I remember as a young guy growing up on the street of Lagos, if there was one community selling in traffic, it was ‘cold water’ – e ra omi tutu o (buy cold water oh) – was perhaps the only advert I heard, which would soon be swept off the street by the ‘almighty’ pure water.

Then came Gala beef roll, although that name has become a generally accepted name for beef roll rather than ‘gala’ beef itself. While Gala started with selling at bus-stops and road parks, it soon found itself in traffic and that was when the evolution kicked off, one we can say started with Gala and Pure water.

These brings me to my Top 4 Selling Goods in Traffic on Ikorodu Road.


NO 1: PEPPER (Tomato and Bell Pepper):-
Yes, you read it right the first time, our Hausa brothers have suddenly stepped up their game and need not wait for the “Iya Alata” (Pepper sellers) who patronize them daily at the Mile12 market. In-fact, they have a new target – the working class – and Lagos traffic is the perfect timing for both sellers and buyers to negotiate.
I must add that, they sell at cheaper rates too; so why not give it a try.

NO 2: PURE WATER:-
Carry out this survey some years back and we do have pure water up there, topping the list and in-fact we can add that pure water (the pioneer) in this field is lucky to make our top 4 list. The sale of pure water has been aided with the recent cry of recession and Lagosians doing everything necessary to safe as much as they possibly can – the loser being bottled water.
At N10 (ten naira) per sachet of cold ‘pure water’ you need not worry about how much of pure it has got, afterall it's pocket friendly.

NO 3: PLASTIC MINERALS:-
It would be unfair to single out any particular brand here, and since the fall of the once selling La Casera, the general brands have taken over. A market that seemed to have been dominated by La Casera in the early 2000s mainly because the popular brands sold at N20 (twenty naira) more but became levelled when that extra naira was taken off and all sold at N100 (one hundred naira).
What’s your brand? Let us know in the comment box below but not before we give you our No1 selling good.

NO 4: ‘GALA’ (Not Gala):-
If this does not make your No1 list anywhere, you’re probably not living in Lagos. ‘Gala’ NOT Gala has been accepted as the general name for beef roll, it is in-fact normal to hear someone say ‘give me gala – not gala ooh, Beefie gala’ and like our No2 above, it is difficult to single out a particular brand. Everyone has his/her preference. That could be a topic to analyze sometime soon.

NO 5: YAM
Yes, It's common too see the Hausa guys carrying 5 Big tubers of yam, chasing your car and offering them at unbelievable prices, compared to whats obtainable on 'your' street. The 5 tubers goes for about 1500 and buyers are happily smiling home....


So the next time you think of 'SHOPPING ON THE MOVE' -think Ikorodu traffic.

Below are a few other uncommon goods sold in Ikorodu traffic:
* Water Melon
* Juice (all size and brand)
* Family size coke/fanta

culled: www.palmchatnow.com

there is almost a pepper market in traffic this days....