As Ibadan the Oyo state capital continue to witness rise in the number of influx of commercial motorcycle operators as a result of the ban in neighbouring Lagos State, a new entrant, Safe boader Nigeria over the weekend said it is not in the state to compete but to offer better service delivery.
The company which said it’s choice of Ibadan to kickstart business operations in Oyo state is not as a result of the ban in Lagos, but as a result of extensive market research.
Speaking during a media parley, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Alastair Sussock, who also doubles as a Co-Founder of SafeBoda, said the launch was supposed to have held October last year, long before the ban of okada operations in Lagos.
He said the bike hailing company is a start-up, offering an innovative solution to motorcycle taxi transportation in Africa, noting that the on-demand service focuses on safety, security and building community between SafeBoda drivers and passengers.
He assures that the company’s presence in Nigeria will not only make transportation easier and less stressful but will be focused on building a community of law-abiding and responsible citizens who will look out for one another, as it has done in Kenya and Uganda, for the past five years.
The Country Manager, Safeboda Nigeria, Babajide Durosola, added that the company’s services extend to goods delivery, payments, food orders and other on demand services.
He said, “People ask why we decided to come to Ibadan and I reply, “Why not?”. Ibadan is a city of 4.5million people with almost 50, 000 active okadas. It is a city of firsts and it’s potentials is in its people. It already has a thriving okada community and smartphone adoption is high.
“Also, it has a thriving middle class bracket. The government is also willing to support. Government was actively involved in the process of our establishment. All issues that could be a disadvantage to our operations in Oyo State has been identified and sorted out.
“As a matter of fact, we were supposed to launch last year, in October, long before the Lagos okada ban but we waited to consult and make extensive market research”.
Speaking on rider engagements and benefits, he stressed that the company does not provide assets but trains motorcycle owners and takes them online which enables connection and saves time.
He said, “For us, it’s more about the individual. We invest in our riders and customer experience/satisfaction. We hope that the people in Ibadan will notice the difference when they ride Safeboda”
“Our aim is to address Nigerians problem according to their wish, we are very serious in protecting the image of this company so that our operations can be successful, so we are not competing with anybody, all our focus is better service delivery to our customers.”

By Yinka Adeniran