I'm still very curious if there was some sort of payoff in Nigeria or at least an attempt at one. I don't think the matter was actually settled with Gokada switching to delivery.
unofficially their 'area boys' shakedown all merchants in the area, so just because Gokada switched doesn't mean that roving street gangs engaging in business extortion are suddenly going to start leaving Gokada alone as long as they continued to operate in Lagos.
Surely there was a local partner or office of some sort that a vengeful Nigerian could’ve attacked, instead of buying a ticket & flying to an incredibly expensive & complex city like NYC. Or even paying American prices for a hitman.
I think both points of view have good points.
I agree that the most common form of retaliation following the switch to courier service would be for street level "area boys" to start demanding that individual Gokada riders purchase "special permits" to make deliveries. Delivery riders who refused would be roughed up, deliveries stolen, motorbikes wrecked etc.
But.... lets say that the delivery riders are hard for street level area boys to collect from as riders enter and leave areas quickly, thus making "fee" collection by foot bound enforcers problematic
This might lead to the extortion moving to the level of Gokada as a company. Even still, I think that if Gokada refused to go with the program, retaliation would be kept in Nigeria. For example, a mysterious fire breaks out at a company motorbike garage etc.
But..... if there was personal animosity between the victim and a powerful Lagos Mafia, I think such a Mafia could reach into the United States. There is a large Nigerian Immigrant community in New York City. This community, like any group of people, includes some criminal elements.
My guess is that a local would be recruited as an independent contractor. Maybe:
We"ll do all the heavy thinking- find out where the victim lives and the best way to approach him. We"ll get you to the neighborhood and give you a substantial down payment for the hit. The details as to how you do it are up to you. As a bonus, the victim is wealthy and of course, has a lot of mandatory over the top bling n' cash in the residence....
The only question would be would they
want to reach to the US? In the end, I think it is unlikely, but still plausible.
