Michael Jimoh
an adult male baritone voice startles you from behind a line of human chain snaking along one of the narrow paths in Katangua Market. The path itself is hedged by hastily constructed wooden stalls with colourful awnings or corrugated roofing sheets. It is clearly not convenient for a single file to pace along.
And yet, an Indian file of another is coming from the opposite direction, men and women with loads on their heads or holding blue nylon bags stuffed with recently made purchases. There are many more shoppers walking along, hands by their side like penguins on the march.
A short sprint is impossible here. You are sure to careen into someone if you dared. Still, it is a good day to snap up that rare Balenciaga scarf or Nike sneakers, a Tommy Hilfiger jeans or Gap chinos – all of them second-hand/ used – and at bargain price.
Welcome to Katangua Market aka Katangowa or Katangwa by Super Bus stop in Abule Egba along Lagos/ Abeokuta Expressway. Sources told THEWILL the market was begun nearly 30 years ago by Hausa traders and settlers dispensing a few commodities at the time. Today you can buy just about anything from used bags and shoes to bras and panties, leggings and gowns of different colours and sizes, stylish denims and bespoke shirts, baby wears, bedspreads, pillowcases, curtains, towels and much else.
There are those providing ancillary services in the market also: food vendors, POS operators, carriers and even young men displaying fancy shirts and trousers right in your face.
Don’t be beguiled by his sweet utterances. He is an “Applico” with no shop of his own and there are no originals of the items mentioned. He is a hustler out to woo you, make some snappy sale and have his cut from the show owner.
From its lowly beginnings, Katangua is now the most famous flea market in Lagos and, possibly, Nigeria. Yes, there was Tejuosho Market Yaba a favourite of female Akokites at one time. It is no more. Aswani Market along Lagos/ Badagry Expressway operates only on Tuesdays, leaving Katangua to have a run of used clothes business and, in the process, attract more patronage.
For three days every week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday - thousands of shoppers and traders converge at the most famous flea market in Lagos to buy and sell handme-downs from America, Asia or Europe. It is on those days also that traders at Katangua open bales and bales of merchandise bought from Arena Market near Oshodi or Apapa Wharf.
As early as 6, 6.3am the bales are cut open and then buyers including retailers close in for a choice piece of clothing, bag or shoe. More shoppers arrive as the day progresses. More bales are cut open and some of the items displayed on shelves, benches, on the ground, on hangers and worn on male and female mannequins.
The adult male voice ordering you to give way has not come to buy or sell. He is a delivery man with a huge bale on his head covering his brows down to the ears and back of the neck. Only his nose, mouth and chin are visible. There is not much space to let him through because of the human crush. Still, bodies bend this way and that giving the impatient carrier right of way.
It is a Monday afternoon and there are people everywhere in the market sitting in makeshift wooden stalls loaded with