UBER LEFT US WITHOUT CLOSURE

So this week, Uber exited Nigeria. 2 things: it didn’t come to me as a surprise because if you’ve been paying attention in these Tinubu times, you will notice that a good number of international companies have either exited Nigeria or sold to Nigerian owners, making their products or services either more expensive or of lesser quality. No shade to my “buy Nigeria” brothers and sisters, but let’s call a spade a spade; we’re just not built for certain businesses.

On the other hand, the news did come as a surprise to me because I was literally on a ride when I got the email. Came in a newsletter from them. Funny how I barely pay attention to newsletters, especially from these ride-hailing apps. I don’t think Bella from Bolt has received more airing from anyone than me. You keep increasing your rates, so why should I open your newsletter? Kindly shift. But yeah, I got the notification and first thought it was clickbait, but I opened it either way, and lo and behold, it was real!

I asked the driver if he had seen the news, and he laughed and said it wasn’t possible. He said he hadn’t checked any of their driver group chats that morning, and he’s sure they would have dropped the update there. So he whipped out his phone and confirmed the news on there as well. The man just burst out laughing. Full belly laugh. Then he said something like, "so wetin we go do now," and that was it; we were in a whole conversation, something I didn’t exactly like doing in all my years using ride-hailing services.

It was one of those small Suzuki cars that started with the Uber GO, the “affordable, low-cost” option that was introduced to us in Nigeria in 2021. I put those words in quotes because they lost the plot at some point and started charging ridiculous rates, even with those small cars. Understandably, because of fuel prices skyrocketing after the subsidy removal in 2023 - shoutout to RENEWED HOPE- and then disgruntled drivers, blah blah blah. My driver - looked like he was in his mid-to-late 30s, almost tearing up- began talking about how this was his first car, and Uber, in partnership with a company called Moove, was able to provide cars through some form of financing to ‘people like him,’ so they can work and also own a car in this current economic climate.

He talked about how he didn’t even know how to drive manual cars back then, but when he heard about the opportunity, he rushed it and figured a way around it. According to him, he was very close to rounding up his own payment, and the car was going to be his own officially; then he would sell it and add some money to buy a better car - that has always been his plan. But now that Uber was exiting, would Moove write off his remaining debt and let him keep the car, or return all he had paid, take their interest, and take the car? He asked me that question, and then internalized it for the rest of that trip.

His thoughts sent me down memory lane, to be honest. I also had built a solid relationship with Uber. I grew up not having a clue about navigating these Lagos streets by myself. My movements were restricted. School - go in a school bus. Church - go with my parents. Going to see friends - if they were within the estate, I walked; if they were outside the estate, a parent or the driver took me. So, growing older, I legit used to have anxiety when the thought of using public transport came to mind. And the only car available to use when I was on holidays, my dad gave it to his assistant around the time I was to graduate. Plenty of thoughts started running through my head back then, like if I had to go to a hangout or even go for a job interview, would I have to jump bus or hope one of my parents is at home that day, so I could borrow their car.

Luckily, Taxify became fully operational in Nigeria when I graduated, so my worries regarding mobility reduced. And boy oh boy, these rides were insanely cheap. My first trip ever was to Ikeja City Mall from Magodo, and I paid less than N1,000 for that. I think it was about N800 or so. That trip in today’s Nigeria is nothing less than N5,000. Scary hours for real.

But yeah, ride-hailing really became my thing. Taxify became Bolt, and then, between drivers being rude and always asking to go offline and begging for extra money on top of the ride fare, I got tired of the platform and decided to move to Uber. I remember vividly this encounter with a Bolt driver that made me lose interest in it completely. I had a discount on the app, and when the trip was over, it was calculated into my fare. Bruh, this driver got mad; he said I had to pay the full amount, and that the company won’t pay him the difference, which I knew was an obvious lie. He kept saying it was different if it was a card trip. We dragged for about 10 minutes before I realized I was wasting my time and walked out of the car. There was no way he was going to run after me. This was how my relationship with Uber started.

To be honest, I cheated on Uber a few times, with InDrive especially. Those fares were getting too expensive, and sometimes it was worth risking my safety for a less trustworthy platform. Also, the fact that being in traffic didn’t affect the price I saw when booking the ride was sweet. No estimated fees or anything; agreement is agreement. I began to swing - Uber today, InDrive tomorrow. God, I’m such a Lagos man. Uber always felt different, tbh. When drivers weren’t arriving in those small cars, they always had the nicer cars, and there just was this class and aura that came with using it. Uber drivers never told you, “My AC isn’t working”, and they were always professional. Uber was literally safer and more serious than these other guys. If you reported a driver, you were given rapt attention, and the matter was resolved almost immediately. I remember a driver intentionally taking a longer route, so I paid more. I put my theory together, sent it to Support, they agreed with me, and refunded part of the fare.

Writing this, I’m realizing I’m actually going to miss Uber. This exit feels sad. Yes, there are other cool options now, especially those ones with electric vehicles - EDryv, Lagride, and the like. But they just won’t be Uber. The worst feeling for me is that there is no closure to this. We don’t have a concrete reason why Uber exited Nigeria. They didn’t state it in their newsletter and all the statements put out on social media, so we can only assume many things, like the current economic state no longer favoring them. But yeah, my sweet Uber is gone. I’m going to miss it, but like how I have dealt with the hundreds of brands that have left Nigeria since 2023, I will move on quickly.

I wish them the best in their activities in other countries, and hope to join them in exiting Nigeria soon. Until then, it’s InDrive and me against the world.

That reminds me, where is Rida?