Fast food business booms at Ojuelegba

A fast food shop at Ojuelegba

By YUSUF MOHAMMED

Night life under a typical Lagos bridge is usually bubbling with commercial activities. However, OjuElegba Bridge stands out in terms of human traffic and duration. While under most bridges in Lagos become dull as soon as the sun sets that of Ojuelegba springs to life with commercial activities.

Of all the commercial activities, fast food business thrives most under this bridge. As from 6 o’clock in the evening, Nigerians from different ethnic groups converge all in the name of food business.

Food vendors hold sway at night with aromas of different delicacies scenting the air. All sorts of activities take place simultaneously. From Akara (bean cakes) to noodles, rice, fried yam etc under Ojuelegba Bridge is bustling with varieties of fast foods.

BusinessHallmark learnt that high costs of renting shops in town pushed many people to start business under the bridge.

“Renting a shop to do business in Lagos is very expensive,” Lateef Akanji who sells bread under the bridge said. “Some of them cost as high as N120, 000 a year. Apart from the rent for the shop, we would still have other bills to pay. At the end of the month or year, what we will have to show for the entire struggle?” he queried.

Those who are involved in food business have taken into consideration the financial conditions of the calibre of people who ply that route. A lady in her early 20’s who goes by the name Mariam runs a chicken and potatoes spot under the bridge. Unlike the fast food joints in the mainstream eateries which could be found mainly in highbrow areas, Mariam’s chicken and chips goes for N500 per plate.

She said “We take the ordinary people into consideration here. If we sell it how they normally do in some of these big joints, who will buy from us?”

“If we are selling on the Island for instance, we may sell higher but this place is for the common people so we need to make it affordable.”

The place which has the highest traffic of people is SAMJOSH small chops just by the side of the bridge. In what seemed like free meal, hundreds of people were falling over themselves to have a bite at the spot.

Our correspondent had to take a closer look to know why that place was the number one attraction. This spot is being run by two friends who designated different positions to themselves. Abiodun Mercy is the Managing Director, while Emmanuel Olalekan is the Public Relations Officer. That’s how organised they are.

Speaking with BusinessHallmark, Olalekan said, “We started this business here a month ago. We actually started at Yaba but didn’t have this level of patronage. This place is highly populated and we are benefitting from it. We have our head office at Ebute-Metta but we decided to get to the streets to showcase what we have.”

The two friends don’t fry the small chops from their head office. They do it right in front of the customers. “The reason is that we want our customers to get it fresh out of the frying pan,” he said.

When asked what stands them apart from the rest, because it was obvious that they were not the only ones into that business in the area, he said “the way we make it is the difference. It is about style. As you can see, our surrounding is neat. We take hygiene into consideration.

“I work with Lagos health service so I know much about the importance of hygiene. I go to work in the morning and come here to assist my friend as soon as I am done. We also make sure it is affordable. If it isn’t affordable you won’t see many people here. One puff puff goes for N10, while we sell gizzard for N100 and N150 depending on the size you want.”

Asked how much they make in a day, he replied, “We make at least N10, 000 every night. We use part of it to pay our staff. We pay them daily.”

For the youth who is jobless and depending on government to create job opportunities, he had this to say, “Nigerian youths should try to think out of the box. There are many job opportunities on the streets, especially in Lagos if you consider the population.”

A lady who identified herself as Kate said she hardly goes home without stopping by at one of the fast food spots to order for a takeaway. “I work here (Ojuelegba) and live at Ikeja. I close from work by 6pm everyday, which is the peak hour of this place. I make sure I buy something to take home, especially small chops and gizzard from SAMJOSH because it is very cheap.” She said.

Beyond its vast array of food outlets, there are other activities that are responsible for human traffic in this area. Young men and women in large numbers could be seen buying clothes under the bridge. Clothing items from like shirts, skirts, trousers, including fairly under wears were on display for passers-by.

However, the fast food vendors and others close around 12 midnight, giving way to hoodlums who have made money during the day from taxing commercial bus drivers. BH gathered that some of these tax collectors (Agberos) retire to their haven at night in order to have fun after a stressful day. They make merriment by smoking weed and drinking alcohol till they pass out.