Political commentator and former presidential aide Reno Omokri has said Uber pulled back from Nigeria because government investment in rail infrastructure made mass, low-cost public transport more competitive.
Speaking during a live chat on Channels Television on Monday, Omokri argued that Uber’s global business model relies on flooding a market with cheap rides to undercut traditional taxis. He said that strategy worked in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, and initially showed promise in Nigeria.
“I’m going to give you an example of Lagos,” Omokri said. “The business model that Uber has is that they come into your country and then they bring about mass low ticket transportation so that they price out the regular taxes. This is what they’ve done successfully in several countries including the United States and United Kingdom.”
He said the company “tried that in this country and it was succeeding,” but that the equation changed as infrastructure improved.
Omokri pointed to Lagos’ rail expansion as the key factor. “Look at what was happening in Lagos. The infrastructural development in Lagos has been so wide, has been so extensive that it’s now possible for you to get from point A to point B in Lagos at a fraction of the cost using the blue line, the red line, and soon the green line is coming up on stream,” he said.
He made a similar point about Abuja, noting that rail now connects parts of the capital to key locations. “In Abuja, you can get from anywhere from point A. In fact, you can from your station, from this channel station, you can actually get to the airport in Abuja by rail,” he said.
According to Omokri, those developments left ride-hailing platforms unable to compete on price. “And so Uber could not compete. They could not compete because of the advancement of infrastructure in Nigeria,” he said.
Omokri urged public discourse to focus more on infrastructure gains rather than only on business exits. “So those are the things that you should be talking about,” he concluded.
Uber launched in Lagos in 2014 and later expanded to Abuja and other cities. The company has reduced operations in some Nigerian cities in recent years amid rising fuel costs and competition, though it continues to operate in Lagos and Abuja.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority launched commercial operations on the Blue Line in 2023 and the Red Line in 2024. The proposed Green Line is still in development. In Abuja, the Abuja Light Rail resumed full passenger service in 2024, including a link to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
