Inside Abuja’s mammy markets

For every military barrack built in the country, there is a mammy market set up to serve the needs of people who live within the barracks. Daily Trust Saturday visited the mammy markets in barracks in Abuja, and the findings were interesting.

At the Abacha Barracks located in Asokoro Abuja, asides the army personnel who occupy the barracks, a greater section of the barracks is designated to the mammy market. The mammy market often serves as a support of livelihood to the men and women who live in the barracks because all goods and services wanted can be found in the market.

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The mammy market in Abacha barracks is filled with women and men doing all kinds of businesses; from the selling of food, tailoring, hairdressers, provision stores to barbing salons etc. However, a particular business – fish barbecue and chips – is the most popular in the market. This line of business is dominated by women.

In the evenings, these women are seen very busy as they try to meet up with customers’ orders.

Lydia Alex, one of the ladies who sell roasted fish at the market said “Selling in this mammy market comes with a lot of benefits and also peace of mind.”

Lydia has been selling fish in Abacha barracks’ mammy market for 12 years. She’s also the head of the union of women who sell fish at the market. She sells a variety of fish which include catfish, tilapia, croaker all accompanied by chips. “My catfish goes for N2,000. Depending on the size, my croaker goes for between N3,000 and N5,000; it’s also the same price range for tilapia.”

According to Lydia, her business activity starts between 11am and 12noon. “I come from Masaka every day to sell here. Whenever I leave home determines what time my shop will open.”

Although Lydia opens her shop before midday, her peak sales period is in the evenings when people have closed from work and probably decide to eat before going home. “On a good day, we can make sales of N50,000 and on a bad day, our sales can be between N15,000 to N20,000.”

She further explained that her daily sales and profit vary due to the kind of fish her customers buy. Although she doesn’t pay attention to how many people she serves, Lydia estimates that in a night, she can serve at least 15 customers. Lydia has been able to build a large clientele base over the years so she has a sales girl who assists her in the business. “I could have brought my children here to help but I’m focused on giving them a better life and that’s why they’re not here selling with me,” she said.

On why she decided to sell at the mammy market, she explains that “the market is very affordable and because I’ve been here for a long time, I have a lot of customers who patronize me. From within and outside the barracks, people come to buy fish from me.”

To preserve and keep her food fresh, Lydia set up a freezer near her stand which has been connected to electricity and in cases of power outage, she also has a generator on standby. “Most of the women here have their freezers for preservation, however, when there is shortage of power, they resort to using ice to preserve the fish. I don’t like that because that method can lead to the fish getting spoilt quickly,” she said.

Going down memory lane, she told Daily Trust that when she first came to mammy market 12 years ago, the stores were given to them at an affordable rate. “If I’m not mistaken, I paid N50,000 to secure the stand I currently have now, all I pay for now is my monthly dues which is N4000, although the rate has changed,” she said.

Gift Okey, another fish vendor at the mammy market, told Daily Trust that though she has a large customer base, she would not mind moving to another market.

Gift, who has been in the mammy market since 2010, said selling fish became an option after facing unemployment for several years. “After searching for jobs for a long time, I decided to use the little money I had to start this business and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since,” she said.

Unlike Lydia, Gift pays rent for her shop on a yearly basis. “To rent a shop here costs between N40,000 and N50,000 and this depends on how large the space is,” she said.

Gift said her peak sales period is mostly during weekends when most of her customers come around with friends and family. “On weekdays, I could attend to 5-7 customers in a day. But on weekends, I attend to 10-15 customers.”

Her prices are moderate in order to attract more customers. “If you want to sell fish and chips outside the market, it goes for nothing less than N4500 but here at the barracks, we sell for N2500,” she said.

Even though she has considered moving from the market, Gift said one great benefit of being in the mammy market is the tight security in the market. “In this market, you cannot commit a crime and not be caught, that’s how effective the security is here.”

However, the sudden increase in the price of food stuff has not been favourable to them as she complains that “A carton of croaker that used to go for N19,000-N20,000 is now N46,000-N47,000. Even ordinary pepper; before you could use N500 pepper in a day to serve customers, now that amount has almost tripled.”

Madam Abigail Nwora, another fish vendor who has been in the mammy market for a period of five years, said the price moderation in the market is what is making her to stay.  Just like Lydia, Abigail bought her shop and is only entitled to pay the N4,000 monthly dues.

Abigail said business is slow this season due to the rains. “During the rainy season, people are always indoors, so we barely make sales. On wet days, we can make total sales of N7000-N10,000.” She, however, corroborated Gift’s claim of more patronage during the weekends.

Abigail comes from Nyanya every day to sell at the Mammy market. Her meals range from N2,000 to N5,000 a plate.

Although Abigail enjoys the moderate rent at the market, she says vendors like her are not able to make so much profit from the sales they make. “Even with the increase in the prices of food items in the market, we have to keep our prices moderate because that is the standard of the market.”

She bemoans the frequent power outage which affects the preservation of her food items. “Most of us here have our freezers connected to electricity and in the event of power outage, we use ice blocks to preserve our fish.”

Another business at the mammy market which enjoys huge patronage is the POS operators. With the influx of customers who patronize fish sellers, the POS vendors smile to the banks.

Bassey Effiom, one of the POS vendors whose stand is very close to the area where the women sell fish, said; “Although there are customers who need my services during the day, I, however, receive a lot of customers at night because they need cash to pay for their food.”

At the Lungi Barracks, Hajiya Maimuna Shuaibu who said she enjoys the military setting, however, complained of the high cost of living which is negatively affecting her business, necessitating her to increase the prices of the snacks she sells.

“I am into baking and selling snacks such as doughnuts, meat pies, popcorn and soft drinks. The prices here are reasonably cheaper compared to what is sold outside. Before now, medium sized doughnut was N50, but it’s now N100 due to the cost of flour, oil and other ingredients. All the snacks I prepare get sold up on that day, so I don’t preserve any, even though we have almost 24 hours of electricity supply in this barracks.”

She always starts baking the snacks as early as 6am till 12 noon. Afterwards, she arranges them in a show glass for buyers. “I sell to my customers from noon to almost 6 o’clock and I retire home to attend to domestic chores,” Maimuna added.

“The business was good before; but now everything has significantly changed. Then, on a daily basis, I used to make sales of at least N15,000 to N20,000. Now, I hardly make N10,000 a day. Honestly, it’s not the same again.

“Surprisingly, I don’t make much sales when salaries are paid because people do bulk shopping for their families. But as soon as the month crawls to the middle or towards the end, my business thrives because husbands would resort to snacks to relieve the burden on their families at home,” Hajiya Maimuna narrated.

She disclosed to Daily Trust that customers who patronize the Mammy Market are mostly civilians from neighbouring areas and those living within the barracks as well as military personnel.

On why she chose to sell at the mammy market, Hajiya Maimuna said it’s because of proximity. She resides in the barracks and wants her business to thrive, apart from the security enjoyed in the barracks.

“I pay rent annually. I was paying N120,000 but it’s been increased to N150,000. My children used to help me in running the business; but they’ve gone back to school. I had some apprentices before but as you can see, I am running the business all by myself.

She, however, complained of low patronage of customers despite the fact that the mammy market is not restricted to soldiers alone. “It may be due to the obscure nature of the market site. It’s worries us,” she exclaimed.

On her experiences at the market over the years, she said she’s maintained cordial and harmonious relationship with those around her. “Even some top military personnel sometimes patronize my business. While driving by, they stop over to buy one thing or the other,” she added.

A cook, who simply described herself as Hannatu, said she has been staying at Lungi Barracks Mammy Market for nearly four years making noodles and egg. She told Daily Trust that she cooks a ‘Hungry Man’ size of the noodle with two eggs for N400 and ‘Super Pack’ size with two eggs for N350. “This is comparatively cheaper than what’s obtained in many parts of the FCT.”

For her, business starts as early as 7am and ends around 9pm. “I make daily sales ranging from N7,000 to N10,000. And the lowest is N5,000 a day. Here, I enjoy constant power supply but AEPB charges us exorbitantly.

“I prefer doing business in the barracks because of the serenity and security of the environment. Here, one is free from criminals, task force or even police harassment. We’re really secured here. No one would dare you for any gratification, even a pure water one takes from must be paid for.

“I pay a meagre amount for renting this place because of mutual understanding between me and my landlord – she’s my tribeswoman. I only pay N4,000 monthly for the rent. You see, it’s manageable.

“I stay in Maitama, which is just a stone throw from this place,” she added.

Hannatu told Daily Trust that both men and women patronize her but men are her dominant customers. Normally, only four to six female customers come to me for noodles. The prime hour of noodles here is between 5pm and 9pm.

She noted that there’s no challenge with running business in mammy market other than the known challenges associated with any business.

For Ramatu Ibrahim who said she has been doing business at the Mambilla Barracks Mammy Market since 1992 alongside her mum, she was formerly frying fish but the high cost forced her out of the business as she now only fries sweet potatoes, plantain, yam and also sells moimoi.

“I have been doing it alongside my mother since 1992 but around 1998, she relinquished the whole business to me. Business starts by 6am and ends around 9 pm.

“The economic situation in the country has affected my business seriously. Before, I used to make between N15,000 and N20,000 daily. These days, I hardly make N10,000. The cost of things in the market is too high. Before I used to buy 100 tubers of yam but now, I only buy 10 tubers a day. In those days, I can save as much as N200,000 in my bank account. As I am talking to you now, both my capital and everything is not more than N15, 000. It was during the COVID-19 lockdown that I and my children ate up the capital.

“Then, I used to buy a bag of sweet potatoes for N7,000 but now I can only buy half bag which costs N17,000. A carton of fish was sold for between N18,000 and N25,000 depending on the size, when I come back to Mammy, I cut them in small pieces of N50 to N100; but since the prices of foodstuff skyrocketed, I stopped frying fish,” Ramatu stated.

On why she chose to sell at mammy market, Ramatu said she lives close to the barracks and doesn’t even know how much her rent is because it is her husband who pays.

“My children come here to eat – breakfast and dinner. They are too young so they don’t come to work with me. I work with my sisters. Most of our customers are men because women mostly prefer eating what they cook at home.”

She noted that there’s been no major challenge at the market because nobody can fight there. “We only come and sell and go back home. There are laws here and everybody abides by them. Soldiers have high sense of discipline and they behave themselves as well,” she added.