Making a killing selling Kilishi in Abuja’s Garki

Kilishi is made out of beef, making it a special delicacy many Nigerians love to eat. Originally, this spicy and pepperish treat can be traced among the Hausa in the northern part of Nigeria, who in order to earn a living, hawk it or choose a strategic spot to prepare and sell it. The case […]

Kilishi is made out of beef, making it a special delicacy many Nigerians love to eat. Originally, this spicy and pepperish treat can be traced among the Hausa in the northern part of Nigeria, who in order to earn a living, hawk it or choose a strategic spot to prepare and sell it. The case is the same when they operate in other parts of the country.
In the nation’s capital, kilishi business is a thriving trade as both residents and people visiting Abuja for the first time go to a depot to buy the delicious dried meat delicacy for their loved ones at home. Daily Trust visited a famous kilishi spot in Garki district to experience the taste of the mouthwatering northern delicacy that most definitely has a secret behind it.
Sixty-five-year-old Malam Muhammadu Karo Maradu who hails from Marado local government area of Zamfara State sells kilishi to earn a living for both himself and his family. He narrated how he started the business 55 years ago alongside his father in Marado.
“At a very young age, I used to assist my father to prepare heaps of kilishi later transported to several states to be sold, as well as delivering orders earlier placed from the Sardauna’s palace in Sokoto,” he explained.
He added that in his father’s compound, women also partake in making and selling the delicacy because his father believed that everyone must work hard to be upgraded in life, besides the fact that it is also their family business.
When asked when he branched out on his own, Maradu said he was about 18-years-old when he left his father’s house to Minna, Niger State to settle down. There he opened a kilishi spot after he had slaughtered one of the cows his father had given him. This was part of the Fulani tradition whereby a male child in the family must own some cattle for milk and meat.
“After I had spent several years selling kilishi in Minna, I decided to change base and spent 10 years in Ijora, Lagos State,” he explained, adding that he came to Abuja with the relocation of the federal capital, because most of his big time clients moved to the city.
Maradu explained how he set up his business in Area One, Garki and returned home to his village to bring in more hands into the trade so it could flourish.
“I brought in most of the kilishi dealers you see here today and taught them how to be kilishi specialists and today most of them are independent, thanks to the business,” he said.
Asked how long the delicacy stays without decaying, he said if the meat is properly prepared and well dried, it can last for four months, adding that kilishi should be well packaged in a way that water cannot come in contact with it, because the more it stays, the more spicy and tasty it becomes.
He narrated that his clients come from different parts of the country so he prefers to use cow meat, instead of ram meat, because the former is not as oily as the latter and because unlike the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo clients do not like much oil. “So while preparing this delicacy, I also put my clients into consideration,” he said, adding that many people buy in bulk when travelling to visit their loved ones or send as gifts within and outside the country. 
For Maradu, nothing can come between him and his business, so he has drawn the curtain between business and pleasure and chooses to travel to his hometown, Maradu every two months to see his family.
“I don’t regret doing this business and I thank the almighty Allah for all that I have achieved. This is the business I will know throughout my life time and it will continue to run among my children because I have already introduced most of them to it,” he said.
Twenty-four-year-old Muhammadu Bashir is also one of the kilishi dealers in Abuja. He told Daily Trust how he had to come down to Abuja early this year after he completed his secondary school education in Sokoto State. He decided to follow his father who was already in Abuja selling kilishi. Bashir’s plan is to save some money that will aid him in furthering his education.
Fifty-six-year-old Sani Inuwa, who hails from Katsina State abandoned the tea-making business known as ‘maishayi’ and relocated to Abuja where he started the kilishi business and today he has no regrets because selling kilishi brings more cash to his pocket.
“When my elder brother approached me and advised me to change my line of business, I came to Abuja where Baba Maradu taught me how to prepare kilishi and today I am on my own,” Inuwa said.
When asked how they cope, especially during the wet season, and the fact that kilishi is not supposed to come in contact with water, he said as soon as it is about to rain, they cover the kilishi with a large tarpaulin. In this way the rain does not come in contact with their stuff.