How corn business booms in Abuja

Madam Seyifunmi Olagunju is a corn seller at Kubwa, FCT. She derives joy and fulfilment in making ends meet through selling corn alongside other things like coconut, pear in the market. She also confirmed that the business may look small, but it thrives as she can fend for her family through it. ADEOLA TUKURU reports.  

Madam Seyi who hails from Osun state decided not to follow other women by engaging in buying and selling stuff like clothes, shoes and bags.

The trend is also rubbing off positively on her, as she makes brisk business.

It is now cheaper to get the worms in the tummy gainfully busy and keep hunger at bay. Checks reveal that with less than N200, people buy as many as four cubs of either roasted or cooked maize, and backed with about two sachets of water, they get filled and soon discover that they can spend less and stay healthy, given the rich nutrients in maize.

Latter day fast food

A random tour of the capital city revealed that due to high patronage of its hawkers, maize, be it in cooked or roasted form, has become a newfound fast food for residents.  

The cereal, which is readily available in the city from February, is now the cheapest food for many.

Consequently, not a few residents are often seen ‘blowing the mouth organ’ even as they walk along the way or drive.

Madam Seyi, who came to Abuja in 2008 and sells corn at Kubwa market said maize business has been her only means of livelihood which she uses to assist her husband 

The 43 year old said people see maize business as the cheapest means of getting money but it goes beyond that because it is only the strong-willed that can engage in that type of business. I wake up as early as 4am every day to catch up with my suppliers in the market.

“Any day I fail to wake up early, I may not buy fresh ones because other buyers who arrive the market before me must have bought almost all the good ones, thereby leaving the remnants for late comers. Since most of my customers know that I buy fresh corn, I leave the house early to satisfy them and in turn, make small profit.”, she said.

Booming business

She said the business booms now compared to last year. Many people buy corn now maybe, because of the economic downturn. I sell very well because I cook about 70 pieces of corn and before the day runs out, they have finished. 

According to her , a cub of corn goes for N50 depending on the size. Some of the bigger fresh ones go for about N70 each and I make good profit. So, the market this year, is better than last year.

“I am a widow with three children – one boy and two girls. My husband died five years ago, and because I am poor and not educated, I decided to go into this business with the little money I borrowed from my friend. My children are in secondary school and I train them from this business”, she said.

Availability of maize 

She explained to Business Starterthat maize is always available in Abuja every February. “You can never see maize in Abuja in January except from February every year. This is because farmers plant maize during the dry season through irrigation farming. 

“So, the corn you see now in the market was planted during the dry season and it is a bit costly. When they plant during the dry season, they water it morning and evening to ensure that they mature before harvesting them for sale. 

“Due to the stress attached to irrigation farming, the products are usually a bit expensive compared to rainy season farming”, she said.

Cheap maize

According to her, maize planted during the rainy season are cheaper because the farmers do not stress themselves as they do during the dry season. “The rain will water the seeds naturally. Due to the natural water, maize grown during the rainy season is usually very delicious and more nutritious.

“The prices of the ones in the market have not dropped because they were cultivated during the dry season. By this time last year, there was rain but now, rain hardly falls”, she said.

Hard times

She confirmed that business had been good, saying: “I make more sales now compared to last year. People buy a lot of corn now unlike last year, when patronage was very low. More people buy a lot of maize now because, as you can see, the economy is bad.”

When Business Starter sampled the opinion of sellers, a teenager, Maduka Eze, who resides in Nyanya, but sells maize at Utako market for his mother, said: “My mother buys at Karmo market and I help her to sell because it is from the proceeds that she pays my school fees. 

“Another thing is that the rainy season corn is sweeter than the ones during the dry season, which is also expensive.

“Many people buy corn from me. The level of patronage is very impressive compared to last year, when I would sit here and make poor sales.”

Also maize farmer in Garki, an Abuja suburb, Musa Ibrahim, stated that compared to last year, “I have made more sales. Those who buy corns are demanding more supplies from us and we sell at good prices to them.”

Another maize seller, Mrs Gad Regina, attributed the high sales this year to the hard times adding: “Things are the way they are now because money is not flowing like before.”

Business hazards

She said the greatest challenge of the business is the constant harassment by officials of the AEPB, adding that in most cases, many basins of cooked corn have been seized during such raids.

She recalled that penultimate Saturday, when AEPB taskforce stormed the Okonjo-Iweala Way in the City Center, she was almost caught and had to abandon a full basin of cooked corn and run away, to avoid arrest.

“As I watched from a distance, I saw them lift the basin of corn inside their Toyota Hilux van and drove off. So, that was how I lost both the capital and income that I would have realised after selling the corn”, she said.

Maize lovers speak

A female civil servant with the Ministry of Works and Housing, Abuja, who did not want her name in print, said that she eats maize a lot. “I can tell you that I love eating maize everyday more than other staple food in the market. 

This is because, its nutrient is natural and it gives me instant energy, especially when I dilute it with a bottle of sprite. Maize is one of the cheapest snacks that people can buy for lunch and get maximum satisfaction. I am not ashamed to say that I love maize and will always eat maize irrespective of the price.”

Another lover of maize, Mr Fred Ede, said: “For me, maize is a healthy food to eat and I love it, whether cooked or roasted. Due to its availability and price, I eat it as my lunch almost every day and I have no regrets. At least, you have to save some money, you know the economy is hard.

“Apart from serving as my lunch, I also buy some for my wife and children because they love maize more than I do”, he said.

Ede appealed to the government to assist petty traders by providing cheaper shops for them “because many display their goods on the roadside which is rather risky.”

Philip Umar said: “I love to eat corn. There is this feeling I get when I eat it. I prefer the cooked one because it goes perfect when eaten with coconut. Due to the poor economic situation in the country, everything is expensive, but it is still worth buying corn because when you get two pieces of corn for N100, it is better than using N250 to buy a plate of rice for lunch. No matter the price, I will still eat corn.”

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