Work on wheels: collective organising of motorcycle taxis in Nigerian cities

This article examines the political economy of collective organising in the motorcycle taxi economy of Nigerian cities. Using the mixed-methods approach, this study demonstrates the nature and problems of collective organising in the motorcycle taxi economy. It notes that implementation of a neo-liberal development policy in Nigeria in the 1980s gave rise to job losses and catalysed the creation of a motorcycle taxi sub-system as a livelihood. While collective organising in the motorcycle taxi sub-system is sometimes exploited to advance the ambition of some politicians, the informal economy is often paradoxically victimised through the initiation and implementation of hostile urban policies, such as banning motorcycle taxis, soon after electoral mandates are secured. This paper, however, argues that despite the challenges, collective organising represents a struggle to influence urban policy and could present an opportunity for a new form of engagement between the state and the informal economy in development policy and urban governance.