The Thrust and Tug Nexus for Okada ‘Commercial motorcyclist’ Business among Youths in Ekiti and Ondo States, Nigeria: Implications for Youth Development

A proportionate number of Nigerian youths engaged in Okada riding coined (Okada) business ‘Commercial motorcyclist’. The business has drained manpower from the vocational sectors of the Nigerian economy. The study was carried out to assess the Thrust and Tug Nexus for Okada business among Youths and the implications for their future development. A total of 300 respondents were randomly selected from the list of registered Okada riders in 16 take off points from Ekiti and Ondo states while a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from them. The findings of the study show that most of the Okada riders were young and married with moderate family sizes. They are mostly literate. The average years of engaging in Okada riding was 3.8 years. A good percentage (41%) was formerly employed. The study established a strong connection between the tug and thrust nexus to Okada business. The factors that pushed them to Okada business were the economic depression, unattractive vocational jobs, poverty, erratic power supply, retrenchments and unemployment and the lack of fund to start a job. The pull factors include an ability to get daily income from Okada, ease of entry the business, high returns from the business when compared to other jobs, ability to be famous and popular among peers and a quick money making venture. Okada business could have adverse effects on the future of the youth and wasn’t considered as a vocation worth bequeathing to children. However, it has the tendency to sustain their family in the face of unemployment temporarily. The study recommends the invigoration of the economy of Nigeria; the provision of an enabling environment for the vocational sector to strive; capacity building of youths in the different vocations and the encouragement of the patronization of made in Nigeria goods.