Inside Saudi Eko market

The Saudi Eko market was established 14 years ago by an Islamic faithful, Alhaji Tajudeen Adedapo and is located at the heart of the popular Eko Idumota in Lagos Island. It is named after both Saudi Arabia considered as the ‘home’ of all Muslims as it houses the holy land of Mecca which every Muslim […]

The Saudi Eko market was established 14 years ago by an Islamic faithful, Alhaji Tajudeen Adedapo and is located at the heart of the popular Eko Idumota in Lagos Island. It is named after both Saudi Arabia considered as the ‘home’ of all Muslims as it houses the holy land of Mecca which every Muslim who can afford it is mandated to visit at least once in his/her lifetime and the Eko Central Mosque (Mosalasi) which is the main mosque in Lagos Island.
 The market, one of the fastest growing markets in Lagos, houses thousands of shops and an uncountable number of trading stands, with an estimated total sale of a billion naira daily. It is home to different types of fabric including all kinds of lace and Islamic wears (Jalamia), jeans, perfumes, prayer mats and so on. These items are usually imported into the market from various countries of the world including Saudi Arabia, China, Switzerland and Korea.
The growing popularity of the Saudi Eko market has resulted in its attraction of businessmen and women, merchants and aristocrats from within and outside the country, who visit the place for commercial activities. Little wonder the popular musician and Fuji maestro, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, once sang profusely of the content and quality of goods in the Saudi Eko market.
A businessman and frequent patroniser of the market, Alhaji Raheem Rufai, said he usually gets all that he needs from the market, and therefore, does not need to travel out of the country for any purchase.
“There is no good that you want as a Muslim that you cannot get at the market. I’ve been purchasing things at the market for the past 10 years and don’t need to travel anywhere to purchase things. This saves me cost, time and energy,” he said.
 Trader and Secretary of the Saudi Eko market, Alhaja Rotimi Giwa, told our correspondent that the market is affiliated to the Eko Central Mosque, adding that it was an Islamic organisation that constructed the market. According to her, “whatever is sold in Saudi Arabia is what is sold in the Saudi Eko market.”
Unlike most markets in Lagos, Saudi Eko market is well organised and neat, with a conducive atmosphere for trading and other commercial activities. The reason for this may be connected to the fact that most of the traders at the market are educated.
Giwa, a graduate of History and French from the University of Lagos, confirmed this, while adding that the market was also founded to meet the needs of people who could not afford to travel out of the country to shop.
“This is why the prices of goods in the market are affordable, ranging from N3,000 to N20,000. The pocket of the buyer determines what he or she chooses to buy. But there is nothing you want to buy that you cannot get in this market,” she explained.
Giwa further pointed out that the shop owners in the market are disciplined, as they are guided by the rules and regulation of the market.
 “This is what distinguishes the market from a common market. Traders here do not just behave anyhow. In this
market, you don’t fight; if you fight, you will be fined,” she stressed.
The Saudi Eko market is serviced by a single central generator which supplies power to all the apportioned shops in the market. “Since we don’t have regular public power supply, we usually switch on the generator from 11:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. All the traders contribute money monthly to service and buy diesel to run the generator. The discipline exhibited by the traders is due to the love they have for one another and this has contributed to the growth of the market,” Giwa noted.
She added that in the last five years, the market has won the award of ‘The Most Tax Paying Market in Lagos Island.’ In her words: “We pay our taxes including Land Use Charge promptly; we don’t evade tax. This makes the market the forefront to all the markets in Eko Idumota.”
Another trader at the market, Alhaja Munirat Adeojo, said that since the market is full of educated and elite traders who are enlightened in different fields, highly educated and other sophisticated personnel  usually patronise the market to buy goods.
“Sincerely, this market is patronised by people of high standard because of the quality of products sold here and the caliber of traders here,” she said.
Scores of other traders at the market who spoke to Eko Trust lamented the negative impact of the continued rise in the cost of dollar and other foreign currencies, against the Naira, on their businesses.
Noting that most of the items sold at the Saudi Eko market are imported products, they said that the scarcity of foreign exchange has made it difficult for them to travel out to re-stock their shops.
They,  therefore, appealed to the federal government to put in place economic policies that would stabilise the economy.