Owode Onirin: A mass of garbage or wealth?

You need not make a voyage outside the shores of Nigeria to find answers to the above questions.Owode Onirin, a one-stop auto shop situated at Kosofe local government area along Ikorodu Road in Lagos has answers to the questions and more. You are indeed sure of satisfaction and joy whenever you go to the market […]

You need not make a voyage outside the shores of Nigeria to find answers to the above questions.Owode Onirin, a one-stop auto shop situated at Kosofe local government area along Ikorodu Road in Lagos has answers to the questions and more. You are indeed sure of satisfaction and joy whenever you go to the market in search of auto solutions.

When did it come into being?

The Owode Onirin auto market is said to  have been established over three decades ago. It shares space with a steel market which also attracts several customers threin.

Overtime, the Owode Onirin auto market outshined other markets in the entire Owode area.This development is attributed to the growing influence of the market not only in Lagos but in Nigeria generally.

Built on a five-hectare land, the auto market parades fully integrated wares worth several billions of naira. It is no gainsaying that customers come far and near to patronize the market.

Mr Akanni Adetunji, an auto engineer told our correspondent that the Owode auto market has attracted global attention due to the array of auto-businesses there.

“The market is not an ordinary market that should  be seen with narrow prism. It has brought Nigeria into global market of auto-solution. It is a statement of local expertise at work, dedication and hardwork,” Adetunji stated.

Visit to the Owode Onirin

A visitor to the market is greeted by business-like and seemingly courteous young men who inquire what you want and give directions after explaining your mission to them.

On entering the market one would be surprised at the array of automobiles, both new and old lined up at different sections of the market. Each section parades a particular brand of auto products so buyers can easily identify the section and make shopping.

Some of the sellers in the market are technicians who know about automobile in-toto and can provide expert advice to buyers  on how to maintain and use the product for a long time.

“Some of the traders in Owode Oniran auto market are mechanics and technicians on their own right.This serves as an advantage to the buyers for these people can help do a surgical operation on the car before.

“This is why the market is quite different from other auto dealers’ markets in the country. The traders hardly cheat or sell substandard products to customers,” Mr Tokunbo Adetayo, a Lagos-based mechanic told our correspondent.

A middle-aged businessman, Saheed Adebowale said he prefers buying his automobile  in Owode Onirin automarket because traders there give him some level of confidence and reduction in cost.

“The car I bought there some years ago is still in good shape. My friend brought same car from another auto shop same year but his car has developed problem lately,” he explained.

How vehicles get to the market

It was said that traders at the Owode Onirin auto market get supply of products through auction in establishment or owners who willingly sell to them. It was also gathered that the traders also buy scrap from people with the hope that someone will need it in future to repair their vehicles.

Apart from buying and selling cars, the Owode Onirin auto market boasts of spare parts, which may be difficult to get in many parts of the country.

One of the traders in the market boasted that one can find spare parts of any auto brand in the market at a low cost.

He  said, “Here is the home of auto spare-parts. People come from far and near patronize us here because we are not short of any parts of automobile here. We  have parts of Peugeot,Toyota, Honda etc in our shops. My colleagues don’t cheat.”

Speaking with our correspondent, an auto-mechanic in Obalende, Aliu Bantele, who said he has been patronizing Owode Onirin for the past 25 years attested to the quality of the products in the market.

He said the spare parts he buys from the market have never fallen below standard.

“I’ve never regretted buying spare-parts for my customers in Owode Onirin auto-market. I got the scarcest part there some years ago and there was no default when I fixed it on my customers car.”

One other thing  that cannot be overlooked in Owode Onirin auto market is the professionalism displayed by its auto-technicians.

Many bring their cars from far and near to Owode Onirin for refurbishment.

Ade Omtosho, a school teacher told our correspondent that he brought his car to Owode Onirin for repair recently, adding that the automobile now wears new look.

At a recent forum in Lagos, stakeholders in the steel industry lamented the non-performance of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant built 32 years ago.

Dr Sanusi Mohammed, a member of the African Iron and Steel Association, lamented that the nation’s Ajaokuta Steel Plant has not made any meaningful progress since it was built.

According to him, the business of recycling is “fantastic”, adding that steel companies would always require metal scraps to manufacture their steel products.

“If Ajaokuta was producing, it would require over 50,000 tonnes of scraps yearly for production. I hope the Nigerian government will embrace Kondo’s ELV project, to encourage recycling in the country and revive SMEs businesses,” he said.

Mr Deji Badejo of Lagos State Waste Management Board, said that Lagos has a huge stock of “dead vehicles”, which would be useful to the proposed industries.

Mr Amodu Ayotunde, an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment said that a particular site in Lagos, Owode Onirin on Ikorodu road has hundreds of such “dead vehicles”.

“This has created a lot of nuisance and hazard to human health and the environment,” he said.