Two wheels, one metropolis: my life as a Glovo rider in Abuja

After we discuss know-how, our minds typically soar to the builders and the large corporations constructing the platforms. However the true energy of tech shines brightest within the lives of on a regular basis customers. Final month, I handed over the column to John Adoyi, a blind journalist, who wrote about how he makes use of know-how to navigate the world with out sight. This week, you’ll meet Christian, a supply rider with Glovo, considered one of Nigeria’s prime meals supply apps. He went from being a job seeker, so strapped for choices he needed to return to his village, to a courier incomes practically one million naira each month. Right here’s Christian’s story, as advised to TechCabal, and closely edited for readability, narrative movement, and construction.

The solar has solely simply risen when my telephone’s alarm pierces the silence of my room in Abuja. It’s 7:00 a.m., the primary of six alarms I’ve set: 7:10, 7:30, 8:00, 8:10, 8:30, to make sure I don’t sleep by means of my morning. I’m the type of one who may sleep for twenty-four hours straight, particularly when nestling within the quiet of my very own area. However the rhythm of my life as a Glovo supply rider calls for in any other case. Time is cash on this job, and time waits for nobody. So I roll off the bed, shake off the grogginess, and put together to assert my slot for the day: a 13-hour stretch from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., throughout which I’ll drive by means of Abuja’s streets, delivering meals and parcels to prospects who place orders on the Glovo app.

My title is Christian Ogbu, and I’m a Lagosian by delivery, although Abuja has been my dwelling since late 2020. I spent my first twenty years in Lagos. Like several man born to a low-income household, I needed to shortly strive my hand at casual commerce. As an Igbo man, I took up an apprenticeship in a pharmacy. When that didn’t work out after 4 or 5 years, I returned to my father’s village in Nsukka, Enugu, the place I hoped to recalibrate and discover alternatives to settle. However that was short-lived. I’m not a village boy; I’m wired for motion, for the bustle of a metropolis. So, in the direction of the tip of 2020, I left for Anambra State, the place I chased work that by no means materialised. I didn’t need to return to Lagos, the place I must depend on my mum. As an alternative, I left Anambra for Abuja, the place an uncle provided me a spot to remain. It was an opportunity to start out over, to search out my very own “greener pasture”, as I advised myself.

Abuja was unkind at first. I took a job as a safety guard, organized by my uncle, however the pay was meagre: hand-to-mouth, barely sufficient to maintain me afloat. Frustration gnawed at me. I wasn’t raised to reside in another person’s shadow, least of all my mom’s, so I refused to return to Lagos. As an alternative, I struck out alone, submitting CVs to corporations, hoping for one thing higher. My uncle’s refusal to help my job search, denying me his signature and his ID, left me feeling stranded. I used to be sleeping in somebody’s home, however I had nobody to lean on. I typically took to the streets trying tattered and hungry seeking a job. That’s after I stumbled into dispatch work.

It was an opportunity encounter with a deliveryman that modified all the things. I used to be hungry, trying tough, however too proud to beg for meals. “I simply need to work such as you,” I advised him. He took me to a restaurant referred to as Ants in Mama, which, like many standard eating places that have been adjusting to pandemic restrictions, ran an in-house supply fleet the place they bought bikes and positioned drivers on salaries. This was the place I obtained my first style of meals supply.  I didn’t know Abuja then, so I relied on Google Maps to navigate, my telephone guiding me by means of unfamiliar streets. That first job was a trial by fireplace. The roads have been unforgiving, particularly the place untarred paths and potholes examined my resolve. Someday, I spilled a drink in my supply field, and whereas dashing to switch it, I crashed right into a parked motorbike. The accident value me my pay; the corporate used it to restore the bike. I used to be unhappy, however I didn’t surrender.

One other courier took pity on me, main me to someplace I used to be employed once more. This time, I used the work to study Abuja’s streets. I’m fast to select up patterns, a ability honed in Lagos, the place I mastered shortcuts that others neglected. Inside months, I knew Abuja just like the again of my hand. I began making use of to logistics corporations and landed a job with a franchise beneath Speedaf. In my first month, I shattered their supply file, finishing 50 to 60 orders a day when the best earlier than me was 20. My laborious work earned me respect, even when it got here with unfastened ends. There have been moments of temptation: demanding additional money from prospects, a observe I later discovered was widespread amongst supply riders. When a buyer recorded me and reported it, I confronted suspension, however my supervisor, recognising my potential, fought to maintain me.

Then I heard about Glovo. It was 2022, and the platform was completely different: riders labored independently, not beneath franchises. Because of this their earnings weren’t capped to a month-to-month wage; as an alternative, one may earn as a lot as they labored. I scraped collectively my financial savings, purchased my very own motorbike, and signed up. A mentor advised me, “Concentrate on this work, and also you’ll see your earnings.” So I did. I left the opposite aspect hustles behind. Glovo requires that drivers e book slots to verify they’re accessible for supply. If a driver booked a slot, he needed to be dedicated to it. Punctuality turned my creed. If I booked a slot, I used to be there, no excuses. Even when thieves broke into my home, stealing my telephone, which was my most essential work device, and cash, I didn’t stop. I labored my approach again, purchased new gear, and saved going.

From scraping by to incomes nearly one million month-to-month as a Glovo rider

Glovo’s construction suited me. In contrast to franchises, the place you’re certain by inflexible protocols, Glovo gave me freedom. I may reject deliveries to unsafe areas, like elements of Jahi or Kuje, the place tough roads or safety dangers made using perilous. Franchises didn’t care about rider security. If a buyer ordered to a harmful spot, you went or face penalties. I as soon as narrowly escaped a pit whereas being chased by canines at night time. With Glovo, I may say no, cancel the order, and transfer on. This autonomy made all of the distinction. I knew Abuja’s boundaries: the place Glovo operated, the place it didn’t, and I thrived inside them. The app’s clear addresses meant I not often wanted Google Maps; I’d look on the location, pocket my telephone, and experience.

My consistency paid off. Glovo set every day targets: 25 to 30 deliveries to earn a “quest” bonus, and I hit them religiously. Different platforms, like Chowdeck or Mano, cap their targets at 10 to fifteen orders a day, I feel, however Glovo pushed me. It wasn’t simply concerning the cash, although I earn between ₦800,000 and ₦900,000 a month, greater than most salaried jobs. After bills, ₦36,000 for gasoline, ₦5,000 for oil adjustments each seven days, and about ₦7,000 every day for meals, I earn sufficient to reside effectively. However the actual reward is the peace of thoughts, the sense of function. Glovo’s challenges turned my very own; if I fell in need of 25 deliveries, it felt like failure. The subsequent day, I’d push more durable, decided to satisfy the mark.

The work is gruelling: 13 hours on the street, six days every week. I take Saturdays off now, a lesson discovered after my eyes began twitching from stress and an excessive amount of caffeine final yr. I minimize out vitality drinks, relying alone stamina and the occasional biscuit or mineral water to maintain me going. Breakfast is a should, however lunch is a luxurious; I may not eat till I’m dwelling, late at night time, with takeaway in hand. Abuja’s chilly nights demand a jumper, one thing Glovo doesn’t present, so I layer as much as keep heat.

The job has its highs and lows. Clients form the expertise. Some are demanding, insisting I ship to their doorstep in estates the place bikes aren’t allowed, leaving my motorbike weak to theft or tampering. Others are a pleasure, particularly when they’re foreigners, as they’re typically extra well mannered and appreciative than locals. For instance, foreigners who reside at high-end inns, which don’t enable couriers to drive in, are sometimes prepared to satisfy me on the gate. “White prospects,” as I name them, typically stand out for his or her courtesy, ready on the gate, thanking me for my effort. Nigerian prospects may be hit and miss: some heat, others dismissive, a couple of outright impolite. I as soon as climbed to the fifth ground to ship to a buyer in a wheelchair, moved by their courteous observe on the app. The phrase ‘please’ appears so inconsequential, nevertheless it means rather a lot and might affect how we reply to extra requests of consumers. Respect, I’ve discovered, is reciprocal. When prospects deal with me with dignity, I am going the additional mile.

Then there are the surveys Glovo sends out, asking about our satisfaction or experiences. They’re alien to many riders, unaccustomed to types or suggestions. However I take advantage of them to study, generally Googling phrases or asking AI for readability. These small moments of schooling, interacting with prospects, navigating the app, and fascinating with the world, make the job extra than simply deliveries. It’s publicity, a window into lives I’d by no means in any other case encounter. 

In June 2025, Glovo recognised my efforts. At their summit in Lagos, I used to be awarded for delivering over 14,000 orders since becoming a member of in 2022. They referred to as me a “punctuality champion,” a nod to my unwavering dedication to my slots. It has been an awesome relationship to this point. I do have some essential enhancements, notably concerning deliveries to estates and inns the place bikes are restricted. It will be nice if the corporate implements a transparent coverage or in-app observe for patrons in these areas, mandating a mutual understanding with riders for doorstep deliveries. This variation wouldn’t solely deal with rider security issues—decreasing the chance of theft from parked bikes or meals tampering—but in addition guarantee riders aren’t unfairly blamed for points exterior their management, fostering a extra respectful and environment friendly supply expertise for everybody.

This job has been transformative, however I do imagine it’s nonetheless a method to an finish. In 5 years, I don’t see myself nonetheless working as an app-based courier. I would like an journey: possibly a enterprise. I need to cool down, marry, and construct one thing of my very own. God has blessed me by means of this gig work, and I imagine He’ll maintain opening doorways. 

For now, although, I’m content material. Abuja is in my fingers, its streets etched into my reminiscence. And so long as I’m on my bike utilizing Glovo to connect with prospects, I’m not simply delivering meals; I’m delivering myself to a future I’m nonetheless constructing.

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