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.

TIC     Yusuf Abdulraheem     KwaraLearn     Ilorin Durbar     Sabitiyu Grillo     Saka Adeyemo     Kubra Kazum     Funmilayo Zubair     NNPP     Abdulrahman Iliasu     Congress For National Consensus     A.E. Afolabi     UNILORIN Alumni Association     Babaita     Ebola     Mohammed Yahaya Barki     Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission     LEAH Charity Foundation     Mamatu Abdullahi     Toyin Falola     Binta Sulyman     Adama Isa     Abdulquowiyu Olododo     Baba Issa Awoye     Saadu Alanamu     Zainab Abass     Ilorin Talaka Parapo (ITP)     Raheem Adaramaja     NAWOJ     Abdulkareem Alabi     Ibrahim Taiwo Road     Sulyman Atolagbe Alege     Bio Ibrahim     Atunwa     Kayode Ishola     Saidu Kawu     Aliyu Alhassan     Yusuf Mubarak     Illyasu Abdullahi     Doyin Agbamu     Stephen Fasakin     Gani Saadu     Shettima Of Ilorin     Yusuf Arowosaye     Oko Erin     First Lady     Vasolar-Kwara Company Ltd     Gbenga Adebayo     Jimoh Olusola Imam     Kwara Volleyball Association     Habeeb Saidu     Cornelius Fawenu     ER-KANG     Sa\'adu Salau     SSUCOEN     Justina Oha     Bolakale Kawu     All Confederation Of Principals Of Secondary Schools     Bayo Lawal     Danladi     Budo-Egba     Otuka     UNILORIN Alumni     Abdulraheem Yusuf     Yakub Lai Gobir     Umar Yakubu Jaja     Omu Aran     Nigeria Association Of Women Journalists     Kisira     Riskat Opakunle     Moshood Bakare     Local Government     Idofin     Ishak Mohammed Sabi     Kale Bayero     Amoyo     Ilesha Gwanara Road    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

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

Ahmed Dankaya     Haruna Olawale Sulaiman     Yakubu Shaaba     Yakubu Danladi     Quranic Recitation Competition     Umar Danladi Shero     Oyun     Simeon Sayomi     Kuliyan Geri     Zubair Folorunsho Erubu     Funmilayo Braithwaite     KWASAA     Kazeem Adekanye     Mary Kemi Adeosun     Amada Jidda     Igbomina     Alimi Abdulrazaq     Muideen Olaniyi Alalade     Kola Adesina     Ayodele Shittu     David Adesina     Ogbondoroko     Kwara Consultative Forum     Abdulwahab Oba     Kwara Politics     Muslim Media Watch Group Of Nigeria     Makama     Kupchi Hosea Maxwell     Isiaka AbdulRazaq     Sabitiyu Grillo     Abdulrazaq Magaji     Adeleke Ogungbe     Abdulraheem Yusuf     Eghe Igbinehi     Royal FM     Olupako     LAK Jimoh     Yahaya Seriki Gambari     Olumide Daniel Ibitoye     Alfa Modibo Belgore     Unicontinental Construction Company     Seun Bolaji     Olaitan Buraimoh     Kwara State Television (KWTV)     Yahaya Abdulkareem Babaita     Adedayo Yusuf Abdulkareem     Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence     Ayeyemi Sulaiman     Balogin Alanamu     Mustapha Olanipekun     Olabode George Towoju     Ajase-Ipo     Ibrahim Oloriegbe     Christopher Tunji Ayeni     Wale Oladepo     Elesie Of Esie     NULGE     Taofeek Ibraheem     University Road     Madawaki     Village Alive Development Association     Mohammed Saidu     Timothy Olatunde Fadipe     IF-K     Yoonus Lawal     Gaa Olobi     Gbenga Olawepo     Tunde Akanbi     Ibraheem Abdullateef     Albert Ogunsola     Aliyu Adebayo     Yusuf Lanre Badmas     Aishatu Ahmed Gobir     Lanre Issa-Onilu     Muyideen Ajani Bello     Joseph Daudu     Federal Road Maintenance Agency