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.
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| Office workers stop over to buy corn |
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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 “.
