Located along Kongo Road, Zaria, is the first Shagalinku restaurant, founded by Alhaji Umaru Shagalinku, the owner of Shagalinku restaurants. A banner prominently placed on the entrance informs the general public that the building is up for grabs by interested buyers. The notice took many residents aback, largely because of the prominence of the restaurant in Zaria, and other parts of Nigeria.
The development elicited many reactions, especially for the fact that the eatery is now iconic, well-liked by students and other visitors of the ancient city.
Catering activities have stopped at the building for some time now. Instead, it has been serving as a recruitment centre for cooks. Every morning, women of all ages queue at the entrance hoping to be employed. It was learnt that the owner recruits his cooks from there, and deploys them to various branches, around Nigeria.
Finding show that Shagalinku’s decision to stop offering restaurant services at the Kongo site may not be unconnected to the setting up of new restaurants around the general area that offer dishes at much cheaper rates.
An insider said: “Since the place was mostly patronised by students of ABU and FCE, naturally they would always move to where they can get cheap food. There are many restaurants where you can get a plate of pepper soup at N250 and any type of food at similar rates. At Shagalinku, it is higher. I think that may be a factor to the predicament of the Kongo site’s restaurant.”
The source added: “If you observe, the Kongo area is now remote and it is mostly inhabited by students. Students of nowadays cannot afford expensive food because most of them are either sponsored by low income parents, or even sponsoring themselves. So, as a businessman, Shagalinku is changing strategy. He has two restaurants that are operational in other parts of the ancient city of Zaria, but he decided to situate them at Barewa College junction. There is another at Gwargwaje, along the Kano-Kaduna expressway. By the locations of these restaurants, you would know that the man is targeting travellers, especially ‘big men’.”
Although Alhaji Shagalinku was not available for comment, in his last interview with Daily Trust, he attested to the foregoing. “It is a thing of pride for me, the calibre of people that patronize our restaurants. I know many senators, governors and other ‘big men’ that patronize us.”
Shagalinku added: “We have an adage in Hausa that says the level of your money determines the level 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 our standard, but the more money you have, the more enjoyment you encounter in Shagalinku.”
Investigation by Daily Trust also revealed that Shagalinku has sold out part of his building at Barewa College junction to a federal parastatal.
Just a stone’s throw from the Kongo site, Shagalinku has opened a multi-million naira ‘Dubai Shop’ where variety of local and foreign materials are sold. Similarly, he demolished his personal house along the Sokoto Road of Zaria and findings showed that the building would be converted to a guest inn.
Alhaji Shagalinku has said he has been in the restaurant business for over 40 years, geafter getting the idea during a visit to an eatery at Freetown, Sierra Leone. “I was impressed by the turnout of customers at the restaurant. That made me to start thinking of starting a restaurant business on my return to Nigeria. And when I returned to Nigeria, I set up the first Shagalinku restaurant, along the old Zaria-Jos Road in Tudun Wada (Kongo), Zaria. I started on a small scale and gradually the restaurant became prominent in Zaria.”
Shagalinku is still producing local Hausa dishes like Tuwo and Miyar Kuka, Miyar Kubewa, Waina and Danwake, because he has taken a decision to modernise the outlook of his restaurants but provide “rich Hausa dishes.” He added: “Apart from provision of facilities, we have introduced drinks like Zobo, Ginger, Fura Da Nono, and even Dambun Nama (pounded fried meat), and pepper-soup of different kinds, among others. Although all these are available at their local forms, they have contributed in making our restaurants popular.”
People from different parts of the North, Kano especially, usually visit Zaria for a meal at Shagalinku, a word which means ‘your enjoyment’ in Hausa. It still is, for those who can afford it.
