Moves to ban the keke Napep would put thousands of drivers out of work and leave commuters stranded
BLOOMBERG
At the Gudu junction where the expansive main road of Abuja’s business district ends, dozens of yellow three-wheeled rickshaws have commandeered a portion of the highway, jostling to pick up commuters heading into the suburbs at the close of work.
But Nigeria’s capital plans to ban an essential mode of transport for its millions of poor citizens because of the role authorities say they play in a crime and kidnapping crisis that is engulfing the country’s second-richest city.
“It is painful, but it’s an inconvenience that we must face,” Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike told residents’ associations in a November meeting. “Some of these keke Napep are agents of criminals.”
With its tree-lined boulevards and picturesque hill outcroppings, Abuja is touted as Africa’s model capital by Nigeria’s ultra-rich politicians, its high rents acting as buffer against the poor. But growing poverty and insecurity have driven a large number of poor people into the city, leading to the rise of urban slums, symbolized by the rickshaws.
“We must bring the FCT back where it is supposed to be,” Wike said on his first day in office as territory minister in August. By targeting the rickshaws, he’s seen as executing an elitist agenda of reclaiming Abuja for Nigeria’s rich.
