In the beginning, Alhaji Umaru Shagalinku had planned to run a restaurant that would be popular with local of his immediate ABU Zaria community. A home away from where people could have decent traditional meals without leaving a hole in their pockets. Nothing like the Chinese or Lebanese restaurants that are very popular in most northern cities.
The dream started in 1975 when a youthful Shagalinku visited Sierra Leone, where a simple restaurant in the capital, Freetown, caught his attention and fired his dream. “I was excited with the usual turnout of people at the restaurant,” says Shagalinku. “The huge crowd that patronised the place made me start thinking of starting a restaurant business in Nigeria.”
True to his dreams, he decided to try his luck and fortune smiled at him when he set up the first Shagalinku restaurant in Tudun Wada, along the Zaria-Jos road, a small place that would soon become very popularwith not only ABU undergraduates, but also with many other residents and visitors in the centuries-old city of Zaria. The initial reception was such that people travelled from as far as Kano just to have a taste of Shagalinku meals.
Today, patrons of the Shagalinku chain include governors, state and National Assembly members as well as top-ranking business people.
The award-winning proprietor says: “The fact that some of them don’t want to be easily recognised, they disguise themselves to come here. I know many senators, governors and other ‘big men’ who patronise us.”
Humble beginnings
Because of its location, ABU students were naturally its first set of customers, contributing in no small measure to its early successes.
“In those days, if you wanted to show your class, you had to go to
Shagalinku for a meal. Honestly, at that time, apart from the class of the restaurant, the availability of all kinds of local dishes withnatural taste attracted us to become regular customers,” recounts an ABU lecturer who was an undergraduate when Shagalinku was opened.”In addition to that, whenever our parents or friends visited, we usually took them to the restaurant.”
The lecturer, who declined to be named for this story, said even way back in the mid-1970s, Shagalinku was the place to hang out if one wanted a taste of traditional Hausa delicacies. Its mutton or ram meat pepper soup was unforgettable, he added.
Shagalinku explains his tenacity: “I told myself that I would never change the face of my business. There are many ways one can improve his business without necessarily going western. Shagalinku started with dishes like tuwo da miyan kuka, miyan kubewa and other Hausa soups.
“I feel that we can maintain our local list in our menu and improve on them. By improving, I mean we can reshape our restaurants to look modern by providing all thenecessary facilities. As you can see, the inside and outside of our restaurants can compete with any restaurant in Nigeria and elsewherein the world. We have world class facilities and structures, which is an improvement.”
Nearly 40 years on and patrons of the restaurant still attest to its excellence not only in menu, but also service and style. Today, Shagalinku has several outlets in Zaria, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi and the nation’s capital, Abuja; and more branches are in the pipeline. The proprietor says what has helped the business to grow apart from the Almighty, is his direct supervision of all the outlets.
“Uptill today, I supervise my restaurants myself. I go round all the places in towns that I have restaurants to supervise how things are done. I am committed to this business, because this is my only source of livelihood,” says Shagalinku with pride.
“Another factor is the standard of my food,” he adds. “I neither play with nor compromise the standard of food in any Shagalinku restaurant. For standard, I can’divorce’ any worker you see here. In the same vein, I never compromise the virtue of my customers. All my workers must treat my customers as kings. By and large, these factors have proven to behelpful.”
Additions to menu
His other business secret is constant innovation, researching and introducing new items on the menu. One cannot help but salivate as Shagalinku explains the new additions to his menu especially with the aroma emanating from the kitchen, which continually harasses this reporter while the interview lasts.
“Apart from provision of facilities, we have introduced beverages like zobo, ginger, fura da nono. We have also introduced danbun nama (ground fried meat), danbun kaza (ground fried chicken) and pepper-soup of different kinds. Although all these are available locally, they have contributed in making our restaurants popular,” Shagalinku remarks.
Literally translated from Hausa, Shagalinku means ‘your enjoyment’. It is a term which indicates that the food at Shagalinku restaurants would give one unlimited enjoyment.
“We have an adage in Hausa that says ‘iya kudinka iya shagalinka’ (‘the amount of money you have determines the limit of your enjoyment’). As a restaurant, we open because we want people to enjoy their money. Although our food is highly affordable compared to other restaurants of equal standard, the more money you have, the more enjoyment you get at Shagalinku,” the restaurateur says.
“The quality and taste of our food strengthens relationships. Many people bring their wives here and even girlfriends to enjoy themselves with our food. It is usually an honour for a husband to bring his wife to Shagalinku for a meal. We are happy that our services are strengthening the bound of marriage,” says Shagalinku.
“Our services have led to many marriage unions. Girls usually become excited any time their boys bring them to Shagalinku. That increases love among those in relationships, because it is rare to get a restaurant that one can get dishes in their natural local form like ours.”
Philanthropist
However, Shagalinku does not only fuel the stomach, he is also a philanthropist. Every week, he gives out 50 bags of maize to the needy at a house close to his first restaurant in Zaria, known as ‘Gidan Sadaka’ (Charity House).
“We give out the maize not completely free, but at 50 percent discount. We sell the maize now at N60 per tear and every week not less than 500 people queue to collect their share of the 50 bags we sell every week. Fortnightly, we also slaughter two cows and distribute free to all our neighbours. We also engage in other humanitarian activities like construction of boreholes among others,” he noted. He hails from Kebbi State, but has lived most of his adult life in Zaria. He is unperturbed that none of his numerous children has yet shown any interest in his line of business, which run with the help of about 300 staff. Rather, Shagalinku prides himself that the business is not run as a family affair.
“None of my staff is my relative. I employ them based on merit and performance and I make sure that I pay them their salaries and other incentives promptly,” says the restaurateur, who enjoys travelling, a hobby which he adds has immensely helped his business.
Shagalinku, who was given the National Productivity Merit Award by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, was recently awarded an honourary doctorate degree by the Commonwealth of Nations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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