• Buyers shun fabrics shops, flood markets that offer cheaper prices, as transport fares skyrocket

By Vivian Onyebukwa

As the Christmas celebration continues, most traders who expected a boom in sales are yet to realise their dreams. A market survey shows that sales have not been as good as expected. At the popular Oshodi market in Lagos, known for bulk trade in fabrics such as laces, ankara and others, business has been slow.

Even within the Christmas week when sales were expected to get to the peak, the market remained less busy, unlike what it used to be. There was no traffic, both vehicular and human. Most of the traders sat in their shops waiting and hoping to receive customers.

Timothy Muotoh, an ankara fabric seller at the market, expressed disappointment over poor sales. He lamented that all his hopes to make huge sales this season met a brick wall.

“You can see that we have new stocks. We brought plenty of new designs expecting customers to come and patronise us especially those that use ankara fabrics for asoebi. We do both retail and wholesale, but we are not seeing customers. Some occasions are fixed for January. So we are still expecting customers to come and make purchases,” Muotoh said.

He blamed the poor sales on the bad economic situation in the country, praying that the situation gets better.

At the section of the market where children’s clothes, shoes, and other items are sold, the situation was a little better. Some parents were seen with their children who came for Christmas shopping. One of them, Mrs. Nneka Okonkwo, who came with her two children, explained why she brought her children to the market.

“Children are the most important people to take care of during festive seasons like Christmas. Adults could manage their old clothes, but children may not because they are still growing. A child may have overgrown clothes he used the previous year. So you have to try your best to get new clothes for them,” she stated.

Okonkwo lamented the high cost of children’s clothing, but confessed that she couldn’t do anything about it.

A visit to the Nigerian Army shopping Arena, also in Oshodi showed a little difference in market activities. A large number of people were seen buying foodstuff believed to be cheaper at the complex.

The complex is a one-stop-shop for everything one needs, ranging from food items to clothing and accessories. Fresh fruits and livestock are also said to be cheaper at the market compared to other markets. Retailers come there to buy in bulk. The situation at the market when the reporter visited earlier in the week was chaotic.

Some of the buyers concentrated on buying second hand clothes, either as a matter of choice or as a result of the economic situation in the country.

“I have some good outing clothes which I can still use for parties. I only need good casual clothes I can manage for home,” said one of the customers who identified herself as Abiola Jinadu.

Still at Arena, young women in their numbers converged on one corner of the market, beautifying their hair, fixing and painting their nails ahead of the festive season.

One of them who does online business, Ngozi Odoemena, stated the reason she had to spend close to N15,000 to braid her hair. Cheerfully, she said, “I am travelling to my home town, not because I have so much money to do so, but because I really want to make new relationship contacts. I am 26, and I am yet to get married. I need to arrange myself very well. Who knows, I may be lucky. It’s difficult to get any serious relationships in Lagos here. Some of the men living in Lagos also go back to the village to take new wives.”

At Ikotun market also in Lagos, roadside sellers of shoes and clothes, both new and second hand, were seen making brisk businesses. One of them selling both children and adult shoes, Ngozi Aniegbunam, expressed joy at the level of volume of sales she was able to make before the reporter visited the market that day.

“People prefer to shop at the dying minute. I have been in this business for about seven years, so I know all the tricks. At this period, they are ready to pay any amount you tell them,” Aniegbunam said.

But as Christmas sales dominate market activities, transportation around Lagos has also become a major issue. Local transportation around the Oshodi axis has increased tremendously. Oshodi to Iyana-Ipaja, which usually costs N500, has gone up to N1,200. Oshodi to Sango which ordinarily goes for N700 in a big bus now costs N2,000 while Oshodi to Ikeja has gone up from about N500 to between N700 and N800.

Similarly, transportation from Ikotun to Iyana-Ipaja increased from N500 to N1,000, while Ikotun to Egbeda increased from N500 to N800.