Matthew Shofor, a commercial motorcyclist plies his trade in riverine Ogulagha in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.
Saturday Tribune was his lone passenger from Ogulagha to Odimodi and back to Ogulagha, the operational enclave of oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on December 22, 2023, three days to Christmas. It was an excruciating ride of about an hour between the two Ijaw creeks on a bumpy, tarred, but tired road which government and SPDC have abandoned to fate. The other option to link Odimodi or Ogulagha is through the waters which shallow depth was a hindrance. Except for SPDC officials, folks in the two communities navigate the terrain via motorcycles, bicycles or by trekking.
Interestingly, this is where Urhobo-born Shofor, who narrated how he relocated from Ughelli to Ogulagha for commercial motorcycle business, ekes his living to cater for his family left behind in Warri.
“My name is Matthew Shofor. I’m from Delta State, Ughelli South Local Government Area. I came to Ogulagha to hustle and make ends meet.
“When commercial motorcycles (bikes) were banned in Warri and other towns in Delta by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2012, I couldn’t do any other thing because that was what was sustaining me and my family.
“When it was banned, I asked questions to change location for my transport business and that was how I heard about this Ijaw community.
“In this community, there is no police and touts disturbance of motorcycle riders, so that was how I came here,” he narrated while returning on board his motorcycle from Odimodi to Ogulagha.
Ogulagha is a journey of about an hour on 75 horse power speedboat from Warri. The young man, having done his research, rode his bike to Panapina jetty in Warri and headed to Ogulagha for greener pastures in 2015 to continue his motorcycle business since he couldn’t lay his hands on any other means of livelihood.
He narrates his adventure further: “I brought my bike here on a speedboat. I transported the bike with the sum of N2,200 and transported myself with N1,800 as of that 2015.
“I read Marine Engineering, but when I got here, I discovered that there are no jobs for marine engineers but only chemical and petroleum engineers. I finished from Joe Marine School, Airport Road, Warri.
“When I finished in 2009, I tried to look for a job, but I realised that one couldn’t get these marine jobs unless they are well connected.
“I went to NPA and other small marine companies, but all to no avail.
“When I came here, I didn’t know anyone. So, I resolved that if I couldn’t find a place to lay my head, at the end of every night, I would locate their primary school and pass the night there.
“Since I was with my bike and it was fetching me money, my reason was that, I could rent an apartment here and that was what I did after spending some nights in a classroom.
“I am married with a family in Warri. I got married in 2013 and I had to relocate here because things weren’t easy for me and my family. I have two children now, one died in 2021 (that was also when my mom died), and I am taking care of them very well with this job.”
To what extent could motocycle business cater for him and his family, Shofor, who spoke faultless English and exhibited some civilised traits in his disposition, said amid no other veritable option, the motorcycle business is handy and sustaining.
“If there is patronage with a lot of passengers, the minimum amount I’ll make after buying fuel and food is N8000 daily.
“We have corrugated iron houses and also, block houses here for rent. You can get an iron zinc house for N2000 per month and you can get a block house for N5000 per month.
“The cost of living here is high because of the Shell company in the community. The community has 24 hours power supply, it is secure and there is peace. There is no incident of stealing or pick pockets here. There is night life here,” he disclosed as he chuckled.
Speaking on his lifestyle in the absence of his wife, he confessed without batting an eye that: “I have a girlfriend here. The first girl I dated here is now married with two kids. My wife knows that I have a girlfriend here. My family used to visit during holidays.”
Shofor also spoke on his future plans after Saturday Tribune reminded him that commercial motorcycling could wear him out in no time.
“I have the mind of selling building materials. If I have any other thing to do, I will leave this job, I’ll leave this town. That’s why I go home from time to time.
“I had once gotten another bike for someone else to be using and paying me by the end of the month, but I couldn’t sustain it because, the money was not coming whole. He was shortchanging me, so I sold it off,” he noted.
As an Urhobo youth with distinct cultural nuances, Shofor has been able to blend with the Ijaws in Ogulagha and other ethnic nationalities while he plies his trade.
“The Ijaws here are good people and they welcome strangers with open hands. Half of the people in this town are from other tribes and they are living their lives here with no disturbance. I wish the whole Nigeria can emulate this,” he said.
“When there is a burst pipeline issue here, the only thing is to restrict movement and impose curfew. So, everyone will comply.
“But it’s ironic that despite having SPDC in our backyard here (you can see their perimeter fence), a litre of petrol is N900! No filling station. The fuel we buy is black market as you can see.
“It’s a case of suffering in the midst of plenty. We live where crude oil abounds but we buy petrol at cut-throat price.
“If government had provided employment for its teeming youths across the country, riding Okada like I’m doing here now at my age with its attendant risk and health hazards wouldn’t have been in vogue. It’s a shame on our political leaders that the future of the country is okada and Keke riders.
“What kind of future would that be?”
TRIBUNE
