Keke riders’ ticket
Nigerians are groaning over several road taxes they have been enforced to pay despite the position of the Federal Government.
It can be recalled that the FG declared it had placed a ban on road tax but that doesn’t appear to be the reality of the people across Nigeria.
A trycicle (keke) rider, Obidient Peter, known as @Onihax on X, operating between Lagos and Ogun States, on Wednesday evening shared a post to pour out his grievance over the multiple road taxes he has been enforced to pay.
His post counters the viral advice of buying a ₦5 million tricycle to “triple your money in 6 months” by detailing frequent repairs, weekly hire-purchase payments of ₦60-70k, multiple union stickers, and taskforce extortion that turn the venture into survival rather than easy profit.
@Onihax shared his firsthand experience, revealing daily costs like ₦1,300-1,700 tickets, ₦1,000+ in markers/chairman/security fees, police bribes, and ₦12,000 fuel that drastically cut into the quoted post’s claimed ₦200k daily earnings.
It stresses systemic issues in Nigeria’s informal transport sector draining operators before growth, urging respect for road workers and noting experience shows the hustle involves constant pressure, mental stress, and lack of support beyond personal effort.
“Everybody likes to talk from the outside until you enter the road. I am a keke rider myself, and with experience, no, it is not that easy. This idea of “buy keke ₦5M, make ₦200k daily” sounds sweet online, but reality on ground, it is very different,” he said.
“I work interstate between Lagos and Ogun (can’t mention exact location for security reasons), so let me break it down small: In Lagos alone: Main ticket: ₦1,300; Money for markers, chairman, security, etc: about ₦1,000; Police/agency money (LASTMA, LNSC, etc): varies, but you must settle or risk paying ₦2k–₦10k for “offence”. That is already money gone before you even start breathing.
“Now Ogun side: Main ticket: ₦1,700 (₦1,300 weekends); “King of boys”: ₦200; Other random levies: ₦500; Then fuel: ₦12,000 daily at least; Passengers? They will still price you like fuel is ₦200 per litre.
“We haven’t even talked about: Repairs (very frequent and expensive now); Feeding and daily survival; Weekly hire purchase: ₦60k–₦70k for almost 2 years and let me add this: once a new keke hits 6 months, problems start coming one by one. So when everything is deducted, what exactly is left?
“This job is not “wake up and print money.” It’s survival, patience, and constant expenses. So know that if someone is still broke, it is not always laziness or chasing job titles. Sometimes, it is because the system itself is designed to drain you before you even grow. Respect people on the road. The hustle is deeper than it looks.”
Speaking further, he said these are just some of the stickers keke riders are forced to buy every year because Lagos alone requires multiple stickers — local govt, state, zone, and others depending on the park.
@Onihax lamented that there are the “compulsory” stickers that cost him and his fellow keke operators up to ₦10,000+ with ID card.
“No sticker = pay ₦10k anytime you’re stopped. Ogun State? Even worse. Three different unions, three different stickers and Hackney permit. Miss January deadline and prices double. Same road. Same keke. Different payments… every angle. This is not regulation. This is survival under pressure,” he lamented.
Another keke rider, Victor Chimela, who said he operates in Calabar, Cross River State wrote: “Let me then shock you, come to Calabar, Cross River State and see the baba of them all.
“But the governor had to intervene on that, but yet the task force are still doing their illegal stuff. In Calabar alone, for you to move from Municipal to Calabar South, just buy their ticket.”
Ugochukwu Nwoke added: “Road agberos are plagues that need to be purged once this country starts going through the resetting it needs.”
The Guardian
