Business Lessons from the Streets 1

      There is a new business school in town and guess what, IT IS FREE. Its actually been around for a long while but you know, word hasn’t really gotten out. The only requirements in this school are, “eyes that see”, “ears that hear” and an open and sharp mind.
      Without much ado, may I introduce you to our first lecturers. I have to do an introduction because they are real special. Hmmmmmm (clearing throat), “without a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business/Marketing, they have dominated the business ecosystem in Lagos and even become a symbol of Lagos, home and abroad, ubiquitous in almost all streets of Lagos, I present one of Eko’s finest and unsung hustlers-
   
Commercial Bus drivers and conductors aka Molue drivers, danfo drivers, touts, agberos.

Tools of trade: A yellow painted bus, a mouth awash with
                          expletives, well muscled hands (to wrestle erring
                          passengers), Bad driving skills, proper vehicle
                          registration papers ( which they never possess
                          by the way), membership of the umbrella body
                          NURTW which stands for National Union of Road
                          Transport Workers and knowledge of all the
                          inroads and byroads in Lagos.
Competition:   LAGBUS ( Government assisted transport buses),
                         Okada (Commercial Motorcycle riders), Trains,
                         Keke (Commercial tricycle riders),private car
                         owners etc.
These guys generate billions of naira yearly and I am not sure they pay taxes. There are a few reasons why these guys have become so successful.

Ubiquitous: In the nooks and crannies, byways and highways of Lagos down to outskirts of the city, the yellow familiar buses are there, providing services to all and sundry.

Ingenious: Many of them could almost make a career in automobile engineering. They come up with foolhardy to almost unbelievable solutions to their problems as they ply their trade. They ply their rickety vehicles and fix them until they work somehow. They come up with all manners of excuses when they are on the wrong side of the law and do bizarre things to escape e.g stripping.

Incredible network: They understand networking and use it so well (without LinkedIn). From the helmsmen brokering in the chambers of power with government officials to the individual members who know every policeman, LASTMA officials, VIO and touts on their route, they are harnessing all their contacts to produce their desired results.

Essential services: They provide a service so essential to the commercial hustling and bustling of the city. Have you ever wondered what will happen if they go on strike for one week? Absolute Chaos. Millions of Lagosians depend on them to carry out their various economic activities everyday. For now, they have few competitors.

I would continue the piece in my next article. Please share your thoughts in the comment box.

Photo: the nakedconvos.