In Lagos, the itinerant tailor is always on the move, his small sewing machine on his shoulder, pounding the streets for customers who will hail him to mend their clothes. Tall, short, thin or fat, the general name for him is Obioma, which literally means ‘a good heart’.
In Ado-Ekiti, an obioma is in town. This one is not a tailor, but he is an itinerant a hustler working for survival as it makes no difference from the obioma tailor. He is well known as Walx International, the itinerant fast food seller tending to the hunger pangs of the locals to earn himself a living. His real name is Olawale Omo-Olotu.
Omo-Olotu, an indigene of Owo, Ondo State, who started out on his business in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, about 10 years ago trudging about on foot to sell fast food, now has a tricycle to his efforts. He starts his daily business as early as 7am, moving from one point to another to satisfy his customers’ demands and retires about 12 noon to a bus stop in front of the palace of the town’s traditional ruler, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejuyigbe, to rest for an hour or two.
The 40-year-old entrepreneur and father of two children sells as diverse a meal as toast bread, sandwich and cooked noodles, served with tea on demand.
At Walx International’s fast food joint, a loaf of bread plus two eggs cost N200, while a meal of Indomie noodle and two eggs goes for N300.
Omo-Olotu told our correspondent this initiative of his had not been without great agonies, especially when he first started out, but he has stuck with it hoping that better days would arrive.
“I started this small business because there just weren’t jobs in the country. I searched for jobs but there was no offer. l hate embarrassment from people, so I find it difficult borrowing from anybody. It doesn’t even make me happy. And begging for food from anybody is out of it.
“I thought of what l could do to live on. So many things came to my mind. Should l do the yahoo yahoo fraud? That strayed into my mind.
“But I knew I just didn’t have the liver for it, and balked at how law enforcement agents would not allow me rest of mind.
“Eventually, l settled for selling Indomie noodles and gradually grew to other food items. This business is getting to 10 years old and God is blessing me in His own way on it. I have been using this to take care of my family,” he said.
The fast food dealer narrated that he suffered greatly walking about to sell his noodle in the early days of his business, saying, “Whenever I got back home at night, I would be feeling serious pains all over my body.”
After a couple of years doing the ‘obioma’ on the fast food business, Omo-Olotu contacted a metal fabricator on how he could help him construct whatever vehicle he can be using to move his foods about.
As he said, the fabricator told him to bring a motorcycle and he would produce for him therefrom a tricycle that would just be the vehicle for his business. And the fabricator did.
“I went to look for money to be able to buy the machine and the fabricator constructed it in the way I am using it now. Now, I use gas to cook for my customers. It allows my work to move fast.
“As I cook for people, I use good ingredients to give their meals a good taste. I use ugwu leaves where necessary and apply honey in my toast bread, as well as any other ingredient that I know enriches my customers’ health. I also add scent leaf.
“I start my work after 5am and latest by 7.30am, I am on the streets selling my food to the people. By 8pm, I am back home to rest,” he said.
Omo-Olotu said one of his greatest problems doing his business is debtors, adding that they almost ruined the venture. He said some customers would buy on credit and would not bother about paying a kobo of their debts. But must he sell on credit? He replied he had to, especially when he first started the business, to attract patronage.
“But, sometimes, collecting my money from the debtors will become a problem. Some will even be ready to fight me when I request for my money,” he lamented.
He also recalled that when he started the business, he was also selling beans cooked with palm oil. He said he was getting lots of jeers from many people who were wondering how a man could be selling what they mocked as “beans concoction”. He said he didn’t allow that to discourage him, though.
Omo-Olotu has two children; the older boy, about 20 years old, is in a secondary school and would hopefully be through with that education this year. He regretted that the boy’s secondary education was delayed at a point by financial constraint. The second child, aged 12, is in primary school.
Omo-Olotu advised that youths should work hard legitimately, saying there are many lawful things, like the business he is engaged in and barbing, they can do to live fairly well.
He appealed to both the Ondo and Ekiti state governments for assistance, saying he would expand the business as to be providing employment to other people.
“I started this business with only N5,000. But gradually, I was able to put money together to construct this machine, which cost me N150,000. If I can get financial empowerment to expand this business, we can all imagine what I will make of it and how that will positively impact employment of youths. I am sure I can make a big eatery of this with adequate funds,” Omo-Olotu said.
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