Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

West African Migrants and Okada (Commercial Motorcycle) Business in Ibadan Since the 1990s

In Ibadan, Nigeria, urban dysfunction was signified by overcrowding and a chaotic transport system. The widespread use of okada (commercial motorcycle) generated income and inconveniences for urban dwellers. Due to their poor economic background, most okada (commercial motorcycle) riders were in the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Format: Article
Published: 2013
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

MARC

LEADER 00000njm a2000000a 4500
001 oai:repository.ui.edu.ng:123456789/3440
042 |a dc 
720 |a Olaniyi, R. O.  |e author 
260 |c 2013 
520 |a In Ibadan, Nigeria, urban dysfunction was signified by overcrowding and a chaotic transport system. The widespread use of okada (commercial motorcycle) generated income and inconveniences for urban dwellers. Due to their poor economic background, most okada (commercial motorcycle) riders were in the business to buy time and get cheap money. This paper examines the social experiences of young West African migrants who competed with unemployed (or underemployed) Nigerians in the ubiquitous okada business and illuminates the risks and ambition of young migrants in making money in the informal transport sector. Since the 1990s, okada has been a symbol everyday coping mechanisms of the struggling migrants and the urban poor to earn a living against the vagaries of harsh economic realities. The paper argues that there are confrontations over the use of urban space between state authorities and Okada riders. Banning okada invoked a new urban governance dynamics in terms of security and rebranding. Against all the risk factors, West African okada riders continue to struggle with the aspirations of making money. 
024 8 |a 2141-9744 
024 8 |a Ibadan Journal of Humanistic Studies 23 pp. 91-114 
024 8 |a ui_art_olaniyi_west_2013 
024 8 |a http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/3440 
245 0 0 |a West African Migrants and Okada (Commercial Motorcycle) Business in Ibadan Since the 1990s