Corn business flourishes in Lagos

Seasons come and go, but what makes the difference is what they come with or what they leave behind.

Although Lagos State is by all standard a city characterized by modern life, the state is well in tune with what happens in most rural areas, in other parts of Nigeria.

Office workers stop over to buy corn

Corns and Pears for sale

One of such aspects is the enjoyment of proceeds from the farm.

A drive along Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lekki ,Lagos ,exactly on kilometer ,22 roughly opposite the Lagos Business School, dozens of residents including the high and mighty , converge on the road side to buy fresh corn.

“Whether roasted corn or cooked one, you see them to buy as you want them. The beauty of it is that, they even sell local peer popularly called, Ube . A combination of the two, is a great experience. It cannot be any better”.

That was the words of Dr. Theophilous Nwuzo who packed his car just like many others to buy corn.

In a space of ten minutes, over 20 cars had parked and their owners alighted to buy corn.

For those who did not want to come down, the corn sellers who were many brought the corns to them right in their cars.

The business flourishes in the evening. 

Office Workers and business people alike, stopped over to buy corn which tends to replace the usual snacks that they bought for their children.

“My children like corn a lot, so I buy almost every day”, asserted a pregnant woman, Esther Williams who was returning from work in the company of her husband.

For the traders, this is their own to shine. 

Funmi Adeyemi , one of the corn sellers there said; “the business is an opportunity for the poor to survive the hash times in the land". 

"The suffering in this Lagos is just too much. For over six months, I had nothing doing because the Lagos State government demolished our shops on Lagos –Badagry Expressway, Orile axis". 

"So, we had to relocate here and since then, we have been thinking of what to do in order to assist my husband in training our children".

 "As corn came out, I joined other women. I buy like three bags of corn". 

"By the grace of God, sometimes I sell all of them".

 "In a good day, I can make up to two thousand naira gain".

" Our prayer is that, let the government not come here and drive us away again”, she concluded.

Funmi’s story is not different from those of her colleagues. 

To make more money, most of the women in the business come with their children. 

While the women roast and cook the corns, their children run after customers with their colleagues, which is really not an easy task.

They have developed an eagle eye, to identify prospective corn buyers and run after them.

As the business strives in Ajah, so it is in Ketu, Ikorodu, Ikotun , Oshodi, Orile and in fact any other part of Lagos.

The business of corn just replaced that of Mango, which has been flourishing since March to April , in particular.

But the question goes, why can’t the foods and fruits be available throughout the year?

Reacting, Mr. Nwoye Ukaoha, a secondary school teacher explained;

 “This is just annoying that within a short period, these corns would vanish and we go back to square one". 

"When that happens, we would see no corn to buy and the business on it which sustains these poor women would stop. It is high time we started practicing modern agriculture’’.

Maize also known as corn, is a large grain plant first domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mexico about 10,000 years ago. 

The six major types of corn are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. 

The leafy stalk of the plant produces separate pollen and ovuliferous inflorescences or ears, which are fruits, yielding kernels (often erroneously called seeds). Maize kernels are often used in cooking as a starch.

Its botanical or scientific name is “ Zea mays “.