Nigeria: Abuja's First Female Taxi Driver

Aisha Umar, a single young mother-of-two from Mubi Local Government Area in Adamawa State and Abuja’s renowned pioneer female taxi driver queried in disagreement when asked why she decided to explore opportunity in a job known to be common with men in Nigeria.

“I am a taxi driver and I’m loving it,” she said. “Some people believe that driving a taxi is a trade exclusively reserved for men and people of low life, but it is a wrong perception. I prefer to earn a decent living through this means than to sit down and beg for money.”

In Abuja where Umar is the first female taxi driver and one of three plying the streets of the cosmopolitan city, there is no mistaken of her identity.

She conveyed the character of a modest hardworking young woman as she disclosed that she sees every challenge as an opportunity. Often referred to as Hajia by her male colleagues on the job, she spoke of how necessity drove her into competing for space in the business dominated by men.

Advice to Young Ladies

“I would advise young ladies who are jobless to pick up whatever good trade they can lay their hands on than just sitting down and waiting for help from somebody.  You have to be content and hardworking in life; it gives me great pleasure to spend from my sweat and not having to beg and compromise.

I tell you, there is no job that is specifically reserved for the menfolk, pride should be taken out from our dictionary because this life is too short to begin to do whatever you like, you have to be positive and do the right things; you have to believe in yourself first before expecting others to believe in you,” Umar said.

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