Displaced traders, mainly tomato and pepper sellers at the popular Mile 12 market, have relocated to Kara Market, Ibafo. However, the relocation has been greeted with mixed reactions. While the traders count their blessings because of expected boom in sales, the far location of the market, high cost of items, and unfriendly environment are areas of concern to customers. TONIA DIYAN reports.
For displaced traders at the popular Mile 12 Food Stuff Market in Lagos, especially tomato and pepper sellers, boom time is here again. The traders, who were displaced from the market in the aftermath of a dispute within the communities in Ketu-Mile 12 area of Lagos, have relocated to Oluwanisola Kara Market, Ibafo.
However, the relocation to the market situated at Berger and Ibafo along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, The Nation Shopping learnt, has been greeted with mixed feelings. While the exercise has raised the traders’ hopes of brisk sales, while also reuniting them with their kinsmen from the northern part of the country, some of their customers and buyers have expressed concerns over the new location, which they consider far, with prices of items also high.
Usman Aruna, one of the tomato sellers and a native of Sokoto, is one of those who see the relocation as an opportunity to reunite with his kinsmen from the north. He told The Nation Shopping that he is pleased with his new place of business. He said he now has peace of mind as the fear of death no longer exists.
His words: “We see this place as a refuge from the war zone called Mile 12. Our brothers reside and sell here; therefore, we have decided to take refuge here since we are no longer safe with the Yorubas who dominate Mile 12 Market where we used to be.”
Abdulai Sheu, another trader, expressed similar sentiment. He said: “In the north where we come from, we are mainly farmers and cattle rearers. We go home, farm and harvest our crop which we transport to Lagos and other parts of the country for consumption. Yet, we are killed and our properties destroyed in Lagos. We have decided to stay here for now.”
Sheu said it is easier for him and his trader colleagues to offload at the new market and sell produce to customers mostly market women. “This place is closer to the high way that takes us to our home town faster than Mile 12,” he noted, adding that alhough, some people say the government might not allow traders stay there because of traffic obstruction on the road, he does not know why that should be since it is a private market.
From a commercial point of view, Mallam Audu, a cattle rearer, expressed hope that the relocation would translate to increased patronage. He said his kinsmen from Mile 12 Market would make business thrive for them at Kara Market.
“I am happy that my bothers are here to trade and help our business thrive. Our market is now like a one-stop-shop where you can buy meat, tomato, pepper, bell pepper (Tatashe) and onions rather than moving from one market to another to buy these things. Their presence here will make our market more significant and known,” he told The Nation Shopping.
It is also boom time for owners and drivers of buses conveying produce from the market to different areas. Some of them, who spoke with The Nation Shopping, confessed that they now have more jobs to do. And with it comes more money.
“Conveying pepper and tomato is now added to my daily work. People go as far as FESTAC, Amukoko and other far places from here. So, we charge them according to distance and quantity they want to convey per trip,” says Afikayo, one of the bus drivers.
Indeed, following the relocation, the Kara Cattle Market has become busier than before. The market is gradually becoming a centre of attraction for buyers and sellers, particularly market women who buy in bulk from trucks offloading and resell in bits. For now, there is no other place in and around the area that is enjoying such increased tempo of business/commercial activities.
The food contractor and head of catering, Eko Hotel and Suites, also testified to the convenience and increased tempo of activities at the market. When the The Nation Shopping met her at the market shopping for tomato and pepper in bulk, the woman, who pleaded not to be mentioned, said her visit to the market has become an everyday thing since the traders relocated.
Hear her: “I now patronize this market, but before now, I visit this place mainly for meat. But now that the pepper sellers have been relocated here, it is easy for me to do my daily shopping in a particular place, unlike before when I and my team had to come here for meat and then go back to Mile 12 for pepper and tomato.”
Indeed, the hustling and bustling in the market can hardly go unnoticed. The loud voices of mallams selling tomato and pepper could be heard even from a distance as they try to attract buyers for their goods. Although, they face hard competition because they all sell the same wares in a small space they now manage, some of them even bring out the tomato to meet the buyers who are not able to enter the flooded market..
The market is at its peak in the mornings. There is not a single corner where a big crowd is not seen, as sellers and buyers engage in hard bargain for a very long time. Everyone seems to be in hurry. While some buyers feel satisfied after purchasing at a spot for convenience, others feel dissatisfied because of the hike in prices of the items.
For instance, a woman, Stella Maris, who bought tomato and pepper in bulk, said she bought from traders when they were offloading. She said she was fortunate to arrive the market as early as 6am and got cheap bargain than those who came late. “I bought directly from the trucks as they arrived in turns and was fortunate to get baskets of tomato for between N1, 800 and N2, 000 instead of between N3, 500 and N4, 000 per basket,” she said.
Maris also said she bought pepper for N8, 000 per bag as against N9, 000 they are selling, while a bell of pepper (Tatashe) cost N3, 200 instead of N4, 500. She was also lucky to buy onions for N5, 000 instead of N6, 500 per bag. She, however, regretted that “Prices of the items are not friendly at all. They used to be cheaper at Mile 12 market.”
Maris noted that prices of items at the new market are rather expensive. “This is why you can see market women, I mean those who would buy to resell in bits share bags and baskets amongst themselves. They move around the market asking people who want to buy if they are interested in sharing as they couldn’t afford to buy bags and baskets,” she said.
However, despite traders and buyers’ excitement over convenience and patronage, there are issues around the new location. For instance, the head of catering for Eko Hotel and Suites complained that the place is water logged, calling on government to help develop it.
She also noted that such a market is not suitable for the highway, as offloading food items is sure to pose a major traffic challenge. “I notice some vehicles loading and offloading on the highway and it can be very risky,” she said.
The Nation shopping learnt that the Lagos State Government had always wanted to shut the Mile 12 Market because it obstructs the free flow of traffic on Ikorodu Road. Motorists who help buyers and market women convey their produce were a menace, as they consistently load and offload while parked on the high way.
Officials of Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASMA) are said to have been hectic time controlling traffic in that axis. Therefore, the thinking was that the only way traffic can be decongested there was to shut the market.
This was why when the shutdown was announced it came as a relief to not a few traders and road users. Kara market, which is a privately owned market named after its owner, Oluwanisola, is a relatively peaceful places. It has 31 heads and an overall chairman.
For orderliness, a fine of N5, 000 is imposed on anyone who fights. In other words, people can only shout at themselves when they argue, but are not allowed to raise their hands against each other. “You cannot fight here, people are very careful. The market is peaceful and doesn’t encourage violence,” says Mallam Audu, a cattle rearer.
