Life from the dashboard of a Lagos yellow cabman
My phone was dead, as it is more often than that of the average person. Ordering a ride was not an option and so I stood by the roadside and flagged down a yellow cab. It’s the first time in a long time and as always in my past experience, I sat next to an elderly man who must have seen this same life for at least 3 more decades. I always tried to have a conversation and this time was to be no different. I was always curious about how these ‘Babas’ perceived the cab-hailing technology that has become their new competition in the forms of Uber, Taxify, OgaTaxi and more.
“So Baba, these uber people must be affecting your business o. How are you coping with this competition?”
Baba’s response was so good and shocking to come from him (I had judged him, I know) that I am just going to try to paraphrase his response (originally in Yoruba) and ensure to add no further thoughts. Infact, here’s my last sentence and we should see some other time.
“Affecting my business?! No o. You see, in this life, the father will eat, just as the son will. One does not stop the other. If you are talking about uber, how about uber okada (Gokada and co)? The way the world works is we are all interconnected with one another. Except you choose to insist that it does, nothing can take away anything. It’s all one same unit and every seemingly new thing is for our collective good. Every day, the ‘Danfo’ will pick people, local bike will pick people, uber bike will do the same, yellow cab, uber taxi, ‘Molue’ buses… everybody will find their own people. However the moment you believe that the presence of more person in the market takes away yours, that begins to become your reality as you become blind to where your own opportunities lie. If you see things from the perspective of abundance, you will realise that there is indeed enough for all of us. Technology is for the good for us all and it is counter-productive for you to see it as your enemy. This is what I do and no matter what happens, I am always seeing more and more goodness. Things will go well, I will make money, feed myself and my family, be in peace and be alright. That’s what we all should be thinking about. We can’t afford to live in the fear of someone taking what is ours. Remember, everything is one connected system and nothing is really lost or gained.”
*the writer pays fare and ponders upon these things on the walk into his compound of residence*
