Inside Lagos Flea Markets
Lawanson Road in Lagos has become a home of second- hand goods where traders and buyers are known to play the trick on one another. Charles Ajunwa writes
Lawanson Road in Lagos has become a home of second- hand goods where traders and buyers are known to play the trick on one another. Charles Ajunwa writes
Some neighbourhoods around Lagos are known for their uniqueness. For instance, Ladipo in Mushin Local Government Area is known for sales of brand new and second-hand motor spare parts, Alaba International Market in Ojo Local Government Area is reputed for sales of different brands of electronic appliances, while Lawanson Road in Surulere Local Government Area is known for sales of second-hand fridges and other electrical appliances
All over the world, many major cities have their peculiarities or what make them unique. The main attractions to such major cities include imposing places of worship such as churches, mosques; business districts, sports centres, open trading areas, historical monuments and the list is endless.
Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, is no exception to such major cities in the world with its own uniqueness.
Some neighbourhoods around Lagos are known for their uniqueness. For instance, Ladipo in Mushin Local Government Area is known for sales of brand new and second-hand motor spare parts, Alaba International Market in Ojo Local Government Area is reputed for sales of different brands of electronic appliances, while Lawanson Road in Surulere Local Government Area is known for sales of second-hand fridges and other electrical appliances. Just to mention a few.
When THISDAY visited Lawanson Road last week, many of the dealers on second-hand fridges and other gadgets have opened their shops for business. Apart from some second-hand fridges that were packed inside the shops, the rest were carefully arranged along the Lawanson Road in front of the shops to attract would be buyers. Except on Sundays that shops don’t open, the traders on other days hang around their shops waiting for customers to show up.
During THISDAY’s investigations, some of the dealers of second-hand fridges complained bitterly about low patronage which they attributed to the rainy season. According to them, many would be customers were forced to stay back in their homes because of the heavy rains. They also raised issue of the importation of fairly used fridges which was banned some years ago by the Federal Government. This policy, according to them, dealt a devastating blow to the once booming business of fairly used fridges on Lawanson Road. The traders called on Federal Government to reverse the policy as the fridges are no longer harmful to human life.
Investigations also revealed that the landlords of shops along the Lawanson Road have compounded the problem of the traders as the high charges for shops put between the range of N100 to 200,000 annually have forced many businesses to close down.
The traders also requested for additional security in the area to complement the ones put together by the trader’s union, to checkmate the activities of thieves that break into their shops unchallenged.
Although they thanked Lagos State government for proving them with good road network along Lawanson Road, they called on the state government to do something urgently to control the overflow of water each time it rained heavily in the area. Many of their goods, according to the traders, have been lost in the floods that enter their shops.
THISDAY investigations also revealed that the sale of fairly used cooking utensils and different brands of electronic sets are beginning to dominate the business seen on Lawanson Road, originally reputed for the sale of fairly used fridges.
Chukwuemeka Obialor, who hails from Imo State, went down memory lane to recall how he came to Lagos in the early 90s to start the business of fairly used fridges on Lawanson Road and how he later went into the sale of cooking utensils, pressing iron and repairs on Lawanson Road.
“I started the business that I’m doing now since 1994 when I came to Lagos after my mother’s burial. When my senior brother brought me to Lagos then I hadn’t anything. It’s was my senior brother that advised me to go and learn how to sell fairly used fridges as the business was booming then. The fridges are graded; the lowest one known as bed size which was sold then at between N1,000 and N1,500. Importers sell to us at N800. Now, the bed size fridge is sold between N12,000 and N20,000. Then we bought table top at N2,000 and sell between N3,000 and N3,500. That table top now is sold at N20,000 to N25,000. Then we bought double at the price of N3,000 and sell N5,000. We bought Deep freezer then at the price of N5,000 and sell N10,000. But deep freezer now is sold between N50,000 to N70,000.
“Those days things were very cheap unlike now the prices of fairly used fridges have increased. I later combined the business with sale of fridge parts to enable me raise more money. When the importation of fridges was banned, it affected my business greatly. That singular Federal Government’s decision triggered the increment being witnessed today in the prices of fairly used fridges.
“Because of the ban on fridges, I was forced to go into the sale of cooking utensils. I was the first person from the beginning of Lawanson Road to end that started the business here. I go out of my way then to convince people to buy cooking utensils from my shop. I made enough profit from the business then as competitors were less then. Today, cooking utensils are taking more prominence than fridges in Lawanson.
“I want the federal government to make clearing of goods at the ports to be less expensive. The people importing goods are complaining of the high charges and this is responsible for the high cost of fairly used fridges in the market. When clearing of goods is high, buyers put their own money to cover up their expenses,” he said.
On why he is into selling and buying, Obilor said “I am into selling and servicing because if I don’t do it, things will be hard for me and the little profit I am suppose to make another person will take it from me. Most times when I buy goods many of the fairly used items will be faulty and the people that will repair them will charge me high amount. When I buy no tested fairly used and they don’t work I will repair them by myself to cover up my expenses. I also help others to repair when they come to my shop.
Obilor said it was not all disappointment for him doing business on Lawanson Road. “I thank God that through this business, I got married and my marriage is blessed with a boy and a girl. Through this business I have my shop, somebody that came to Lagos with five kobo. But now, I thank God I’m alive, I thank God that the little I have I’m managing it well. I thank God for everything about my life.
Another dealer of fairly used fridges, Ikechukwu Uzoma, complained bitterly that buyers rarely patronize them these days. “People are not buying second-hand fridges again as they used to buy. The activities of area boys have forced container owners to stop offloading goods in Lawanson. We lose so much money as we are now forced to go to Odolowo to buy fairly used fridges. The little profit we are supposed to make we end up spending it in transporting the fridges to Lawanson. The landlords charge us exorbitantly for the shops which has forced many dealers to close down. The sales have dropped rapidly and some of us are now looking for alternative.”
Chairman Mega Zone 6, Innocent Mary Nwaju, who said he relocated to Lawanson from Alaba International Market, said “Lawanson before now used to be a good place to do business. Before you will enjoy it businesswise because customers do come here very well and they do buy things from us. It’s was after the ban on importation of fridges that we started having the problem of not getting much customers.
Today, you find out that most people are now moving out from the selling of fridges to cooking utensils, television and other things. Before if you are coming to Lawanson, you are coming to buy fridges and by Saturday your pocket is full and you go home happy. But this time around, some people will stay weeks without selling a single thing here. Generally, now market is not moving and the problem started with the banning of fridges. We appeal to Federal Government that the gas they are talking about nobody is using it
again. If they lift the ban I believe with God’s power Lawanson will start to boom again.”
Oladehinde Olaleye, who sells fairly used electronics, said the sale of tokumbo fridges started in whole of Nigeria from Lawanson Road before spreading to Alaba International Market, West Minister, among others.
Olaleye, who had spent over two decades doing business on Lawanson Road, said “doing business in Lawanson Road has been nice and that is the reason I am still here for over 20 years.”
On how secured the shops are, he said “the main security is from God, all other security measures put in place are ordinary human efforts.
But with prayer God is seeing us through. We still have thugs breaking into some shops on this road and our union people here are not doing enough to checkmate this. When we have cases of armed robbery and report to the police, the union people will be asking us if we pay them extra to money to provide additional security for us.”
The landlords charge us exorbitantly for the shops which has forced many dealers to close down. The sales have dropped rapidly and some of us are now looking for alternative