‘I’ve been repairing bicycles for 45 years’

There is a popular saying that a leader without a successor is a failure. For Osita Nnagbo, a 70-year-old bicycle repairer in Umunneoke Village Awka, Anambra State, his greatest regret in life is his inability to train someone who would take over from him anytime death comes. Apparently afraid of what would be the fate […]

There is a popular saying that a leader without a successor is a failure. For Osita Nnagbo, a 70-year-old bicycle repairer in Umunneoke Village Awka, Anambra State, his greatest regret in life is his inability to train someone who would take over from him anytime death comes.
Apparently afraid of what would be the fate of his over 45-year-old specialised profession, the septuagenarian takes solace in the fact that he had been able to raise all his six children (though one is late now) and was able to put up a five bedroom apartment through the handiwork.
A native of Amaenyi Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nnagbo, as fondly called by his numerous customers, however said the blame is not entirely his as none of the youths within and outside the vicinity, including his own biological children, had shown interest in learning the job.
“It is very rare to see anyone willing or ready to learn this trade. The children of nowadays are just looking for short cuts and quick ways of making money. Nobody wants to suffer to make it in life,” he noted.
Nnagbo, who hinted that he was the only one engaged in the profession in the entire area, said he learnt the trade from his elder brother in Adah, a community in Benue State.
He said he was into the profession before he met his wife who had stood by him through thick and thin, adding that it was through the proceeds from his wife’s shop that he was able to acquire most of his working tools.
According to Nnagbo, the business was lucrative at the beginning but later experienced a heavy decline at the wake of influx of motorcycle and tricycle popularly called Keke-NAPEP into the country in the late 70s and early 80s.
“In those good old days when bicycle was one of the major local means of transportation, I used to be very busy that I hardly had time to eat. Both men and women alike would always ride into my workshop with their bicycle with one complain or another.
“My major customers presently are students and children who are now the few people riding bicycle these days. That is why the peak period of this business now is mainly during holidays. As soon as they resume school, the patronage drops,” he lamented.
He said another main challenge in the business is the inability of his customers to come for their bicyclesafter repairs. He said some spend up to two to three weeks in his shop before the owners come for them, adding that he sometimes collect a token sum as demurrage from them before releasing the bicycle.
The septuagenarian said he makes about N2,500 daily when patronage is high, while he can make as low as N500 on a bad day. He also added that sometimes he goes home empty handed, especially during the rainy season.