Nigeria, Feb. 8 -- At 11 a.m. on a Monday in November, Oluwatosin Ajayi carefully steered her SUV through the familiar workshop gate, the morning sun casting a warm glow over the bustling Abule-Egba-Abeokuta expressway in Lagos.

The yard hummed with activities - the revving of engines, the clanging of tools, murmured conversations, and the unmistakable scent of engine oil. But Mrs Ajayi, a 25-year-old mother, was not there to repair her car.

Instead, vehicles in various states of disrepair were waiting to be fixed by Mrs Ajayi and her colleagues. Among them, a battered white 'Korope' (mini-bus) stood out, parked near an unfinished building like a wreck.

Nearby, an experienced mechanic, Sunday Osundara, popularly called 'Oga Sunday', wo...