Located in the Ojo local government area of Lagos State, Nigeria, Alaba International Market is the self-acclaimed largest market in West Africa and the home of electronics in Nigeria. The market spans from the Chemist bus-stop to the Corner bus-stop. Alaba International Market is dominated by “Igbo traders” while traders from other tribes make up a very small percentage. The major goods sold at the market include but not limited to mobile telephones, musical instruments, office equipment, household appliances and electric wires. If I am not mistaken, nearly all the banks in Nigeria have a branch in the market and that is where traders mainly deposit and withdraw their cash. Some bank transactions can be funny at times because a trader may deposit a certain amount in the morning and withdraw that same amount in the evening. I guess it’s a trader’s way of safeguarding his money. The worst time to use a bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in the market is on Fridays while the best time is on Sundays (when the banks are shut). Even with that, don’t ever try using an ATM because, most times, 80% of the ATMs are non-functional; they are always “out-of-service”. The most spoken languages are pidgin-English and Igbo language. The average age of a trader can be estimated at 27. The market is home to lots of “wheelbarrow pushers” mainly Hausas (who are popularly called “Abokis”) who help convey goods for both buyers and sellers. There are also hawkers who deal on sachet water or “pure water” (most sold commodity), liquid beverages and sausages. Pastors openly pray for some traders in the mornings and do their normal evangelism in the afternoons, disturbing the already disturbed market. One thing common among most traders is the presence of a sales girl(s) in their shops. The traders employ mostly beautiful ladies to help attract customers to their shops. However, many a times, these sales girls are sexually assaulted by their bosses. For the sales girls, it’s either you comply or you quit your job. Though the market has been of economic importance to Nigerians especially those living in Lagos and its environs, there are however, many problems that need to be fixed as soon as possible.

To start with, the road that leads into the market is very deplorable. The road is filled with huge pot-holes and is usually not motorable when it rains. A market of that standard ought to have a good road since many Nigerians and foreigners including Japanese and Chinese nationals patronize the market a lot. In addition to bad roads, there is no garage for either commercial or private use hence it is not uncommon to find cars and buses parked indiscriminately along the road. Private vehicles are usually packed on both sides of the road thus making the road less convenient for road users. Some traders, who deal on used clothes popularly called “Okirika” in Nigeria, display their wares on these parked vehicles. Most of these vehicles are parked from the early morning hours to around 5.00pm when the market closes thus guaranteeing on a long term basis, an illegal space for traders to display their wares. Towards evenings or even in the afternoons, petit-traders infiltrate the market selling goods like plantains, fresh tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, yams, potatoes and other commodities by the roadside thus worsening the traffic situation and making the market look like a mess. Another major problem of the market is the indiscriminate way commercial vehicles stop to pick up passengers or convey goods. These commercial buses can block the flow of traffic just to pick up passengers; this is a major cause of traffic congestion in the market. Suffice to note that there are bus-stops but these bus-stops have been taken over by petit-traders who use these bus-stops as their shops. The presence of “area boys” (popularly called “Agberos”) on the road do not help matters as they further congest traffic through their illegal collection of money from commercial buses. On a different note, I still don’t know why we should have touts on our roads, the situation is really appalling. Another factor that contributes to traffic congestion is the malevolent ways drivers of long vehicles turn their vehicles. Virtually all long vehicles turn on unauthorized routes and the turning takes time considering that the road is not spacious enough courtesy of illegal parking and petit-traders.
Alaba International Market is connected to another dirty and irritating market, called “Alaba Rago” via a place popularly called “F-line” (known for selling fake and pirated computer software). Crossing over to “Alaba Rago” is done via what Nigerians call “Pako” (wooden bridge) which is mounted by fiercely-looking Hausa men, who are also addressed as “Abokis”. The word “Aboki” is not an insult, it means “my friend” in the Hausa language, so feel free to call your friend an Aboki! To cross this “pako”, you must part with #10 but this charge is higher if you are a wheelbarrow pusher. This extortion sorry collection does not make sense to me. There ought to be a motorable road and not a “pako”! The “pako” is dangerous and people are subjected to harassments from the abokis. The government or cooperate bodies should assist in solving this problem. Alaba International Market is notoriously known for selling fake products. I may not be wrong if I say that 40% of goods sold in the market are fake! Permit me to speak from my personal experience. I once bought a mobile phone at the market, the seller tested the phone in front of me and it worked well only for me to get home and discover that the phone could no longer switch-on. When I opened the phone to see if it was the battery, I surprisingly discovered that the phone was padded with “fufu” (cassava meal). This issue is peculiar to traders who sell mobile phones in “show-glasses”. Those traders that sell mobile phones in shops are also guilty of doing something similar. What they do is remove the original battery of a new phone, replace it with a fake one and sell the original battery at a high price. The best place to buy phones is from authorized dealers of the different phone brands.

The market is known for selling fake and pirated Compact Discs (CDs), Video Compact Discs (VCDs) and Digital Video Discs (DVDs). Depending on your location in the market, you can buy a musical album for as low as #60, which is a far cry from the official price of #150 or more. This is one major reason why Nigerian musicians don’t make money from album sales, their money come mainly from concerts. Same condition applies to the Nigerian film industry also called “Nollywood”, films are sold at a very ridiculous prize. You can buy a film (Part 1 and Part 2) for #100 and even get a DVD compilation of about 6 films for #100! Nigerians prefer the DVD compilation because it is far cheaper and more “economical” even though they know these films are illegal. Sometimes I pity film producers, spending millions on a film only for someone to pirate the film and sell it for #20! It’s crazy! Virtually 90% of films and musical CDs/DVDs sold at the market are fake and pirated. Furthermore, some traders are guilty of displaying pornographic films openly for passersby to see despite the fact that children ply that same route. These sellers can be found on the roadsides especially opposite “F-line” and more notoriously, on the path leading to the “pako” (as mentioned earlier). Public display of these materials indirectly promotes rape and an urge to have sex especially among children and teenagers.

There are also fakes when it comes to home appliances. My mum once bought a fridge and it “worked perfectly” only for a month! Other products with fakes include but not limited to home theaters, DVD players and televisions. What most electronic dealers do is go to a certain Asian country and ask some electronic manufacturers to manufacture sub-standard electronics. When the “goods” arrive Nigeria, the trader manufactures fake labels of a well-known electronic brand and places them on his fake electronics. So you may assume you bought an original product not knowing it’s a totally fake product! Some “mad traders” along the musical instruments/office equipment section disturb the peace of the market by playing music outdoors using speakers loud enough to kill 50 rats. The madness can’t keep going on; there is an urgent need to address these issues. Firstly, traders need to stop every form of perversion and restructure the market. The government should please repair the road, provide garage(s), address the “pako” issue, assist in stopping the menace of fake products and also help re-structure and elevate the market to an international standard. Finally, if you intend visiting the market, always remember to walk fast (or get hit) and watch your pocket (to prevent your valuables from returning to the “original owner”).

Obioha Uchechukwu Ebere
Lagos State, Nigeria
http://idowritestuff..com/2013/12/the-madness-at-alaba-international.html
Twitter: @iam_uchey

What I can say or advise is that the federal government should start paying film makers,film makers too should become salary earners. I'm just pitying them.

Tnks! For d feed back really appreciate cos I was hoping on going there