The time was about 8pm. I just returned from a trip outside the state one evening, last week. At Iwo Road Under Bridge, I boarded a Mokola/Roundabout-bound commercial Keke Marwa, enroute the NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan, to pick my car.
The driver of the Keke Marwa, was a woman; it is nothing unusual as many like her abound in the city. The hijab she wore could not mask her beauty. Eleha Sewa (real name Salawat Abiodun) is a neat and smart 37-year-old lady who was well-knitted for the job as a Keke Marwa commercial driver.
I was the first passenger in her Keke; she jumped out to call more passengers. After picking three other passengers, she hit the road and we headed for our destination.
Her dexterity behind the wheel and the way she was perfectly maneuvering through the road, gliding in-between oncoming vehicles and other commercial Keke Marwa, was simply eye-catching and interesting.
Beyond her expertise behind the wheel was her jovial nature, comportment and good mannerism while the ride from Iwo Road to Mokola Roundabout lasted.
Her phone rang almost immediately after we took off: “I am so sorry, I just left the house. E ma binu. I will soon be at home. I just felt that I should do some little hustling before night falls. I just picked two passengers,” she said to the person at the other end of the phone who turned out to be her husband.
The telephone conversation with her husband brought out the news-hound trait in me. We got to our destination (all of us, except one, alighted at Mokola Roundabout). I asked her if we can have a conversation for a few minutes. She responded in the affirmative.
The responses of Eleha Sewa to my questions were pathetically revealing. It was the story of a young woman who is facing all odds to survive and live. Beyond her smile, cool mien and veiled behind the hijab is a woman determined to ensure a good life for herself and her family.
Who is Eleha Sewa?
My real name is Salawat Abiodun but I am more popular with the nickname, Eleha Sewa. People call me by that nickname probably because I do wear hijab. I am not really a hijab-wearing person in real life, but I do put it on while working to save myself from embarrassing amorous advances from men, including my male colleagues and male passengers.
How did you become a commercial Keke Marwa driver?
It is a long story but it was fate and destiny, I want to believe. I will start from the beginning. I originally trained and was practicing as a hairdresser. I had a flourishing hairdressing salon with many apprentices. It is a profession I so much love with passion.
But I later became a commercial Keke Marwa driver about four years ago. One of my cousins was seriously sick. She was the only child of her mother. We took her to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. She was a youth corps member who was then serving in Ikirun, Osun State. We spent a lot of money on her, but we eventually lost her.
While we were busy attending to her health, I could not go to my salon to attend to my business. Then, there was a case of burglary theft. I lost all my equipment and money to the incident.
To get back on my feet, I joined a cooperative society where I took a loan of ₦400,000. I went into selling soft drinks but there was another case of burglary theft, some two weeks after I started the business and I lost all again.
All my apprentices left and I was left all alone. I was faced with matrimonial problem and depression set in. But I have four biological children and two other adopted children that I must take care of. So, I had to brace up and face the challenges of life.
I became an Esuru [Ona in Igbo and Kosanrogo in Hausa] seller. My mother was against my decision to be an Esuru seller; she believed that it is a business for àwọn àgbà (the initiates). But I stuck with my gun. I started selling boiled Esuru, but with a very good packaging; I was selling with rich stew sources which I was selling separately at ₦100 per spoon.
One of my mother’s friend took me to where they were selling fresh Esuru. The woman greatly supported me in all ways. I was told to join Esuru Sellers Association. I also engaged in selling fresh eggs. Then, I had a male friend who was very supportive financially.
But fate struck again: I was attacked and robbed. I had nothing left on me. My children were at home; they couldn’t go to school. My friend assisted me and I went into selling cooked yam and beans and also noodles. Again, I had a spiritual attack; my tubers of yam got spoiled.
How I eventually became Keke Marwa driver
I have a big aunt who had a male friend. The man was into the business of Keke Marwa. I was taken to him. He taught me how to drive Keke. Because I was initially awkward at learning, he told me that I cannot do the trade. But I insisted on learning how to do it. I was spending money to learn it. And that is how I found myself in the trade.
Keke Marwa feeds me and my children but I prefer hairdressing
Keke Marwa has been my only source of livelihood since then. Through the trade I have been taking care of myself and the six children. It is face-saving since I cannot go into prostitution or throw myself at men in order for me to survive. I also have a family, my children, that I have to support and provide for.
However, being a Keke Marwa operator is not an easy job; it is particularly not a job for women. If I can have enough money, I will like to go back to my profession, hairdressing, which is more fulfilling and which gives me more joy. It is a craft I so much love doing.
Challenges facing female Keke Marwa drivers
There are lots of challenges in the trade. Unless God says amen, there is nothing to safe. It is very hard and difficult to live and survive. First and foremost, being a woman, and married one for that matter, I have limited time to work as I have my home and children to take care of. This greatly affects how much I am making. I have little or no amount to safe after attending to basic necessities.
Importantly, there are lots of bad perceptions about us, as female Keke operators. Many men out there, including most of our male colleagues and passengers, see us as being wayward and as prostitutes. We are often objects of embarrassments and ridicules. There is no dignity or honour in being a female Keke Marwa driver.
Some of our passengers are always so saucy; they often subject us to a lot of ridicules. This is what I often go through. They do make amorous passes at me and that is why I have been wearing hijab to ward off sexual advances from men. I do weep when they embarrass and curse me.
Though it is not peculiar to me, I am tired of the unending sexual harassments. I am a human being with my shortcomings too, but I don’t have any man among them. My Keke Marwa is my boyfriend; I don’t even have time to think about men because I do retire home often tired.
