The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MARKET

Youth market as beautiful bride

In those days, manufacturers, bankers and others did not attach much importance to the youth market, also called the Gen-Next. However, this perception has changed. To drive growth, top brands have realised how vital this market is to their brands’ sustainability, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

Before now, practitioners in banking, telecoms, FCMGs and other sectors held in high esteem the older generation of consumers more than the youth, also referred to as Generation Next.

There is a reason for this.The older people are believed to be the decision makers of purchases, and over the years, many brands rode on their shoulders to gain greater brand equity and market share.

But gradually, the tide is moving as brands are beginning to eye the Generation Next to position for future competition.

“Parents believe giving teens access to phones could make them lose concentration in school while giving them access to operate a bank account sounds bad despite that in the olden days parents encouraged their children to save through the mould box approach.

“Now, brand managers are targeting this group. Banks are designing products for them, telecoms are designing trendy offerings that appeal to them and they are becoming important in brand strategy crafting,” a brand expert said.

This development is becoming more apparent in the banking and telecoms sector, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), where they have carried the youth along in their products and communications. For instance, Coca-Cola, Cadbury and Amazon have been named the most effective brands targeting the youth market both online and offline.

In a research by VCCP’s new youth agency, Rough Hill, 60 per cent of young people use Cadbury, while 34 per cent follow the brand online. For Amazon, 58 per cent of people use the brand, 33 per cent of them follow it online; also, 59 per cent of young people use the Coca-Cola brand regularly, while 31 per cent follow it online. Hence, their product is tailored to this market unlike banking, telecoms whose products seem to prefer the older people’s market.

But stung by their failure to recognise the Generation Next market, brands within the banking and telecoms sector are taking the youth market more serious than ever before. The growth of the segment in a larger number and their diverse, individualistic trait has made them no more vulnerable to decisions of the older generation. Hence, marketers are aiming at this market frequently.

Shockingly, an old generation bank, regarded as one of the ‘Big Three’ has announced its marketing and communication plan for the youth after years of sustained brand equity among corporate and big purse customers. The bank, UBA, long before its merger with STB, was known as an ‘old school bank’, perhaps a reference to its leaning to the older generation.

But after the merger, The Nation observed that it assumed another perception as a bank meant for the big purse, individual and corporate, leading innovation among the top tier banks.

“When I couldn’t cope with the bank again, I had to drop it for a new generation bank. I discovered that it was chasing mainly big accounts and not youths like us,” Sumbo Awoyemi, an undergraduate lamented.

But to avoid losing the youth market, UBA has offered a new window for the Generation Next. During the launch of a new product called a ‘Next-Gen’ account, no doubt, an effort to re-invent and build a new generation of loyal customers, the bank described ‘Next Gen’ as a product tailored to meet the unique needs of teenagers and young adults. The bank, however, added that it was introduced to offer special privileges and opportunities to account holders.

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips Oduoza, said: “Next Gen is about capturing and engaging the next generation of educated and enlightened professionals, employees, entrepreneurs, self-employed persons, from all walks of life, early in their financial life cycle.”

The UBA Next-Gen Account was designed to appeal to the educated and enlightened teenagers and young adults from 13 to 34.The product comes with features that fit into the unique needs of customers based on their age.

“This is a product that grows with the customer from his or her teenage years to, when he or she becomes a young adult. Next Gen is unique in the banking industry because it is not really a product. It is a partnership where the bank is taking on a mentorship role to guide customers into a future life of prosperity, Olaloku explained.

He also said the Next Gen account was designed to take care of every young person’s unique needs from 13 to 34.

“It takes care of the unique needs of teenage customers when they are in secondary school through university to when they get their first job, start a family and even consider building their first house. At each of these critical stages in their lives, the Next Gen account provides financial options and opportunities to make life more comfortable for them and their family.”

On the unique features of the Next Gen account, the Head, Current Accounts and Credit Products, UBA Plc, Iyke Idukpaye, explained that teenagers who open the account will become part of the UBA Teen Fan Club, which offers great opportunities and networking.

He also explained that as teenagers with a Next Gen account grow and gain admission into tertiary institutions, they will enjoy great mentorship, internships and career advisory reserved only for account holders.

The benefits of being a Next Gen account holder extends further as owners graduate and prepare for the work or business. At this stage, account holders will enjoy exclusive invitations to job and career fairs as well as entrepreneurship workshops, he added.

Aside marketing and advertising support, the bank invited students from various secondary and tertiary institutions to attend the launch. Aina Oyawande, a student of University of Lagos, com- mended UBA for introducing the product. He said the incentives attached will make her open an account with the bank.

Falz, a musician, who addressed the students on the need to imbibe a savings culture, described Next Gen as a “great initiative”, which will attract young entrepreneurs like him to open an account with UBA.

Also, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, of big brother fame called the product “innovative”, adding that it was great that UBA has developed such an incentive packed product for youths.

July 4, 2014
101 ways to market your business

BOOK REVIEW

Author: Andrew Griffiths
Publisher: Diamond Publishing
Reviewer: Goke Ilesanmi

For any business to survive and achieve profitability, it needs customers. To get enough customers, effective marketing is very important. Let us therefore examine this text with the title 101 Ways to Market Your Business written by Andrew Griffiths. Griffiths is a 101 Series expert because he has written many books under the series.

The author is a professional marketing consultant, as well as a director of an Australian company called The Marketing Professionals. Griffiths is an accomplished trainer and reputable public speaker.

According to him, this book will show you how to take the hard work out of marketing your business. He says it will show you how to achieve dramatic improvement in your business without investing a lot of time and money. This trainer assures you that these 101 practical marketing strategies will offer you guide on how to realise the full potential of your business.

According to Griffiths, these 101 innovative ideas are simple, affordable and quick to implement. He stresses that many of them take less than 30 minutes to implement and will bring results fast. Choose and apply a new idea each week or use this book as a source of inspiration for new ways to market your services, your products and your business itself, he advises. Griffiths stresses that there are ideas to help you find new customers and make your business stand out from the competing crowd.

This book has 13 basic sections of 101 strategies. There are 20 bonus ideas added to the major 101 strategies. Section one is titled: Getting started. According to him here, people generally start a small business or buy a small business for different reasons. Griffiths adds that sometimes, it is because they are good at their chosen profession and feel that they can make a better living working for themselves; sometimes it is a lifestyle change and sometimes it is simply a lifelong dream.

This author says running a business requires many skills that take time to develop. He educates that though marketing ideas are important for success in your business, he also believes that having the right attitude is essential.

Section two is interrogatively titled: Does your business stand out from the crowd? and contains the first nine strategies of marketing your business. These strategies are how to promote your business from the outside in; how to put your message on the company car; turning your invoice into a sales tool; selling yourself even when you are not there and using the internet in such a way as to be noticed. Griffiths advises you not underestimate the importance of a business card, asking you if your business has a memorable name.

Section three is based on making the most of the customers you already have, and contains six of the strategies, that is, strategies 10 to 15. This author stresses importance of sending out reminder notices; stay in touch with your customers; remember important dates; ask your customers for referrals; say thank you to generate more business; and use a loyalty programme to your advantage.

In section four containing four of the strategies, that is, strategies 16 to 19, Griffiths teaches you how to write press releases, stressing that everybody loves a winner. He says you should call the local radio station and ask your customers to tell their friends about you. Section five is interrogatively titled: Are you willing to try a few unusual ideas? and covers 15 of the strategies, that is, strategies 20 to 34. In this section, Griffiths tells you to get behind a wacky promotion; enjoy the benefits of brainstorming; offer prizes in competitions, etc.

This author also advises you to use the local pizza company to generate business; take ownership of an event; think differently about marketing your business; use industry publications to collect ideas; start a marketing-idea box; take your message on the road with a mobile billboard, etc.

Section six is based on the need to encourage your staff, and contains four of the 101 strategies, that is, strategies 35 to 38. According to Griffiths here, “Good staff are the backbone of any successful business. Unfortunately, most of the time all I ever hear are people complaining about problems with their staff, not their good points. From my experience staff are as good as the training and encouragement they receive.”

According to Griffiths in section seven that is based on how to make it easy for people to buy from you, and contains strategies 39 to 42, “I can never understand why some businesses seem to make it hard to buy things from them.” This author also discusses how to make it easy for people to give you money, etc.

Section eight is based on the need for you to have smart and hard-hitting promotional material and contains strategies 43 to 50. In this section, Griffiths discusses the concepts of making your first brochure and making up an information booklet to give customers. He says you should always be prepared to hand out a brochure; build credibility with testimonials from happy customers; start your own newsletter; deploy clever promotional materials that cost no more, etc.

In sections nine to 12, Griffiths X-rays how to daily make advertising work for your business; building credibility into your business; going out to chase business; and thinking like a customer. These four sections cover strategies 51 to 97. He says you should always try to sell to the decision-maker; make a follow-up call after the sale; ask your customers how they heard about your business; offer free delivery, etc.

Section 13, the last section is titled: Is your business promoted in as many places as possible? and contains the remaining four strategies, that is, strategies 98 to 101. In addition to these basic 101 strategies, this trainer also offers you 20 bonus ideas.

On style, Griffiths’ efforts are commendable in this book. He presents the ideas in a simple language. By segmenting the 101 strategies into 13 sections, he makes the study of this text easy. However, some strategies are repetitive in the book. It is better to make necessary adjustments and avoid the attendant conceptual redundancy.

If you aspire to grow your business through unique and effective marketing strategies, this text is highly recommended to you.

July 2, 2014
Photo: Daleko market, Lagos after the fire

Part of Daleko market in Lagos gutted by fire over the weekend. Photo: NAN

May 19, 2014
BRICs, MINTs strong despite emerging market wobbles

The large, fast-growing emerging market countries dubbed the BRICs and MINTs are still likely to be the most promising investment destinations over the next decade, despite emerging market turbulence, Jim O’Neill, who coined the terms, said.

Former Goldman Sachs economist O’Neill came up with the name BRIC in 2001 to group Brazil, Russia, India and China as countries whose growth will shape the world economy in the coming decades.

This year, in a series on BBC radio, he championed the MINT group of countries, similarly blessed with fast economic growth and large, young populations – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – as the next economic giants after the BRICs.

“The BRIC and the MINT countries, if I’m right, over the next decade will … shape the world economy’s development,” O’Neill told Reuters on Tuesday on the sidelines of an Africa Finance Corporation conference in Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos.

“And if that’s the case, they will be the most successful places in terms of investments too.”

O’Neill’s coining of the BRIC acronym spurred a rash of funds focusing on these countries – a consequence he told Reuters he never intended – but anxiety about emerging markets has triggered a pullback over the past year.

BRIC funds held 9 billion euros ($12.41 billion) at the end of last year, from 21 billion euros at end 2010. This has been largely driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s tapering of its bond-buying program, which exposed how vulnerable frontier and emerging markets can be to hot money.

It also has begun to dawn on investors that economic growth does not always mean higher stock market returns, which can be hindered by corporate governance problems or dodgy accounting.

“Fed tapering is why the masses are exiting emerging markets but that’s because they’re all like sheep,” O’Neill said.

“Greed and fear are close cousins. People are in love with emerging markets one year, next minute they hate them.”

But O’Neill said two countries that responded to tapering with sound policies – India and Indonesia – had done well.

“What the whole episode of the last years shows is that emerging markets can’t rely on generous external circumstances being persistent,” he said. “You’ve got to do better.”

The underperformance of BRICs over the past three years has put many investors off investing by acronyms, but O’Neill said a fairer comparison was to look at the way the BRIC index has outperformed the developed markets since 2000. Global companies had had huge successes by focusing on them.

March 28, 2014
How market leader ordered his agents to strip us naked and pour pepper in my sister’s private part

SIXTEEN-year-old torture victim, Nike Salami, has narrated her alleged ordeal in the hands of agents of the leader of Oba Morufu International Market, Ejigbo, Lagos, Alhaji Isiaka Waidi. The agents of the market leader, identified as members of the militant Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), allegedly enforced obnoxious laws with which they intimidated and extorted money from innocent market women. On the orders of Waidi, they were said to have tortured Nike and her sister, who later died, after they were accused of stealing pepper from the market.

An irate mob gathered at the premises of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FedSARS) at Adeniji Adele, Lagos on Tuesday demanding justice against Alhaji Waidi and 11 of his accomplices in police net who were responsible for the plight of the torture victims.

Narrating their ordeal in the hands of the market leader’s agents, Nike said: “They came to our house and dragged me, my late sister and our mother to the market naked, saying that we were the ones who used to steal pepper and tomatoes from the market.

“They slapped me, my sister and my mother. All this happened in the presence of Baba Oja (Waidi). As if that was not enough, they stripped my sister naked and poured pepper into her private part. She cried and cried because of the excruciating pains…

“Baba Oja and one woman slapped us and took us round the market. He was asking them how much pepper we stole. He said they would cut my mother’s leg if she failed to produce N50,000. They stripped my mother and my sister naked and poured pepper on us. We all cried for help but nobody came forward to help us.

“We are not regular visitors to the market. My sister had just come from the village. We were surprised when they started torturing us. We could not understand what was going on. We were not thieves but we were not allowed to defend ourselves. Rather, they were beating us and pouring pepper all over our bodies.”

The President of Women Arise, Dr. Joe Oke Odumakin, described the actions of the suspects as barbaric. She said her organisation met a brick wall when it started pursuing the matter. She said people refused to come forward to volunteer information that would help the organisation to fish out the suspects.

But she praised the committee set up by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed D. Abubakar, over the matter.

She told the sympathisers: “Today, it is Juliana Agunmuo who died through jungle justice. Tomorrow, it may be you or another person, who knows? Let met plead with you to give information that would lead to the arrest of those who ran away, especially information on where they can be found. Justice is for the rich and the poor.

“The little girl, Juliana Agunmuo, died as a result of jungle justice. Her death will not be in vain. I visited the grave of the little girl in Benin Republic. We are doing all these to prove a point: that jungle justice does not pay.

The Director of Public Defence, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, who said the case should be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) vowed that justice would be done in the matter.

She said: “We’ll ensure that justice is done in this case. I was directed to ensure diligent prosecution of the case. Every logistics were put in place by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly to ensure the success of it.”

Defending himself, the principal suspect, Waidi, said: “I was taken to their house. When I got there, I found that it was a little girl. I left an instruction that they should hand them (the two girls and their mother) over to the police since I was rushing down to Alausa, Ikeja for a meeting. I didn’t even know what the security guards did to the woman and her children until I saw the video. I was not the one that committed the crime.”

Addressing the people and the media, Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, who represented the Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar. said the INTERPOL would be used to find out the truth about what happened to Juliana in the Republic of Benin, adding that the 12 suspects could be charged with conspiracy, indecent assault, causing grievous harm, murder and extortion.

The Force PRO said the essence of the gathering was to give an update on the ongoing investigation into the alleged torture of the two sisters and their mother at Ejigbo Market. Mba said IGP Mohammed issued a directive that the Federal SARS should take over the case from the Lagos State Police Command.

Acting on that directive, the head of Federal SARS, DCP Ezike, took over the investigation of the matter. He said that Federal SARS operatives had been able to establish the role played by each suspect, adding that a gun was recovered when a search was conducted in the houses of the suspects. He said with the investigation done so far, the force had been able to establish a prima facie case.

He said Waidi was the one who supervised the entire operation. Mba said the Waidi went further to extort N50, 000 as a condition to grant freedom to the victims, which he described as double extortion.

Mba said: “Four of the suspects are still at large and today, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is declaring them wanted. They include one Tiri, surname yet to be known, who stripped the victim naked and captured the torture scenario in video, one Otepa Oluranti, one Akeem and one Michael Abolore whose whereabouts are yet unknown but who has been implication as having played active roles in the heinous crimes against the victims.

Mba commended the human rights community, civil society and Women Support Group as well as the Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State Ministry of Justice and all other stakeholders whose important contributions have helped the police in this and other matters relating to human dignity, safety and security.

He however calls on the general public to assist the police with information that would lead to the arrest of the fleeing suspects.

He said it was Tiri, an alleged member of OPC who was captured in the video footage and alleged to have stripped naked one of the victims, in the presence of her husband. He said the police would be working is partnership with stake holders to enable them to identify the fleeing suspects.

He said Juliana Agumo fell ill as a result of the excruciating pains arising from the torture and that she was taken to Benin Republic for treatment but she died later.

He said: “This department will be linking up with INTERPOL to ascertain the veracity of all the reports. And the IGP, while calling for an end to impunity, commended the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), especially Dr. Odumakin.

Mba said the police would protect the confidentiality of the members of the public that give information to them. He advised Nigerians employing vigilance people for guard duties or to approach the police stations nearest to them for proper comprehensive audition of different vigilance groups to ensure international standards.

Mba said the 12 suspects in police custody would soon be charged to court.

March 1, 2014
Experts preview investment market

Leading finance and investment experts and high net-worth investors will tomorrow at the Third series of Investment One Seminar brainstorm on the outlook for the Nigerian finance and investment market in 2014.

The series of Investment One Seminar, being organised by Investment One Financial Services Limited, holds at the Protea Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Already, confirmed speakers at the event included Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Mr Bismarck Rewane; executive director, market operations and technology, nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Ade Bajomo and managing director, Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ), Mr Bola Onadele.

According to Investment One, the aim of the technical session is to provide a platform for interactions between investors and key market players.

“We intend to secure continued understanding and enlightenment amongst stakeholders with a view to ensuring continuous growth of the market and improvement in our investment processes,” the company stated.

January 22, 2014
N40m goods lost in Kuje market fire

It was a sad day for Kuje traders when many of them lost goods worth N40 million to fire outbreak

According to an eyewitness, the blaze destroyed so many goods because it could not be controlled due to the haphazard nature of the environment.

About eight shops were burnt in the incident which is the second time in less than one month that some parts of the market were razed by fire.

The blaze was said to have been caused by illegal connection of electricity wires by some shop owners.

While addressing newsmen when he went to inspect the level of damage, the Vice-Chairman Kuje Areal Council, Mr. Mohammed Baba who represented the chairman expressed sadness that the incident had become worrisome as it was the second time the incident has occurred in less than one month.

He said the council authority will take appropriate measures in compensating the affected victims, even as he added that the council and market managers would meet with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to form a committee on how to carry out proper electrical connection in the market in order to prevent future occurrence.

The Chairman of Kuje Traders’ Association, Alhaji Yunusa Isa sympathised with the affected traders, adding that goods worth N40 million were lost in the fire as a result of illegal connection in the shops.

Isa, therefore, urged the area council to upgrade the standard of the market and create access road within the market for easy access to the market.

He advised traders to ensure they switched off all electrical appliances while closing for the day’s business.

Meanwhile, traders at the market are lamenting over regular fire outbreak in the market, even as they called on the council chairman, Mr. Shaban Tete to expedite action in finding possible solution to the regular fire incidence.

Mrs. Martha Ikechukwu, one of the traders whose shops were not burnt said that the two fire incidences that had destroyed shops and property in the market is beyond their imagination. She stressed the need for government to seriously look into the situation and find lasting solution to it before it gets out of hands.

According to Mrs. Ikechukwu, the cause of the fire incidences in the market recently is not clear. I will say that it is something nobody can give explanations to, because it has never happened like this in the past, where fire will destroy shops and property in one market two times in less than 20 days. I believe that there are questions that seriously need answers.

“I thank God that some of our shops were not affected and I sympathise with my co-traders for their losses. The entire thing is getting out of hands. How can one market experience two fire outbreaks in 20 days? The whole thing is becoming a mystery and nobody is taking serious action to put an end to it. All we hear are promises from the council leadership and no action.

“The first time fire destroyed some shops and property in the market in December, the leadership of the council, led by Mr. Shaban Tete, visited the market and promised to investigate the cause of the fire incident and find solution to it.

“Since after that visit, nothing was done. No investigation was carried out to know the exact cause of the blaze. If there was an investigation, it would have helped in averting this recent one. I guess they want the entire market to burn down before they find solution to the cause of it,” she said.

Another trader who pleaded anonymity said when the council chief visited the market in December and promised to put an end to such occurrence in future, they thought the council leadership would immediately do something to avert future fire incidence. After the visit, no council official visited the market to carry out any investigation or to proffer solution to future occurrence of the incident.

“One of the problems we have in this country is that our political leaders make promises that they will not fulfill. If proper measures had been put in place to correct the illegal electricity connection that they identified as the cause of the fire in December when the first fire incident occurred, the recent incident would not have happened. They just came here to see the extent of damage done and went to their houses to relax, because it did not affect them directly.

“There are no markets in Kuje. The only market we have is under threat of being burnt down completely and no positive step is being taken by the council leadership to avert it. Nothing is happening in this council. There is no new infrastructure.

“Other area councils are building model markets and upgrading the old ones for their people. Instead of building better markets for us in Kuje, they want the only one we are managing to burn down completely before they find solution to the fire problem.

“The chairman, Mr. Shaban Tete should rise to his responsibilities and make things work for the benefit of Kuje people. During the last administration led by Hon. Danladi Zhin, nothing like this happened, because, he always tackled problems immediately before it got out of hands, and he always mapped out ways to better the lives of Kuje people. But we are yet to see that seriousness in this administration,” he said.

January 14, 2014
Emerging market stocks rise

Emerging-market stocks advanced, led by the biggest rally in Turkey’s benchmark index in more than three months, amid speculation political tension in the country may ease. The lira strengthened, while Russia’s ruble declined.

Bloomberg said Turkish stocks climbed 5.7 per cent, rebounding from a 14 per cent slide the previous two weeks spurred by a corruption probe embroiling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

The Ibovespa climbed, paring the worst yearly drop among the world’s 20 biggest stock indexes, as Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff pledged to keep up the fight against inflation. The ruble slipped after suicide bombers killed at least 30 in the southern city of Volgograd.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.4 percent to 1,001.95 as of 10:01 a.m. in New York. The gauge is valued at 10.5 times projected earnings for the next 12 months, a 29 percent discount versus the MSCI World Index, the biggest gap in five years. Investors are betting on a “calmer period” in Turkish politics, according to Emre Balkeser, the head of sales and trading at Garanti Yatirim Menkul Kiymetler AS.

“With emerging-market equities having had a very weak year, in particular compared to developed-market equities, I would assess the price movement over the last couple of days as picking up cheap paper, and Turkey in particular, buying into bombed-out equity,” Michael Ganske, head of emerging markets at Rogge Global Partners Plc in London, said.

Nine of the 10 industry groups in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose. The measure has lost 5 percent this year, compared with a gain of 24 percent for the MSCI World Index.

Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index (XU100) rebounded from the lowest level since August 2012, increasing the most among 94 global equity gauges tracked by Bloomberg. Erdogan, facing allegations of corruption within his government, accused a “gang” within the police and judiciary of treason as he addressed supporters in a series of rallies over the weekend. The graft investigation prompted him to replace ministers in his cabinet about three months before local elections on March 30.

“There were expectations of some bad news over the weekend on the political side,” Arda Kocaman, the head of treasury at Finans Invest in Istanbul, said by phone. “It didn’t happen. So there’s a relief rally or some short covering. It’s just a no-news-is-good-news bounce.”

Discount retail chain BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS surged 74 percent after Chairman Mustafa Latif Topbas said in an e-mail Dec. 28 that he has never broken the law and that he is ready for the scrutiny of all personal and company ties.

January 1, 2014
Kuje council chief urged to rebuild market

Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Political Matters and National Assembly, Senator Jibril Wowo has called on the chairman of Kuje Area Council, Shaban Tete to rebuild the Kuje main market and bring it up to contemporary standards.

Wowo who sympathised with the council and all the businesses affected by the recent unfortunate fire incident that destroyed properties worth over N50 million said while the incident was destructive, it has created an opportunity for the Council to provide a better market structure for the people of the area.

He disclosed this to reporters who accosted him at Gwagwalada, a community in Kuje Area Council.

He said the market inferno which has no doubt affected the economic life of the owners and businesses destroyed also noted that the Almighty Allah showed mercies and prevented loss of life in the incident calling on the market union to remember to thank God for that.

Wowo said the unfortunate incidence offers the council opportunity for improved development in reconstruction of the council main market.

He tasked the council’s administration to maximize it and rebuild the market to meet contemporary business environment status for ease of access encompassing other safety measures.

He noted that Kuje Area Council is one of the first choices for residence by most visitors to the Abuja after the city centre and this calls for responsive strategic thinking by the council to face the challenge and meet up with this strategic position and responsibility.

Wowo commended the Council, Federal Fire service and the residents who stepped out to put out the fire before it totally got out of hand, thereby preventing a major disaster.

December 31, 2013
Making a living by the tarmac

Overtime, rural women in towns and villages alongside interstate highways have made it a habit to display their farm produce by the roadsides and make quick money. But couldn’t they have taken their wares to the nearest market and still make their sales, rather than expose themselves to the dangers of the gentlemen of the highways and even accidents? Godwin Simon just back from a trip to Ekiti State took time to speak with some of the traders, especially on their preference for the highways.

NATURALLY, farm produce are expected to be taken to the market places for sale. This is because buyers right from time immemorial have fixed their minds on the market as a place where they can always access goods and products of all sorts to purchase.

However, some farmers and village women have long defied this traditional arrangement of selling their produce at the market, opting instead to display them by major highways, where travellers driving past will always spot them and stop by. Usually their locations are somewhat close to their farms, something that may be borne out of convenience. For reasons best known to them, these group of traders have also continued to increase, somehow generating curiousity; even as they make available fresh produce to travellers, who barely have time to go to the markets.

As experienced by this reporter on his recent trip to Ekiti, these traders who incidentally are also the farmers of the produce, they take cover under trees beside the road, while some make small tents under which they store some of their produce. Prominent among the produce on display are usually plantain, yam, orange, maize and banana.

One of the farmers, Mrs. Salawu in an interview with this reporter disclosed that the reason for their selling along highway is strategic and economic. According to her, “We decided not to go and join others in the main market for personal reasons. This place is our own market. It’s all a matter of strategy. If we go to the main market, we may not make enough sales because competition there is stiffer. Things are also more expensive at the market due to cost of transportation.

“Here, people easily locate us without stress; they come to us and take their time to negotiate with us. We don’t have fixed prices here and all our products are negotiable.”

She said their produce hardly get spoilt before sale as patronage has increased over the years. “We don’t need any preservatives; we are not even acquainted with all these modern means of preservation. All we do is expose them to fresh air. Do you know the number of people that pass through here daily? Most of them stop to buy one thing or the other.” She said.

Mrs. Giwa, who has been on the location for five years revealed that two of her children are in universities and their sponsorship is based on the income generated from her trade. “Some people think that we are nobody or that we are the poorest, but this is not true. Some of us have children in universities. Personally, I have two children in universities whom I sponsor with my gains from here.

“My husband owns the farm; I help him to do the selling and we sustain our family with it. My hubby and I are uneducated, but we have vowed to sponsor all our children to tertiary education level and we hope that God will help us to achieve this.”

She expressly dismissed fears of robbers’ attack, noting that in her 5-year stay in the business, she has neither experienced nor heard any case of farmers being robbed in the area. She attributed this to the grace of God over their lives, as she believes that optimum security comes from God.

A young man, Mr. Adio, who said he is in his late twenties and specialises in selling plantains stated that he inherited the plantain farm from his father and has decided to concentrate on farming rather than engaging in anti-social activities. He disclosed that he has a primary six certificate but could not further his studies due to financial constraint caused mainly by his father’s illness which later led to his death.

His words, “Since I couldn’t further my education, I decided to engage in farming. With this, I am able to keep myself together. Though I’m not yet married, but I will soon get my wife.”

Responding to questions on why they don’t take their produce to farms, he noted that he has a personal reason for this. He said, “We believe that we are freer here. Most importantly is the problem of transportation. Those truck owners often charge high prices for their service. I used to make use of the market, but when I discovered that I often ran into loss due to exorbitant transport charges, I decided to try the road-side marketing, only to discover that it is better. Aside that you no longer need to pay for transport, patronage here is comparably higher than what obtains at the market.”

Commenting on how they make profit, he said since the farmers are the owners of the produce, what they need is just to sell and keep the money. “If we sell, the money is ours. If we don’t sell, the produce remains ours. So, profit making depends on how well you can sell. There is little or no financial demand on us. We don’t share our money with anybody. Once you subtract the amount you spent on the farm, which is sometimes not easy to calculate, the rest is yours.” He explained.

He added that they make more sales during festive periods like Christmas and New Year as more people often travel during these periods. He expressed optimism that this year won’t be different.

Customers who managed to speak with our reporter stated that they prefer the road-side traders because they can easily get fresh farm produce with little stress.

Mr. Ayodeji Fatoba who works with Greensworld Global Services Limited noted that he prefers buying farm produce by the highways majorly for the freshness of the produce on display. He said, “You can see that these plantains are fresh and very mature. You can’t find these at the market, especially Lagos where I live. The cheap price coupled with the quality of produce make me a regular buyer here. Produce in the markets are predominantly substandard in terms of quality, while their high price is ridiculous. Why not stop here where you will get quality ones at a reduced price?” He retorted.

Another customer, Mr. Edward said he cherished the accessibility of produce at their locations. “One can easily stop here, buy what he wants and zoom off. I don’t have time to be parading the market, especially when I’m on a journey like this. So, the only option I have is to buy in an easily accessible place.”

December 29, 2013