Comfort Yakubu
In the past Patigi market in Kwara State was a hub of commercial activities, People from Yagba in Kogi State formed a majority of the people who came to Patigi for the market day. They will start arriving a day or two before the market day especially the women with goods on their shoulders, heads, and backs and settled at a particular spot. This road leading to a settlement called Tankpafu, was where they slept before the main market day. The indigent women at some point started going to meet the visitors at the spot to buy products like yam, garri, orange, and palm oil which the Yagba women brought before the market day. Over time, the spot blossomed into a trading spot and that was how Yagba Market Day came into being in Patigi. The people of Patigi local government area of Kwara State and its environs look forward to this market day which is held every nine days. Traders often come from all over Kwara, Niger, and neighboring states for their commercial transactions.
The Yagba market day is a usual delight of the Patigi people due to the commercial advantage and profits that are usually doubled on this particular market compared to other market days. Apart from the Yagba market, there are other markets such as the Patigi market (Yaragi) and Kusogi market among others but none can be compared to the Yagba market in Patigi. The Yagba market affects every other activity in the town as shops in the town are closed and relocated to the market including tailors, recharge card sellers, and any other business one can think of.
Most social activities revolve around the market day and this even affects the school system as many pupils stay away from school on that day while those who were in school in the morning sneak away to the market to help their parents hawk. When the school attempted to checkmate this situation, parents of pupils told the school authority that it was from the proceeds from the Yagba market that they used to pay their ward’s school fees.
Elder Daniel Usman who is the principal of Patigi secondary school and also an elder in ECWA church, told this reporter that there are instances where pupils sent home for not paying their school fees, get an extension for the next market day after the parents of such students have pleaded. He explained that even the church activity is affected by the market. According to him if the market falls on a day when the men hold their fellowship, which starts from 5 pm every Friday a few men will come but if it is on women’s fellowship days, the fellowship is completely canceled because most women will be busy buying and selling in the market. If it is on Sunday however once the service gets unduly long people will leave church for the market.
He explained that people do this because they don’t want to miss the market, as it is an opportunity to buy at cheaper rates and sell their commodities to buyers. At the entrance of the market is a section for blacksmiths who have relocated to the market for the business of the day. Groups of Fulani women also have a spot outside where they sell Fura, Nunu, Maishanu, and Wara also known as cheese.
The Okada riders are also situated at the entrance of the market. One of the Okada riders told this reporter that he makes two to three times more on the market day than he makes on other days.
Crowded with people, this market is congested, clumsy, and not well laid out but this has not affected the patronage; fish, bambara nuts, rice, and melon among other items are sold in the market.
Igbos, Yoruba, Hausa, Nupes, Fulanis, and people from Yagbagi a small Nupe community close to Yagba the boundary between Kogi and Nupe land forms the majority of patrons of this market. The women from Yagbagi come with rice, beans, and palm kernel oil to sell and they buy clothes shoes, pepper shear butter, and soap to go and sell at home.
Some women could also be seen selling oranges, they bring the oranges from Bida to sell. Groups of women could come together to buy goods in bags and share this to sell. An Igbo man who gave his name as Okafor has been coming to the market for the past 3 years from Ilorin. He said he heard he could buy foodstuffs like rice and melon from Patigi at cheaper rates, so he decided to come to Patigi, Okafor was pleased with what he saw and since then he has brought in shirts both brand new and second-hand to sell, and buys rice and melon to sell in Ilorin.
Mrs. Opeyemi Raji has been coming to the market for the past 20 years. comparing the trend now with 20 years ago when she started coming to Patigi she explains that things have changed, sales are no longer as good as 20 years back when she started coming to the market.
Mrs. Mercy F. Solomon who sells plastic products has been coming for the past 15 years, According to her, the market is slow and steady, no salary, no money, and no market she exclaims.
Another pepper seller Mallam Suleiman explains that in the past, if you brought pepper and onions worth 30,000 to the market you could make 10,000 to 15,000 naira profit but today the story has changed as he doesn’t make as much profit.
Some Igbo women have also ventured into the fish business, a business that was only done by the Nupe women before now. These Igbo women buy from the fishermen at the river banks. This makes their prices cheaper than those of the Nupe women.
Traders could be seen beckoning buyers to come and buy. Even though people come from various backgrounds, English is not the means of communication, Nupe, Yoruba, and Hausa are the languages used in selling. A Yoruba woman was seen selling to a Nupe woman who couldn’t understand Yoruba, Properly, while she (Yoruba woman) couldn’t speak Nupe as well, At some point confusion set in and an interpreter was implored to explain properly to the woman. But this shows the commitment of the women to engage in the commercial activity. Over time, cultural values, and languages as goods and services have been exchanged in the now famous Yagba market.
