It was 11pm when Daily Trust Saturday visited the Murtala Mohammed Way, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital and Mr Abdulhakeem Oluwakemi was drenched in sweat as he attended to the retinue of customers at his workshop. Night skyline and illumination from solar streetlight gave him the needed light to work.
His son who had worked during the day had handed over to him, so his job just started at that time of the night. Oluwakemi will work throughout the night and pass over the baton again to any of his sons who will come to relieve him around 7:00am the following day; and the cycle continues.
lthough he is not among the pioneers of the midnight vulcanising business in Ilorin, Oluwakemi is very popular among night travellers, transport operators and crawlers who patronise him during such odd hours. Today, he is one of the most popular night vulcanisers in Ilorin as security operatives and residents refer stranded passengers to him in the dead of the night for solutions to their vulcanising problems.
Speaking with Daily Trust Saturday, Oluwakemi said he ventured into the business because of the relocation of the buses plying the Kwara State Polyphonic because of the construction of the Post Office flyover and an accident that kept him for years at home.
“After I relocated to Murtala Way from Post Office, the business was seriously affected by the activities of those buses plying Kwara Poly as they occupied the little space I was managing. I started commercial motorcycle (okada) business at night to make up for the shortfall in the day until I had a terrible accident on my way home which kept me away for four years. It was when I came back that the night vulcanising idea came. And I have been doing it up till today,” he said.
Describing the challenges of the night job, Oluwakemi said, “Although one cannot really say much about the personalities of customers, I have always dealt with them on trust and uprightness.
“I have been doing midnight vulcanising for over 15 years; and I have incorporated two of my sons already. I work for police and security operatives on night duties and they even direct customers to me. I have not had any attack, whether physical or spiritual from any person of ghost.
”However, sometimes you want to ruminate on the ‘dangerous’ nature of such work, but again, you are motivated by the people you render such services to at that time of the night. And God has been protecting us,” he added.
Oluwakemi, who said the primary objective of working at night was not the money, revealed that he could make between N3,000 and N5,000 per night but N1,500 and N2000 in the day.
He further said, “During the day, I prepare very well for the night and get all the necessarily materials so that I would not run out of any of them when I need them most for my customers. This is because it will be difficult to get at that time of the night.
“We were few in town, but now, the number is increasing in Maraba, Balogun Fulani, Oja-Oba, Tanke, Offa Garage and many other places across the state.”
Mr Andrew Matthew, who operates along the Maraba axis, said their customers also included club goers, midnight okada operators and some he described as “yahoo yahoo boys.”
The attraction is that one is able to make more money in the night. The charges are different, and most times, double as customers are left without option. This is not out of exploitation as engaging in such strenuous work during that time of the night is not easy,” he noted.
He said that despite the odd hour, they attend to high number of customers, adding that sometimes it is even busier than the day.
“Ordinarily, I close around 3am, except when there is much work or emergency. The reason is that I can go home and sleep before we start work again in the morning. The price I charge increases with time,” he said.
He said that some time ago, the association raided their shops, but added, “We have passed that stage now. Some of us still do it with fear, but many have come to see it as normal. There are night vulcanisers in other states, so why will Kwara be different?”
One of their customers, who identified himself as Mowe, said it would have been difficult without their operations because of the “key role” they play in his business.
“The nature of my job is night-related because I carry passengers who enter the city in the night to their various destinations. In the process, we have cause to visit the vulcanisers. Now, imagine if they are not there, it would have been a disaster to the business. Sometimes, on my way to pick customers, I will have tyre or vulcanising issues and I quickly run to them for solution. The good thing about it is that unlike the day time when you might not find them in their shops, they are always around at night,” he added.
Also, a commercial motorcyclist, Ahmed said, “I have people I pick to clubs and other places at night. Sometimes when I am going or we are coming, I have cause to fix my tyre. And they have very reliable hands. Of course it is at a higher price, but we also charge higher fares because of the time and our sacrifice.”
Daily Trust Saturday gathered that although there have been efforts by their association to stop the trend, the move has not been successful.
Speaking on the issue, the chairman of the Kwara State Association of Vulcanisers, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman, told our correspondent that they had reached a middle ground with their members who engage in the business.
“Our constitution only permits working during the day, which is from 7am to 7pm. There is nothing like night operation in our rules. There was a time when the issue of theft and vandalism of cars were rampant in the state and there was this insinuation that it was perpetrated or aided by night vulcanisers. So we summoned all of them to a meeting and made our stand known. However, after much debate, what we arrived at was that any of our member that run into trouble as a result of operating in the night, we would not be responsible.
“We agreed that they render very important and critical service to the people at that time, but if such customers know it is not possible to get a vulcaniser in the midnight, they would be more alert on the issue of spare tyres and other important things when moving or travelling in the night.
“You know that during the midnight, the price of the service doubles. What ordinarily would have been done at N200 of N500, for instance, goes for N400 and N1,000, depending on the nature of the work. But those of us who are not involved in the business are making our profit,” he said.
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