10 ms·

How horrible. Why would someone do this? I'd never heard of Gokada, it looks like such a cool thing for a developing country. I wonder what the motivation was.

How horrible. Why would someone do this? I'd never heard of Gokada, it looks like such a cool thing for a developing country. I wonder what the motivation was. It doesn't seem like a market where there'd be the political pressure to assassinate someone. Maybe if there was someone trying to rethink the way pharmaceuticals or something, I could understand a CEO getting chopped into pieces by some shadowy figure, but ridesharing? It benefits everyone to carpool and use fewer cars to get people from place to place. Ugh. God bless his family.

tempsy 6y ago
He was facing an Uber-like regulatory situation in Lagos where his startup was facing a ban. If this was related to his startup (and not some other personal dealing) then a clear motive would be for a legacy carrier being disrupted to want end his startup...
- adenozine 6y ago
  Oh! Your comment made me realize I was making an assumption that it was related to his business. I guess I just figure for someone to be trying to make progress in a place where progress is sorely needed, that its unlikely for them to have relationships or dealings that would warrant such heavy-handed consequences. If it was political, I wonder who benefits the most from this. Surely there will be scrutiny now, if there's more case details than are reported. I hope they don't get away with this. This will scare off entrepreneurs, maybe that's exactly what the killer wants. Maybe they want to discourage not only Gokada, but any company or product that might disrupt status quo. Who knows. This is nasty stuff.
  - chansiky 6y ago
    It could simply have been personal too. Have you ever watched Uncut Gems? I knew someone like the loan shark guy that if he didn't win, he would "win" anyways just to ease his inner cognitive dissonance. Just glad that he didn't have the money to pay for a hitman cause I could be dead too.
- vezycash 6y ago
  His start up? Wasn't just his company - bike sharing was banned in the state without warning. Also, commercial bike operations were banned on major roads and completely in some cities. Following Lagos state, neighboring states immediately announced bans, telling the ride sharing companies not to come over. Bike ride sharing companies were forced to rebrand as dispatchers. The bikes however must have delivery boxes fitted on the bikes else - the bikes would be seized.
- famouslastwords 6y ago
  Or a hostile takeover of the company with Saleh being murdered when he wouldn't want to sell or split profits with some connected Nigerian figure.
filleduchaos 6y ago
It's worth noting that there was a sudden & pretty draconian regulation passed early this year that gutted Gokada's primary business (ridesharing on motorbikes). He was very passionate in his disagreement with the government's decision. The company pivoted pretty neatly (in my opinion) to last-mile deliveries instead - the pandemic certainly helped drive demand - but currently there's morbid speculation that potential financial struggles on Gokada's part might have been a factor in his murder. There's also the possibility of someone in power being displeased at how vocal he was about the regulation.
- adenozine 6y ago
  Okay, to play devil's advocate for a moment. What is there to gain financially from killing him, if his previous business was gutted by regulatory changes? The killer was evidently belonging to a highly capable skillset, and I'm extrapolating that they very nearly got away with his body in tow, and nobody would've been the wiser. Could they not have kidnapped him and ransomed the company? If there's financial qualms on the board, I just don't understand why they'd just kill him then. If they went to deliveries, does that mean other delivery couriers are to be scrutinized? Maybe he was involved with something dirty? If it was a state agent of Nigeria that is responsible, idk, that'd be geopolitical suicide, putting hits out on private entrepreneurs across national borders... Of course, had they gotten away, it may have seemed as though he just vanished, which I suppose is the ideal scenario for a state-sanctioned killing. Ugh. This is beyond horrible all the way around.
  - fragmede 6y ago
    > if his previous business was gutted by regulatory changes? There are some people you just don't want to owe money to. I'm not speculating on if that was the case here, just that in the US, that sort of thing is the realm of movies. Elsewhere in the world (and also parts of the US) that still the reality of borrowing large sums of money.
    - ganoushoreilly 6y ago
      Given the local environment they operate in I wonder if someone was on the take for them to operate originally. Maybe the regulation changes cause Gokada to not want to pay but that wasn't copacetic with the demands of the "shaker"? As you pointed out, business in these countries isn't clean and clear as it is in most countries HN'ers live in. I saw crazy shakedowns in Northern Africa when I briefly lived there. I wouldn't doubt the same to be seen in other countries.
slim 6y ago
you'd be surprised. it seems he was getting death threats because of his business. disrupting established syndicates doing business transferring large amounts of cash everyday is risky. in France for example, taxi drivers burned Ubers in protest.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- tsimionescu 6y ago
  Did they burn them with the drivers inside? If not, how is that comparable to killing and dismembering a human being?
  - heavenlyblue 6y ago
    > how is that comparable to killing and dismembering a human being It's comparable because it happened in France? :)
  - slim 6y ago
    It's comparable because usually you don't get these kinds of violent reactions when you disrupt a market
    - katmannthree 6y ago
      >you don't get these kinds of violent reactions when you disrupt a market Only in developed countries, in a lot of the world that's actually exactly what you get when you disrupt someone's market.
      - 101404 6y ago
        Very true.
      - akimball 6y ago
        I worked at a small US defense contractor for a couple of years. I was not in that loop, but my impression from those that were was that this sort of thing was to be expected if you entered into competition against the wrong incumbent.
cincinnatus 6y ago
Clearly a message was being sent
- throw1234651234 6y ago
  Oh, hey, I got that scholarship.
lazyjones 6y ago
> Why would someone do this? Robbery? Murder during attempt to get the victim to transfer money or bitcoins to an intruder? Lots of possibilities even without any context except the victim being somewhat wealthy.
- chosenbreed37 6y ago
  I'm not well versed in these matters but I'd imagine it takes some effort to butcher a fully grown human body. Most likely the perpetrator went there with the intention to butcher the body for whatever reason. Possibly ease of transport. Seems like a lot of effort for robbery.
notyourday 6y ago
> I wonder what the motivation was. Maybe if there was someone trying to rethink the way pharmaceuticals or something, I could understand a CEO getting chopped into pieces by some shadowy figure, but ridesharing? It benefits everyone to carpool and use fewer cars to get people from place to place. If I were a betting man, my money would be on he owed someone money from his part of the world and decided that because the law said that the debt evaporated his creditors would let it go.
CPLX 6y ago
I'll preface this by saying it is utter, pure, unmitigated speculation. With that out of the way, as someone who's lived in NYC for decades, I would say that most stories you hear with these broad strokes involve cocaine.
electro_blah 6y ago
business deal gone bad. one simply does not start a business in Nigeria without paying local gangs first.
qbaqbaqba 6y ago
Organised crime sending message to others unwilling to "cooperate".

tempsy 6y ago

He was facing an Uber-like regulatory situation in Lagos where his startup was facing a ban. If this was related to his startup (and not some other personal dealing) then a clear motive would be for a legacy carrier being disrupted to want end his startup...

adenozine 6y ago
Oh! Your comment made me realize I was making an assumption that it was related to his business. I guess I just figure for someone to be trying to make progress in a place where progress is sorely needed, that its unlikely for them to have relationships or dealings that would warrant such heavy-handed consequences. If it was political, I wonder who benefits the most from this. Surely there will be scrutiny now, if there's more case details than are reported. I hope they don't get away with this. This will scare off entrepreneurs, maybe that's exactly what the killer wants. Maybe they want to discourage not only Gokada, but any company or product that might disrupt status quo. Who knows. This is nasty stuff.
- chansiky 6y ago
  It could simply have been personal too. Have you ever watched Uncut Gems? I knew someone like the loan shark guy that if he didn't win, he would "win" anyways just to ease his inner cognitive dissonance. Just glad that he didn't have the money to pay for a hitman cause I could be dead too.
vezycash 6y ago
His start up? Wasn't just his company - bike sharing was banned in the state without warning. Also, commercial bike operations were banned on major roads and completely in some cities. Following Lagos state, neighboring states immediately announced bans, telling the ride sharing companies not to come over. Bike ride sharing companies were forced to rebrand as dispatchers. The bikes however must have delivery boxes fitted on the bikes else - the bikes would be seized.
famouslastwords 6y ago
Or a hostile takeover of the company with Saleh being murdered when he wouldn't want to sell or split profits with some connected Nigerian figure.

filleduchaos 6y ago

It's worth noting that there was a sudden & pretty draconian regulation passed early this year that gutted Gokada's primary business (ridesharing on motorbikes). He was very passionate in his disagreement with the government's decision. The company pivoted pretty neatly (in my opinion) to last-mile deliveries instead - the pandemic certainly helped drive demand - but currently there's morbid speculation that potential financial struggles on Gokada's part might have been a factor in his murder. There's also the possibility of someone in power being displeased at how vocal he was about the regulation.

adenozine 6y ago
Okay, to play devil's advocate for a moment. What is there to gain financially from killing him, if his previous business was gutted by regulatory changes? The killer was evidently belonging to a highly capable skillset, and I'm extrapolating that they very nearly got away with his body in tow, and nobody would've been the wiser. Could they not have kidnapped him and ransomed the company? If there's financial qualms on the board, I just don't understand why they'd just kill him then. If they went to deliveries, does that mean other delivery couriers are to be scrutinized? Maybe he was involved with something dirty? If it was a state agent of Nigeria that is responsible, idk, that'd be geopolitical suicide, putting hits out on private entrepreneurs across national borders... Of course, had they gotten away, it may have seemed as though he just vanished, which I suppose is the ideal scenario for a state-sanctioned killing. Ugh. This is beyond horrible all the way around.
- fragmede 6y ago
  > if his previous business was gutted by regulatory changes? There are some people you just don't want to owe money to. I'm not speculating on if that was the case here, just that in the US, that sort of thing is the realm of movies. Elsewhere in the world (and also parts of the US) that still the reality of borrowing large sums of money.
  - ganoushoreilly 6y ago
    Given the local environment they operate in I wonder if someone was on the take for them to operate originally. Maybe the regulation changes cause Gokada to not want to pay but that wasn't copacetic with the demands of the "shaker"? As you pointed out, business in these countries isn't clean and clear as it is in most countries HN'ers live in. I saw crazy shakedowns in Northern Africa when I briefly lived there. I wouldn't doubt the same to be seen in other countries.

slim 6y ago

you'd be surprised. it seems he was getting death threats because of his business. disrupting established syndicates doing business transferring large amounts of cash everyday is risky. in France for example, taxi drivers burned Ubers in protest.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
tsimionescu 6y ago
Did they burn them with the drivers inside? If not, how is that comparable to killing and dismembering a human being?
- heavenlyblue 6y ago
  > how is that comparable to killing and dismembering a human being It's comparable because it happened in France? :)
- slim 6y ago
  It's comparable because usually you don't get these kinds of violent reactions when you disrupt a market
  - katmannthree 6y ago
    >you don't get these kinds of violent reactions when you disrupt a market Only in developed countries, in a lot of the world that's actually exactly what you get when you disrupt someone's market.
    - 101404 6y ago
      Very true.
    - akimball 6y ago
      I worked at a small US defense contractor for a couple of years. I was not in that loop, but my impression from those that were was that this sort of thing was to be expected if you entered into competition against the wrong incumbent.

cincinnatus 6y ago

Clearly a message was being sent

throw1234651234 6y ago
Oh, hey, I got that scholarship.

lazyjones 6y ago

> Why would someone do this? Robbery? Murder during attempt to get the victim to transfer money or bitcoins to an intruder? Lots of possibilities even without any context except the victim being somewhat wealthy.

chosenbreed37 6y ago
I'm not well versed in these matters but I'd imagine it takes some effort to butcher a fully grown human body. Most likely the perpetrator went there with the intention to butcher the body for whatever reason. Possibly ease of transport. Seems like a lot of effort for robbery.

notyourday 6y ago

> I wonder what the motivation was. Maybe if there was someone trying to rethink the way pharmaceuticals or something, I could understand a CEO getting chopped into pieces by some shadowy figure, but ridesharing? It benefits everyone to carpool and use fewer cars to get people from place to place. If I were a betting man, my money would be on he owed someone money from his part of the world and decided that because the law said that the debt evaporated his creditors would let it go.

CPLX 6y ago

I'll preface this by saying it is utter, pure, unmitigated speculation. With that out of the way, as someone who's lived in NYC for decades, I would say that most stories you hear with these broad strokes involve cocaine.

electro_blah 6y ago

business deal gone bad. one simply does not start a business in Nigeria without paying local gangs first.

qbaqbaqba 6y ago

Organised crime sending message to others unwilling to "cooperate".