Inside Kano’s ’Yan lemo market

Na’ibawa ’Yan lemo is a famous fruits market in Kano State. It was relocated from Kofar Nassarawa 34 years ago by the late Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, the first civilian governor of the  state. The market is  considered the biggest fruits markets in the entire northern Nigeria.   The market deals in all types of fruits […]

Na’ibawa ’Yan lemo is a famous fruits market in Kano State. It was relocated from Kofar Nassarawa 34 years ago by the late Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, the first civilian governor of the  state. The market is  considered the biggest fruits markets in the entire northern Nigeria.  

The market deals in all types of fruits including lemon, watermelon, coconut, banana, pawpaw and mango among other related fruits. Initially, the fruits were sourced from Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun Osun, Calabar, Anambra, Lagos and Benue states as well as Cotonou and Niger republic, respectively. 

However, Daily Trust  gathered that presently the bulk of the orange is being sourced from Benue state, because the state is producing the best orange, coconut is sourced from Lagos and Cotonou, while Banana from Calabar and some villages in Benue State. 

Watermelon is being sourced from northern states, according to Alhaji Muhammadu Umar Na Alhaji, who is also  chairman of Yan lemo fruit sellers association. He said before farmers in the far north started cultivating it, it was transported from Ekiti, Yobe, Jigawa and Kaduna and Niger states, as well as far as Niger republic. 

He said: “The bulk of the watermelon we sell here is being sourced from Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states. However, farmers in Niger and Kaduna state always harvest their watermelon earlier than other farmers across other parts of the north.” 

The chairman said importation of watermelon from Niger republic has since been stopped ,because the quantity of it being produced by the farmers in Nigeria is more than enough to meet the  demand in Nigeria. 

He said every day over 100 trucks of orange can be offloaded and sold in the market if the business is at its peak, while if the market was not favorable they sell between 20 and 25 trucks. 

“We don’t normally get supply of orange on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays if there is scarcity of it, but if it is available, we can get supply for the whole week and we can sell them all. We convey these fruits to Jigawa, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, and sometimes Zaria as well as Niger republic. 

He, however, said their major challenge is lack of adequate arrangement of handling the heap of refuse that always portrays the market in a bad light, noting that because  of the nature of their business they cannot conduct it without having concrete arrangement for cleaning the market.  

He lamented that at present they were only using a single tipper for the evacuation of waste orange that always pollutes the atmosphere, noting that “presently, the situation is beyond our limit; I mean the union cannot single handedly manage the situation. You know whoever brings fruits to the market and realizes that the market is not favourable, he would simply abscond and leave us with the waste  orange.  

“We have to hire some labourers to clear the waste otherwise the unpleasant odor coming out from the decayed orange would not allow other people to conduct their businesses at the market. So this is the situation and the little levy we are collecting from traders is not  enough to sustain the trend.” 

The chairman said sometimes the union had to call for community work in the market with a view to clearing such waste, appealing to both local and state governments to come to their aid in this respect.  

“During my time as Chairman caretaker committee of the market, the market was able to purchase  two tippers and the local government donated a tricycle to them for evacuation of refuse. Unfortunately, one of the tippers and the tricycle had developed problems for a very long time and had not been fixed. So we currently managing the situation with only one tipper which is grossly inadequate considering the size of the market,” he concluded. 

A dealer in oranges, Ibrahim Kabir Gezawa, told Daily Trust  that he has been into the business for 21 years and has never abandoned it even for a day. He said the business is profitable especially during the fasting period. 

“We sell a  large quantity of fruits during Ramadan fasting than any other time. The demand for fruits is always high during Ramadan. I can sell between 25 and 30 sacks of orange in a day. After Ramadan fasting, I can only sell like 10 or 15 everyday if the market is booming, while if the patronage is low, I can only sell 8 and maximum 10,” he said. 

He added that he normally takes his orange to Gunduwawa, Gezawa, Gabasawa and some villages in Garki and Gumel in Jigawa state, saying that the business is gainful as he does virtually all his expenses from the little gains he earns from the business. 

He pointed out that their major problem in the market was that during the rainy season, they are facing some difficulties conducting business on account of the lack of good drainages in the market. 

“You cannot move freely in the market during the rainy season. The market is always flooded by water because we don’t have good drainages, but as soon as the rainy season is over, everything will return to normal in the market,” he lamented. 

Ibrahim Mu’azzam Musa is also a dealer in  oranges  and he told Daily Trust that he once quit  the business for lack of capital, but later when he got some money, he returned to it , and that since then he has never abandoned  it again. 

He said: “I own  a house, I have  a motorcycle and I am sponsoring the education of my children, all courtesy of this business. I also have two wives and I am taking good care of them from the little money I am gaining from this business.” 

Mu’azzam added that the only challenge many traders are facing was the lack of a preservation system that can help them preserve the fruits for a long time, lamenting that “our major problem is lack of  a preservation method. You cannot keep the orange for a long time. If the market is not favorable, you will lose a lot of money because most of the orange would just decay and become waste. 

“You would pity many traders here when you come at the time the market is not booming. Traders sometimes abandon their goods in the market and hide themselves, leaving the union with all the expenses of offloading the decayed fruits and clearing of the place and so on.”    

Muhammad Bello, who trades in watermelon, told Daily Trust  that he has been in the business for 10 years and three months now. He said he is enjoying the business even though he is also into farming.

He said: “I  source  watermelon from Katsina and Kano states because the watermelon that is being produced in these states is the best. The one produced in Katsina state is called Mai Yashi, and it is the best among all the types of watermelon we have in the north. The one that is being produced in Sokoto State is also good. I only buy watermelon from other states like Yobe, Kaduna and Jigawa, only if I didn’t get supply from Kano, Katsina and Sokoto.” 

Isma’il Garba, lamented over the condition of the market, saying whenever they experienced over flooding of fruits in the market, the traders would not be able to stay in the market because of the unpleasant odor produced by the decayed fruits. 

Isa Kabir Unguwa Uku, is among the children that were seen by this reporter roaming from one street to another scavenging for oranges  in the market. His main business is to search the waste oranges and remove the few that were still good for consumption for onward sales to buyers. 

Kabir, 15, told Daily Trust   “my major work in this market is to look for where the waste oranges were kept and search for some good ones. I am making a profit of N500 to N800 per day if the market is favorable. I am a secondary student. I go to school in the evening. So I always come to the market in the morning when the trucks are offloaded.” 

He said his brother Auwalu Kabir has a wheel barrow which he is using to convey fruits to the main road for traders, saying “he is also making a lot of money from the business. We are together assisting our parents with some money for the upkeep of our family.” 

He said they are planning to buy an additional wheel barrow so that he can also join his brother, noting that with an additional wheel barrow, they can earn more money and better  their lives.