When Iyanu, a video producer based in Abuja, saw a tweet announcing Uber's exit from Nigeria, her first reaction was a single question: "I asked why?" She stared at the news in disbelief — the app had become part of her daily routine, as ordinary as unlocking her phone.
"At first, I thought it was fake news because you know how X can be," she told TechCabal via WhatsApp on Thursday. It was not.
Uber officially confirmed on Wednesday that it is winding down operations in Nigeria, the country where it first launched in Lagos back in 2014. The announcement came via an email sent to both customers and drivers, ending a 12-year run in one of Africa's largest markets.
A Market Already Under Pressure
Uber's departure does not land in a vacuum. Nigeria's ride-hailing sector has long battled high operating costs, persistent disputes between platforms and drivers over fares and commission splits, and a graveyard of failed competitors that never found a sustainable path. Uber's exit reshapes whatever stability remained in that market.
Drivers who spoke to TechCabal expressed anxiety about what comes next. Uber told active drivers it would provide a one-off discretionary "goodwill payment" to help ease their transition off the platform — a gesture some welcomed, though it does not solve the underlying problem of losing a steady income source.
"I Just Do not Worry About the Driver Rejecting Me"
For most riders, Uber's exit is an inconvenience. For Ezekiel Abayomi, a Lagos-based data analyst, it is something closer to a crisis.
Abayomi, who uses a wheelchair, moved to Lagos from Kwara State in North Central Nigeria in 2021. Lagos's bus network is not accessible to wheelchair users, so ride-hailing was not just convenient for him — it was his only realistic way to move around the city.
"I use Uber every time I am going out. I use Uber like three times a week because I use a wheelchair and I do not have a car yet, and the buses in Lagos are not accessible for wheelchair users." — Ezekiel Abayomi, Lagos-based data analyst
What made Uber different from other platforms, Abayomi said, was how its drivers treated him. His past experiences on rival apps had been unwelcoming — drivers cancelling trips or refusing to assist. Uber, he said, trained its drivers differently.
"If I book a ride, I just do not worry about the driver rejecting me," he told TechCabal. That certainty is now gone.
Abayomi says he already has a short-term plan: over the years, he is built a personal relationship with a driver he calls directly when he needs to travel. He intends to rely on that arrangement for now rather than rush to find another app-based alternative.
Not Everyone Is Equally Affected
Reactions to the exit have not been uniformly distressed. Stephanie, a London-based Nigerian who visits Abuja roughly once a year, told TechCabal the adjustment will be manageable for her. Her one experience with Uber in Nigeria was marked by higher prices and longer wait times compared to competitors.
"I will probably use Bolt or just drive, or have a friend drive me around," she said.
That kind of flexibility is not available to everyone. Bolt remains the most obvious alternative for riders in Lagos and Abuja, but whether it — or any other platform — can absorb Uber's former users while maintaining service quality and driver earnings is an open question. Nigeria's tech and mobility sector has watched too many ride-hailing entrants collapse to assume any operator is immune to the same pressures that pushed Uber out.
For thousands of Nigerians who used Uber multiple times a week, Wednesday's email was not just a service notification. It was the end of something they would quietly built their routines around — and now they are figuring out what fills that gap.