Nigerian women now compete with their male folks to hawk fuel in the streets and highways across the country. In this feature, ELEOJO IDACHABA takes a look at the emerging trend.
From Lagos to Ibadan, Port Harcourt to Enugu, Onitsha to Benin, Abuja to Kaduna/Kano and in most major cities in the country, it is now commonplace to find vibrant and energetic young men in the streets hawking different items/products especially in traffics under harsh conditions, but when the fragile, feminine gender resorts to this line of business it attracts attention.
Some call it the quest for the survival of the fittest; whatever appellation one chose to give, it is correct because the business requires a lot of patience and drive, coupled with the pains associated with getting the commodity and selling them especially under the scorching heat of the sun or a cold, chilled, rainy day. That is why in most parts of the country it is only able-bodied young men in their twenties that indulge in it because they still possess the energy to cope with the hazards associated with that kind of business.
However, in the recent past, it has become noticeable that not only are certain vocations exclusively reserved for the male gender, but a good number of the women often referred to as the weak vessels have taken the lead in such lines of vocations/businesses to the amusement of many.
Of particular interest is the rate at which many women have taken over the hawking of premium motor spirit otherwise known as fuel on major highways in Abuja.
The secret behind the way they run after a potential buyer by defying the thought of being knocked down by another fast-moving vehicle is what anyone would want to know.
For instance, a drive through roads like Abuja-Bwari expressway into and out of the city, Nyanya through Karu all the way to Karshi expressway reveals women in either tight-fitting jeans trouser or what is popularly known as three quarter short-knickers hassling on the roads to hawk petrol. For those in wrapper, they wear tight wears underneath as investigation shows that as the need arises for them to run after any moving vehicle, they untie the wrapper to reveal the tight inner wears as an indication that they are ready to square it out anyhow especially to be able to run in the scramble for a potential customer.
In a random chat with some of those women, they simply told Blueprint Weekend that it’s all about doing anything that can give them money to save for their daily co-operative contribution otherwise called momo, pay their bills and ultimately put food on their tables. For others, it is what the situation of the country demands.
Ineffective task force
“I realised that task force or environmental officials don’t come after fuel hawkers, but they confiscate the items of food sellers; that was why I started this hassling,” Juliana who is probably in her early 30s told this reporter at Kurudu, a satellite town of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Julie, who resides in Karu village, said, “I was cooking food to sell along the Jikwoyi/Karu road, but because of the harassment by the task force, I lost my capital which I borrowed from a microfinance bank in Nyanya. This was in 2021. My husband and I decided that we should do something else in order to pay back the money, but there was nothing else to do that would not require renting a shop, so one of our neighbours advised us to join others in selling fuel on the road.
“When he suggested it, my husband liked it, but I didn’t like it because where would I keep them after the day so that there would not be any fire accident? I didn’t know that they are well organised as there are locations outside the house where they are stored for safety after each day. Besides, you don’t need to rent a shop to hawk petrol. No fear of the task force; in fact, they even buy from us. My husband and I are now hawking it. He is at a different location not far from here. Soon, we will complete repaying the loan.”
Asked how she copes with the daily hassles, she said, “We are already used to it. Is there anything you will do today without hassling? Before I started cooking food for sale, I was working in a newspaper house owned by a lawmaker from the South-east in their Circulation Unit. For several months before I left, no salary. As of today, the paper is no longer published. For as long as this fuel crisis continues, I will continue to hawk. At least, I’m no longer idle.”
Another woman simply known as Mama Amina who hawks petrol on the Dutsen-Alhaji-Bwari road is elated that the fuel scarcity which started since January 2022 has lingered till now. For her, while it may have caused car owners a lot of pain, it has been a blessing.
She said, “I was at home when my late husband’s brother who works in a station at Bwari called me to ask if I would love to sell fuel. I was scared because of the accident and because I have never done that before. But he told me not to worry about that. When I started in February last year, it was in front of my house, but when we realised that the scarcity was continuing, we moved to the highway where the buyers are readily available. They will just stop, buy and continue their journey.
“Although it is not very easy, I make gains everyday. Fuel business is very good. You can continue from morning till evening but if you want to cook and sell, you need a shop. I don’t have money to rent a shop but for fuel, we would just buy them from another station in Bwari, bring them along the road here and sell them to make profit. Let the scarcity continue.”
Alternative means of livelihood
For want of anything to do in order to eke out a living, many women have taken to hawking the product. Speaking with this reporter, Lucy Michael, an ND holder in Mass Communications from Nasarawa Polytechnic, said the desire to be economically independent drew her to hawking fuel on the Bwari- Dutsen-Alhaji highway.
“I have concluded my diploma programme in Mass Communications for about a year now, but I have been unable to secure admission for my HND. I have been trying to get a job, but I have not been successful because they need people with experience. Consequently, a friend of my cousin linked me with someone in order to sell beer, but I couldn’t do it because it would mean I can only go home as from midnight with less than a thousand naira after working from 12 in the afternoon. I couldn’t bear it. So, when the opportunity of hustling to sell fuel came, my mum and I decided to do it and since then, it has not been bad even though it is stressful. As long as you can hustle, the business is good.
“The fuel scarcity created an opportunity for some of us to get jobs easily. For this one, there is no need for any application, interview and experience. Just position yourself with your fuel at a strategic place where motorists can spot you.”
Danger
“There is no doubt that hawking on the roadside attracts sanctions from the government, especially from the FCT authorities. It is even more worrisome that for a commodity such as fuel that is even scarce to acquire in filling stations can be found by hawkers on the roadside at exorbitant prices,” said Tony Uwalaka.
He added that, “If we have a serious government in place, roadside hawking, especially fuel products that it is generally scarce to get, is an aberration. If not only in Nigeria, where else would you find women running after vehicle owners soliciting them to buy fuel? That product is supposed to be a classified commodity that can only be purchased at a designated, approved location. No one should encourage this type of practice and I hope that since the present government cannot address it, the next government should be able to address it when they come in eventually. We cannot continue like this because this is an organised society.”
