Market: Yagba in Patigi. By Comfort Yakubu
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.
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