In Jigawa, car wash business serves as major employer

Car wash is one of the major employer of labour apart from the public sector in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state and that makes it the most thriving business as there are roughly about 20 car wash centers in the municipality. Most of the workers at the various car wash centers are young people […]

Car wash is one of the major employer of labour apart from the public sector in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state and that makes it the most thriving business as there are roughly about 20 car wash centers in the municipality.

Most of the workers at the various car wash centers are young people that are between the ages of 20 to 30 years, who have since stopped going other states particularly in the southern part of the country in search of menial jobs.

In the past it is part of the fashion to see the youths in their numbers leaving the state at the end of harvesting period to other states in search for seasonal jobs.

For most of them, after the harvest they remain redundant at home hence, the decision to go out to other states to look for complementary means of livelihood.

Therefore, the proliferation of car wash in Dutse replaced the need for such group of young people to go to another place in search of menial job as the work in such centers provides direct alternative for living the state for another place.

There are about five to 10 persons in each of the car wash centers that are across the major streets of the stare capital, most of these young people who work in these centers are from the neighbouring villages of Dutse town.

Checks revealed that some of the car wash centers in the state capital are as old as ten years and since then they have been thriving.

Usman Baba, 28, works at one of such car wash along Awajir Filling Station Road in Dutse and that he has been in the business for over eight years.

Baba, who said he learnt his job of car wash in faraway Akure in Ondo state added that, car wash business in Ondo state was more competitive than what is obtainable in Dutse.

According to him, in Ondo, business of the day starts as early as 5am and closes at midnight adding that patronage there was high compared to what is in Dutse though, that could be attributed to the population of the area.

He said apart from the high patronage they enjoyed from their numerous customers, car wash centers in those places were better equipped with modern facilities as proprietors of such centers do very well in the business.

On why he decided to relocate back to his home state, Baba opined that when his uncle realized that he is good at managing car wash, he decided to open one for him and since then he has been managing himself at the car wash.

He said, some years back, they used to wash as much as 70 cars and 30 carpets on a good day but said in the recent years the number in terms of patronage has dropped to as low as 10 cars in a day.

Baba said there are four regular workers in the car wash and that in the past the practice was whatever was realized at the end of the day, would be divided in three equal parts and that the workers go home with one part while the management of the center goes with the rest.

Usman Sale, is another car wash worker along Kiyawa road in the state capital, said the proceed of the day was equally shared between the workers and the proprietor.But he had to leave the car wash to another place because of poor management and pitched his tent with another car wash center where he is being paid according to the number of cars he washes.

A car is washed at the cost N300 and N500 is charged if the customer wants the engine washed.

He said he earns 50 percent of the amount, on each car washed, which he described as not only fair but also encourages productivity.