The Ikeja Computer Village, Lagos, located in Otigba, is said to be the largest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets market in Africa. Computers, phones, accessories, cameras and other electronic gadgets are sold and repaired in the market; hence millions of naira exchange hands among buyers and sellers on a daily basis despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Daily Trust visited the market and now reports.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, traders in Ikeja Computer Village are sharing their experiences. Taiwo Taiwo, one of the entrepreneurs in the market said, “COVID-19 is not affecting my business negatively in any way. In fact, left to me, I would tell the government to lock up the market so that we all can sell from home. I sell more at home online. That is preferable for me.
The virus is real and we take all precautions here very seriously. I use my facemask. I even have some for my customers who don’t have. I also have sanitisers, which I make available to my customers.’’
Taiwo, who deals in phone accessories and laptops, said supplying authentic products to his customers helped to bring them back to patronise him.
He said he was not afraid of the fact that he is a Yoruba man in an Igbo-dominated market as customers do not base their patronage on ethnicity.
“I have never encountered anyone who patronised us based on ethnicity. They just come in, buy what they want and leave. Make sure that what you are offering a customer is authentic because that will always speak for you.
I have been in this business for eight years, and over the years, I have developed to travel to China, USA and Dubai to import my goods.
I have been to different parts of the country, and I don’t think I can stay anywhere else, apart from Lagos. This location is just fine for my line of business,” he said.
He continued, “The major challenge, especially for newcomers, is capital. Some do not have enough capital and some don’t know where to get their products from. And if you don’t know where to get original products you won’t make it in this business.
In this village, we have fake, semi fake and refurbished. You have to manage all these things at once if you don’t want to fail in the business
The rent is not fair at all, especially in this region where we are. I will not say it is because we get a lot of customers, but maybe that is what our landlords think.
Just now, I sent my boy to clear electricity bill of N60,000 for three months. We have a generator that powers the building alone.”
Indeed, the computer village is home to all tribes and nationalities, including foreigners.
Also sharing her experience, Joy Madojutimi said, “When I joined, I didn’t know much about the product, but as time went on, I learnt a lot about it.
“One thing about this business is that if you don’t know the product you cannot sell.
“So you will start by understanding what you are selling to your customers.
“Once you can get that, you will be able to get the right people to sell to, and profit comes in.”
Madojutimi, a married woman with two children, said the distance was a major barrier in the business.
“It is very challenging for me as a woman, but we are trying our best to manage both in the right proportion.
“I live at Igando, which is quite a distance from here. Looking at the traffic from Ikeja to Igando, it is quite challenging.
“I have to take a bus from Ikeja to Iyana Ipaja, then a bike to Egbeda and a bus to Igando. This helps me to beat the traffic on a daily basis,” she said.
Emmanuel Gabriel, the chief executive officer of New Creation Tech Nigeria Limited, said that no business owner would continue in the market if there is no patronage.
“The rent here is very high, so there must be some level of development. For instance, we pay up to N1million per annum.
“There are places where they pay between N2million and N3million per annum. Even smaller shops pay up to N1million.
“I grew from a small shop to a bigger one. I have also been able to acquire houses, cars and other things.
“I have not been to China for importation, not because I cannot go, but because I do not want. They meet me here in Nigeria.
“I have been in this business for more than 12 years, and over the years, I have been able to acquire more shops, where we offer the same services,” he said.
Another trader, Okonkwo Okey said, “I have been here for more than 10 years and I won’t say I have not achieved something.
“A businessman who has gotten married, bought a car, started a family and is still going on, has achieved a lot.
“Physically, I have one shop, but we are migrating from offline to the online space. I have three shops online.
“Before now, a lot of customers from different places would come here to buy products from us, but because of COVID-19 protocols and the limitation of movement, they prefer to order for goods online.
“In the online space, a lot of people are there, especially big players like Konga, Jumia, Jiji, so people feel safer buying from known brands than individual sellers like us, so competition is very high.”
The computer village is also a great medium for training. Young apprentices hope to use their skills, after graduation, to make their lives better. Some of them want to become business owners in future.
Toheeb Adesina, a Senior School Certificate holder, who was an apprentice in the village before he gained admission into a tertiary institution, said he intended to use the money he gathered to further his education.
“I don’t have my own customers yet, so I depend on salaries, which I intend to use to sponsor myself at the university. I started last August.
“I got this place through my dad’s influence because he used to work here when I was younger.
I stay in Agege, so I am able to save enough after transportation and feeding,’’ he said.
Daily Trust learnt that the computer village has become a dumping ground for all sorts of fake mobile and fairly used phones, as well as stolen ones.
The ever-busy market is also notorious for the activities of fraudsters, who easily dupe unsuspecting customers by selling what is popularly known as ‘fufu phones’ (phones stuffed with fufu, a popular staple food).
This dubious act is often perpetrated by unregistered traders and retailers who hawk phones and computer accessories in the streets of the market without any definite shop. They easily target their victims.
An insider in the market who did not want to be named narrated how these fraudsters operate. “They target two sets of people – those that are new to Lagos or the market, and the greedy ones.
“These boys often offer expensive phones at ridiculous prices. They can offer a phone that is worth N150,000 for N30,000.
“In most instances, they will give the prospective buyer the original phone and allow him or her to access all the functionalities.
“After negotiation, they will collect the phone so they can pack it; this is when they will exchange it with an exact replica loaded with fufu.
“To ensure that the buyer doesn’t check it at the spot, somebody will raise a false alarm of a police raid and everyone will be on the run, including the buyer.
In extreme cases, a pre-arranged thug will emerge and start scattering things and slapping people (It can include the buyer), on the pretence that the seller is occupying an illegal spot. The aim is to make everybody run.
There are also those that sell stolen phones. We also have petty thieves, such as pickpockets in the market,” he said.
Corroborating this view, Madojutimi said a customer would fall for any of these fraudsters because of greed.
“What I will say regarding this issue is that some people are naturally greedy.
“When a phone costs N200,000, for instance, and you have someone that wants to sell it to you at N50,000 and you are willing to negotiate with the person, it shows that you are greedy.
“People like that are the ones who usually fall victim to these fraudsters,” she said.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Ikeja Computer Village contributed about 2 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014.
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