From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Corn is a seasonal grain harvested in abundant during the rainy season. Presently, there is hardly a street, crescent or corner in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, that one does not find corn sellers.
From Area 1 to Area 11, from Garki, Wuse, Nyanya, Kado, Maitama, Zuba, Gwagwalada, Asokoro, Lokogoma, Gudu, Kabusa, Dei-Dei to Kuje, corn vendors occupy strategic positions to attract patronage.
About 80 per cent of the product consumed in Abuja is cultivated within and neighbouring states. Pathways, undeveloped and abandoned portions of land have been converted into corn plantations. House owners and tenants also reserve some places within their courtyards to grow corn. Security personnel manning residential areas are not left out as they use growing the grain to keep themselves busy.
In fact, like a vulture swooping on dead animals, corn stands have become a melting point for Abuja residents, especially in areas where it is big, soft, sweet and meticulously prepared.
There is a mad rush for corn as most sellers, in order to keep up with the demand and supply, defy rain and sunshine, traveling different places to scout for it.
This snack is eaten either boiled or roasted with pears and coconuts or other complementary products, depending on one’s preference. It is also converted into flour, soaked in steaming water and steered ceaselessly until it becomes thick and strong before eaten with soup.
Corn business is not an all-comers’ affair. Corn vendors and traders are expected to know how to detect a fully developed ones in its fabrics, boiled very softly and roasted without getting it burnt.
For understandable reasons, boiled corns are mostly hawked from morning till night. While the roasted ones are displayed from 12pm to late in the evening mostly at a stationary position close to the fire stand.
The delicacy is one business that is not restricted to a particular tribe or religion and that does not give room for gender disparity. It is traded and consumed by the young and old, men and women.
Though seasonal, corn business is lucrative for the dealers. It has also provided a leeway for fruit sellers to expand and augment their line of trade. While a corn merchant is busy blowing the charcoal to heat up the snack, prospective buyers’ size up and price.
Despite its availability, the affordability of corn appears to be quite expensive this year unlike the previous years. Prior to this time, a corncob with a considerable size was sold for N50. But now things have changed, no thanks to the crawling economy.
A size corn now goes for N100 and above. Abrahim Musa, a corn seller, at Sunnyvale Junction, Lokogoma, claimed that he bought a bag of corn and a basket of pear at the Zuba Market at cutthroat prices:
“We buy corn from Zuba. We sell according to how we buy it. Sometimes, we buy for N5,500 a bag. That is if it is a glut in the market. But if it is not much, we buy it for N7,000. If you observe, corn is very expensive this year. But we have to buy and sell to keep body and soul together.
“In some instances, we won’t even see corn to buy. Yet, customers will not understand when we try to explain things to them. They think you deliberately want to raise the price to fleece them.”
A fruit vendor at Lokogoma Junction, Blessing Chukwuma, told Daily Sun:
“I go to Maraba, Nasarawa State, to buy corn. I use the opportunity to purchase other fruits to augment my business. The cost of corn has soared. But we must do the business.”
For some who cannot travel far to those markets, trunk-loads of corns are supplied to them in their various areas, but at higher price.
But, despite the economic crunch, most people still troop to corn stands to enjoy themselves. A banker, Tope Amosun, said: “We all know that things are hard. But that does not mean that we should deprive ourselves from eating what we like.
“I love corn. Whenever I close from work, I stop over at Gwarimpa Phase One, to enjoy myself. I can eat up to five corn sticks at a stretch. I love eating it with pears.
“I prefer fresh ones. Most weekends, my friends and I stroll out to eat corn. My wife and son like it too. You know it is seasonal. So, we need to eat while it lasts.”
A car dealer, James Barong, said: “Eating corn with coconuts is heavenly.
“It gives you an entirely different taste that makes you crave for more. I can eat corn for a whole day.”
A security officer with a new generation bank at Gimbiya Street Area 11, who opted to be anonymous, said: “Whenever I am on duty, I eat three times a day. And that is affecting my take-home pay. But since corn is available now, I eat it in the afternoons and evenings, just to cut cost.
“Even at that, I love corn. We grew up in the village. And we used to eat it a lot. So, coming to Abuja and working as a security officer, deepened my love for it.”