacked after stepping out to assist someone with their luggage. So, because of such experiences, some drivers are cautious about being caught unawares.”
“For me, if a male passenger sits alone at the back, I feel uncomfortable,” a middle-aged driver who declined to give his name told our correspondent. “I still understand if it’s a lady, but a young man? What’s that about? Why can’t he sit in the front seat? Is he a princess?”
However, a fashion designer, Maureen Nnaji, explained that many passengers opt for the back seat for safety reasons.
“They don’t know the driver and can’t feel comfortable sitting in the front,” she noted. “If you’ve ever been nearly kidnapped or harassed by the police, you’d prefer to take the back seat to stay more vigilant.”
But for Samuel Ogunloye, the rating system left him puzzled after he discovered a driver had given him a one-star rating despite their seemingly good rapport during the trip.
“I checked my app later that day and saw he gave me a one-star rating,” he recalled. “I had even given him a five-star rating. Honestly, I didn’t know they rated customers, too. I thought only passengers rated drivers. I was so pained.”
High fares, energy costs
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the number of Nigerians who patronised e-hailing cabs slightly reduced due to the hike in petrol prices last year.
On August 3, 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited announced pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit, to N855 per litre, reaching about N1,000 per litre in some filling stations across the country.
Immediately after the announcement of the recent hike in petrol prices, some e-hailing services declared that starting from August 30, 2024, there would be an increase in their fares for their car categories in some cities.
Explaining the financial strain imposed by the increase in fuel price, an e-hailing driver, said, “It affects us when fuel prices go up because the hailing services have their percentage which they charge us for. What I do is to wait till it’s the peak period when I know I will make more gains.
“There are red, yellow and green lines that drivers can use to identify the peak period available. For instance, if many people coming from a programme at Onikan are looking for a ride at once, it can lead to a peak period. The charges for that period will spike, so I take advantage of that.”
Last week, e-hailing drivers, under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria, called on the Federal Government to establish a framework that will regulate the business and take care of the interests of drivers.
However, a United States-based energy expert, Abayomi Ladapo, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, noted that high fuel costs have slashed the earnings for many drivers, while riders contend with surging fares.
“This crisis is not insurmountable,” he said, “provided Nigeria undertakes comprehensive reforms to realign its energy strategy. The Federal government’s ongoing efforts to rehabilitate refineries, including Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna alongside modular refinery investments, are steps in the right direction.
“A functioning domestic refining system would ease dependency on costly imports, stabilising prices and creating a more self-sufficient energy supply. At the same time, Nigeria’s abundant natural gas reserves offer a cleaner, more affordable alternative to oil.”
Ladapo further explained that an expansion of gas infrastructure for both domestic use and exports would reduce oil demand and position natural gas as a key component of the energy mix.
“Investments in renewable energy should also be scaled, leveraging Nigeria’s climate to mitigate long-term reliance on fossil fuels while curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
“By tackling inefficiencies such as pipeline vandalism and logistics bottlenecks, Nigeria can stabilise fuel prices and reduce environmental degradation. An energy strategy rooted in sustainability and resilience is not only achievable but critical for future economic growth,” he added.
Sex in motion
While many e-hailing cab drivers struggle with high fuel costs, some of them are faced with a rather disturbing trend in the course of their jobs: the growing demand by passengers to perform sex acts in their cars.
Several drivers who shared their experiences with Saturday PUNCH admitted that they were offered money by some passengers who wished to fulfil their fantasies of having sex while on motion.
“There was a day while I was driving, two students (a guy and a lady) from a state university in Lagos were performing sexual acts in the back seat. I wasn’t interested initially, but the moaning from both partners was disturbing me.
“As I turned to look, I saw that they didn’t even care that I was there and watching them. At the end of the trip, the guy thanked me and paid me higher than the required fares. To be honest, it’s not my concern,” Dominic Etim, a driver disclosed.
Narrating his experience as a passenger, a tech enthusiast, who gave his name simply as Chima told our correspondent that he once attempted to have sex in a car while returning from a party with his female friend.
“It happened in 2020 when I booked a ride with two of my friends with whom I attended the party. We were all drunk, and in the car things became hot and I started making out with my babe.
“The driver saw us through the mirror parked the car and sent us all out even without minding the money we want to pay. I was only kissing her, I had not even done the deed,” he recalled.
“I had a similar experience one time like that,” another driver Tonye, said, “I was driving this couple who began doing nasty things in the car. I just wound down the glass and switched off the air conditioner.
“You paid me to drive you to your destination and not to have sex in my car. It’s my car and I have the right to define what I consider decent within it. My car is not a mobile hotel.”
Corroborating Tonye’s stance, another driver, Lamidi Adefisayo said, “That’s also my rule. You can’t enter my car and make out. Some of our colleagues encourage this rubbish that is why they keep getting such solicitations. A guy once told me he would add N2,000 to my fare to have sex with his girl during the ride but I turned it down.”
Sharing his experience on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, a user named Celebrity Uber Driver (@ThatUberGuyy) wrote that he did not often care what his passengers do in the back seat.
But his stance appeared to change during his final ride one night when he picked up a couple.
He wrote, “I didn’t turn on the air conditioner because it was cold. Baba started kissing his babe, but the breeze from outside was too much. I brought the windows up because I was coded. The man said ‘Thank you, my guy.’ Well, the way you relate with me before and after you get into my car is how I’ll treat you.
“Most of the time I don’t even talk to passengers until I’m about to end the trip. I just put on my air pods with loud music, I don’t get distracted when I use my air pods.”
Replying to his tweet, another e-hailing driver, Pita Ojonuba also shared an unusual experience he had in Abuja.
“I once picked two guys from one popular hotel in Area 11. These brothers were kissing in the back seat. I parked and asked them out of my car because I was going to kill somebody.
“They begged because it was in the night, so I asked one of them to come to the front. I hate rubbish. I won’t have them behind me, in my car. I am not gay. I don’t like them. I won’t have them in my car making out,” he wrote.
E-hailing sexual acts policy
A policy guide seen by our correspondent on the Uber website prohibits “sexual assault and sexual misconduct of any kind.”
“Sexual assault and misconduct refer to sexual contact or behaviour without explicit consent of the other person. Personal space and privacy should be respected. The following list provides examples of inappropriate conduct but is not exhaustive.
“Behaviours and comments that could make people feel uncomfortable are not acceptable. Examples include nudges, whistles, and winks. Don’t touch or flirt with people you don’t know. Uber has a no-sex rule. Sexual contact is prohibited while using the Uber app, including during a trip or on a delivery.”
A similar policy was posted on the Bolt website as of Thursday morning.
“We believe in women’s rights to their bodies. Nobody should be tricked or coerced into sexual activity.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of sexual violence within our community of passengers and drivers. Any cases reported to us with keywords that point to a sex offence are immediately moved to the top of our priority list and are handled by our High Priority Team.” (Punch)
