Market: Yagba in Patigi. By Comfort Yakubu

Date: 2016-02-10

In the past when Patigi market was a hub of commercial activities, people from Yagba in Kogi State formed majority of the people who came to Patigi for market, they start arriving a day or two to the market day, they settled at a particular spot, the road leading to a settlement called Tankpafu, where they slept before the main market day. The native women at some point started going to meet the Yagba women at the spot to buy off products like yam, garri, orange and palm oil which the Yagba women brought before the market day, gradually the spot soon blossomed into a trading spot, that was how Yagba market day came into being in Patigi. The people of Patigi local government area of Kwara State and its environs look forward to this market which holds every nine days. Traders often come from all over Kwara, Niger and neighboring states for their commercial transactions.

Nupes are the Natives of the town with a number of settlers from other parts of Nigeria like the Yorubas, Hausas, Fulanis and Tiv people.

The people of Patigi look forward to this particular market because the sales made on market days doubles what they made at other days put together, aside from the Yagba market, there are other markets such as the Patigi market (Yaragi) and Kusogi market among others but non can be compared to the Yagba market in Patigi. The Yagba markert affects every other activity in the town as shops in the town are closed and relocated to the market including tailors, recharge card sellers and any other business one can think of.

This market also affects the school System as many pupils stay away from school while those who were in school in the morning sneak away to the market to help their parents hawk. When the school attempted to checkmate this situation, parents of pupils told the school authority that it is from the sales they make from Yagba market that they use to pay school fees.

Elder Daniel Usman who is the principal of Patigi secondary school and also an elder in ECWA church, told this reporter that there are instances where by when pupils are sent home for not paying their school fees, parent of such will comeback pleading to pay after the next market day. He explained that even the church activity is affected by the market ,according to him if the market falls on a day when the men hold their fellowship, which starts from 5pm every Friday a few men will come but if it is on women fellowship days, the fellowship is completely cancelled because most women will be busy buying and selling in the market. If it is on Sunday however once the service gets unduly long people will leave church for the market.

He explained that people do this because they don't want to miss the market, as it is an opportunity to buy at cheaper rates and also sell their commodities to buyers. At the entrance of the market you find a section for blacksmith who have relocated to the market for the business of the day.

Groups of Fulani women also have a spot outside where they sell Fura, Nunu, Maishanu, and Wara.

The Okada riders were also lined up at the entrance of the market, one of the Okader riders told this reporter that he makes two to three times more than he makes on other days. Crowded with people, this market is congested, clumsy and not well laid out, fish, bambara nuts, rice , melon among other items are sold in the market.

Igbos, Yoruba, Hausa, Nupes and Fulanis and people from Yagbagi a small Nupe community close to yagba the boundary between Kogi and Nupe land form the majority of patrons of this market. The women from Yagbagi come with rice, beans, palm kernel oil to sell and by clothes shoes, pepper shear butter and soap to go and sell at home. Trucks come from Ilorin, Ikare in Ondo State to buy raw food especially rice , melon and guinea corn.

Some women could also be seen selling oranges, they bring the oranges from Bida to sell. A bag of orange is bought at 8,0000 naira a group of women could come together to buy a bag share and sell. An Igbo man who gave his name has Okafor has been coming to the market for the past 3 years from Ilorin. He said he heard he could buy food stuff like rice and melon from Patigi at cheaper rates, so he decided to come to Patigi, he was pleased with what he saw and since then he brings in shirts both brand new and second hand to sell and buys rice and melon to sell in Ilorin.

Mrs. Opeyemi Raji has been coming to the market for the past 20yrs. comparing the trend now with 20yrs ago when she started coming to Patigi she explains that things have changed, sales is no longer as good as 20yrs back when she started coming to the market.

Mrs. Mercy F. Solomon who sells plastic products has been coming for the past 15 years, according to her, the market is slow and steady, no salary, no money, no market she exclaims. Abu from Lade has been selling for 14years in the market, he farms fresh pepper, onions in Lade, a community 45minutes drive from Patigi then brings to sell on market days.

Another pepper seller Mallam Suleiman explains that in the past, if you bring pepper and onions worth 30,000 to the market you could make 10,000 to 15,000 naira profit but today the story has changed he doesn't make such profit.

Some Igbo women have also ventured into the fish business, a business that was only done by the Nupe women, these Igbo women buy from the fisher men at the river banks their prices are often cheaper than that of the Nupe women.

Traders could be seen beckoning on buyers to come and buy. Despite the fact that people come from various background, English is not the means of communication, Nupe, Yoruba and Hausa are the languages used in selling. A Yoruba woman was seen selling to a Nupe woman who couldn't understand Yoruba, Properly, while she (Yoruba woman) couldn't speak Nupe as well, at some point confusion set in and an interpreter was implored to explain properly to the women.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Erubu     AbdulHamid Adi     Veterinary Teaching Hospital     Madawaki Of Ilorin     Ilorin Muslim Community     Kannike     Abdullahi Saadudeen Alikinla     Saka Asiat Ayinke     JAMB     Fatima Abolore Jimoh     Tunde Idiagbon Road     Dapo Teni Nig Enterprise     Mamatu Abdullahi     Ubandoma Of Ilorin     Ramadhan     Femi Ogunsola     Alanamu     Madawaki     Mohammed Abdulahi     National Information Technology Development Agency     Hijab     Ahman Pategi     Innocent Okoye     Kamaldeen Gambari     ASUU     Oko-Erin     Oba Sulaiman Asude     Budo-Egba     George Funsho Adebayo     Wasiu Onidugbe     Christopher Ayeni     Alabi Lawal     JUSUN     Nigerian Army     Jimoh Lambe Abdulkareem     Alumni Association Of The Federal Polytechnic Offa     Kwara Primary Health Care Development Agency     Freshvine Nigeria Limited     Saliu Ajibola Ajia     Emir Of Kano     Ayekale     Abubakar Aliagan     COVID     UNIFEMGA     Olosi Of Osi     Mohammed Kamaludeen     Kemi Adeosun     Toyin Saraki     Temi Kolawole     Oba-Solagberu     Code Of Conduct     AbdulRahman Saad     Bello Taoheed Abubakar     LEAH Charity Foundation     Gabriel Fashanu     Akom Construction And Engineering Synergy Ltd     Baba Issa     Agboola Abdulraheem     Aliyu Muhammad Saifudeen     Aisha Ahman Pategi     Zainab Abass     The Herald     College Of Health     Garba Dogo     Olatunde Olukoya     Communication Network Support Services     Sheu Ndanusa Usman     Oladipo Akanmu Tolani     Raji Ayodele Kamaldeen     Ghali Alaaya     Fatai Olodo     Saka Onimago     Www.Kwarareports.com     Falokun-Oja     Old Oyo     Oke-Ero     Kwara State Sports Commission    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

TVC Female National Debate     08001000100     Tunde Kazeem     Aro Yahaya     Labaeka     AbdulFatai Adeniyi Dan-Kazeem     YAKOOYO     Tunji Folami     Baboko Primary School     Tunji Moronfoye     School Of Nursing     Abikan     Diagnostic Centre     Omar Bolaji Gambari     Ekiti     Osinbajo     Suleiman Mora Omar     Awwal Jawondo     Ishaq Oloyede     CELF     Isau     Yusuf Abdulkadir     UITH     Gamji Members Association     Abdulfatah Ahmed     Muritala Olarewaju     CT Ayeni     Oasis Muslim Care Foundation     NaAllah     Ayobami Akanbi     Saraki     Joseph Bamigboye     Orisa Bridge     Ile Arugbo     Jumoke Monsura Gafar     Savannah Centre For Diplomacy, Democracy And Development     Akeem Lawal     Ibikunle Ogunleye     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport     Olukotun Of Ikotun     Yusuf Abdulwahab     Shuaib Jawondo     Earlyon Technologies     National Union Of Road Transport Workers     Prince Mahe Abdulkadir     Association Of Kwara State Online Media Practitioners     Kazeem Gbolagade     Ilorin South Constituency     Alfa Modibbo Belgore     Shade Omoniyi     Kwara University Of Education     Aremu Odolaye     Niyi Osundare     Lawal Jimoh     Onilu     Nagode     MAI Akande     Sulyman Abdulkareem     Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike     Chikanda     Abdulmajeed Abdullahi     Haleeman Salman     Jimoh Saadudeen Muhammed     Gbadeyan Gbadura Yomi     Tinubu     Oba Mogaji Abdulkadir     Tafidan Kaiama     Balikis Jawondo     Muideen Olaniyi Alalade     Aminu Adisa Logun     Lawal Olohungbebe     Joseph Yemi Ajayi     Ibrahim Abdullahi     National Information Technology Development Agency     Mopelola Abdulmaliq-Bashir     Shaaba Lafiagi     Omu Aran